Clinical Communication

Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD) & Hypermobile Ehlos-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) are conditions that can often come with a variety of symptoms, well beyond being someone being extra flexible and having regularly dislocating joints.They can also be quite difficult and controversial conditions to discuss for various reasons, hence even more important they are discussed here.On this episode Ben is joined by Anna Higo, Specialist Physiotherapist & Speaker in Hypermobility Syndromes, where they discuss:(00:00) – Are Those With HSD or hEDS more likely to suspecttheir diagnosis compared to other patient groups?(05:04) – Managing These Conversations With Children & Parents(10:26) – Hypermobility As We Age(13:03) – POTS, Long COVID & Hypermobility(16:08) – Explaining HSD & hEDS(22:18) – Getting Exercise Buy-In(27:09) – How To Discuss Lycra/Compression Garments(34:13) – The Importance Of Getting Family On Board(35:33) – Managing Emotions When Someone Feels They FulfilhEDS Criteria But Don’t(39:20) – What May Change On The Upcoming hEDS Criteria Update(41:50) – The Future Of HSD & hEDS hEDS Criteria (2017):https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/hEDS-Dx-Criteria-checklist-1.pdfhEDS Together:https://hedstogether.com/ You can find Anna on LinkedIn, Facebook & X @higo_annaYou can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysioDo Share & Subscribe

Meniscal tears can be a significant knee injury with different treatment options available depending on a variety of factors, but how do we help patients understand the injury and management options available?On this episode Ben is joined by Carl Clifford, Lower Limb Advanced Practice Physiotherapist, and Dr Michael Cooke, Sports Medicine & Emergency Care Consultant, both from Simply MSK where they discuss:(00:00:00) – How Does Sports Medicine Work Life Balance Compare To NHS(00:01:56) – What Made Them Interested In Their Specialities(00:03:54) – Why Is The Meniscus 2nd Place To The ACL In Clinical Interest?(00:06:16) – The Upcoming ACL Cross Bracing Lecture(00:10:37) – How To Explain Acute Meniscal Tears(00:16:32) – Managing Locking Beliefs(00:22:00) – Does The Conversation Change With Athletes?(00:24:58) – How To Discuss Management Options For Meniscal Tears(00:34:48) – Repairing Meniscal Tears Over Meniscectomies(00:36:44) – Discussing Non-Invasive Options(00:38:59) – Managing Meniscal Tear Beliefs(00:42:50) – Shared Decision Making With Degenerative Meniscal  Tears(00:45:50) – Discussing Long Term Expectations With Meniscal Tears(00:53:55) – The Future For Meniscal Injury Care(00:57:45) – More Info On Simply MSK(01:01:45) – Difficult Conversations With Meniscal Tears You can find Carl & Mike on LinkedInCarl is on Instagram @theknee_phys You can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysioYou can find more information about Simple MSK here:https://www.simplymsk.com/ACL Cross-Bracing Event:https://www.simplymsk.com/aclDo Share & Subscribe!

Shoulder dislocations and instability can affect patients ofmany ages, particularly in early adulthood or with aspiring athletes. How can we help these patients address the fears & uncertainties of having an unstable shoulder?On the episode Ben is joined by Edel Fanning, shoulder specialist physiotherapist with a PhD in relation to shoulder instability where they discuss;(00:00:00) – What Made Edel Pick Shoulders?(00:03:26) – Is Social Media Improving Speed Of Research Uptake?(00:08:35) – How Edel Finds Managing Both Athletes &Chronic Shoulder Pain(00:10:37) – Managing “Impingement” & Other DifficultBeliefs(00:22:30) – Helping Patients Understand How Other FactorsInfluence Their Shoulder Instability(00:24:30) – Conversations With Children & Parents AboutInstability(00:27:51) – Utilising Different Clinicians Who May Suit ThePatients Personality Better(00:30:11) – Instability, Pain & Strength(00:33:36) – Using VR For Shoulder Instability Rehab(00:36:08) – Graded Exposure For Shoulder Instability Rehab(00:37:27) – How To Answer “Will It Dislocate Again?”(00:46:53) – Long Term Affects Of Shoulder Instability &Fixations(00:48:12) – How To Help Teenagers Understand Instability(00:50:58) – Discussing Labral Injuries With 40-50 Year Olds(00:57:03) – Having Long Term Career Discussions WithAthletes On Shoulder Instability(01:00:30) – Edel’s Hardest Clinical Conversations(01:11:20) – The Future Of Shoulder Instability You can find Edel on LinkedInPredictive Reoccurrence Instability Scale https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32736499/ You can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysioDo Share & Subscribe!

This episode is different to all the others.Every Clinical Communication episode so far has been around communicating and interacting with patients. This episode is on how we interact with each other and thesignificant effect it can have on our own wellbeing, the team around us and our patients.On this episode Ben is joined by Dr Chris Turner, A&EConsultant and Co-Founder of “Civility Saves Lives”, an initiative to help enhance teamwork and civility in healthcare.Where they discuss:(00:00) – Chris’s TED Talk Experience(10:27) – The Power Of Apology(20:39) – Do People Struggle To Apologise?(25:38) – The Dilemma Of Blame(32:43) – What If We’re On The Receiving End Of Blame(40:25) – Are We Becoming More Civil? & The Purpose Of Civility(44:15) – More Info On Civility Saves Lives(51:32) – Iron Maiden or Judas Priest? You can find Dr Chris Turner on LinkedIn, more informationabout “Civility Saves Lives” is here: https://www.civilitysaveslives.com/You can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysioDo Share & Subscribe!

In this engaging discussion, physiotherapist Sue Julians, a staff writer for MSK Mag, dives into the intricacies of exercise adherence. She highlights the importance of self-determination theory in motivation, emphasizing autonomy, competence, and relatedness as core factors. Sue shares insights on tailoring exercise to personality types and the influence of age and life stage on motivation. The conversation also touches on the effects of environment and hormones on exercise behavior, and Sue examines the future of physiotherapy amid rising AI technologies.

Cervical Myleopathy is a rare but very serious condition,which can result in rather difficult conversations, including around surgery and discussing long term expectations that could significantly affect someones life. On this episode Ben is joined by Dr Ben Davies, Neurosurgeon& Academic Researcher into Cervical Myleopathy where they discuss;(00:00) – Intro(00:44) – What Made Ben Choose Myelopathy & Kept Him Interested In It(03:49) – Why Is Myleopathy Not As Popular As A Research Area(05:29) – What Happens In Cervical Myelopathy(06:50) – Is Myelopathy Preventable?(07:22) – The mJOA For Decision Making(08:46) – How To Explain Myelopathy To Patients(13:30) – How To Discuss Myelopathy Management Options(22:22) – Setting Expectations For Surgery(24:28) – Will It Inevitably Get Worse?(26:02) – How To Discuss Recurrence After Surgery(28:03) – Make Patients The Experts In Their Own Condition(30:52) – Ben’s Hardest Conversations(35:45) – The Future Of Myelopathy You can find Dr Ben Davies on LinkedIn or here https://myelopathy.org/ You can find Ben Whybrow across social media @BWhybrowPhysioDo Share & Subscribe!

It's time for the 4th Bonus Content featuring extra content from recent guests including:David Alderton (00:42):If Doing Nothing Is Always An Option, Is There Always A ChoiceIn Shared Decision Making?Derek Griffin (06:06):Achieving Buy-In For Pacing, Finding The "Why" Behind Someones Activity Behaviour & Fibromyalgia Stigma And BeliefsPauline-Clare Callaghan (14:00):Pregnancy & EndometriosisLianne Wood (22:02): Challenges when trying review to review papers on exerciseadherenceVincent Kortleve (24:59):How Have Healthcare Clinicians Communication Skills Changed Over The YearsYou can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysioFor more do Share & Subscribe!

Clinicians are becoming more aware of the importance ofcommunication skills in clinical practice, but this doesn’t mean things always go to plan.On this episode Ben is joined by Vincent Kortleve, who is a published author and educator in communication skills, as well as being a trained Psychologist and Physiotherapist.On this episode they discuss:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:00:49) - How Much Has Vincent’s Communication Skills Teaching Changed Over The Years(00:04:17) - Vincents Book “Communication Skills For Physiotherapists”(00:06:04) - The Four Communication Pillars In The Book(00:08:27) - Building Rapport In Life Doesn’t Mean You CanBuild A Therapeutic Relationship(00:12:44) - Managing Emotional Conversations(00:13:55) - What A Coaching Conversation Looks Like(00:19:40) - Managing Resistance To Change(00:24:29) - The Communicative Detective(00:27:47) - When Open And Closed Questions Aren’t Used Correctly(00:36:00) - Don’t Assume The Message You Discuss Is What IsTaken In(00:42:53) - Vincents Hardest Clinic Conversations(00:49:03) - Managing Quick Fix Expectations(00:53:30) - Vincent’s View On The Future Of Communication Skills Vicent’s book “Communication Skills For Physiotherapists” isavailable in English, Dutch & Spanish. You can find him on LinkedIn & X @CommunicatorPTYou can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysio oremail clinicalcommunication@outlook.comDo share & subscribe

Exercise is one of the most common treatment suggestions for low back pain. Yet outcomes in the research are variable. What are some of the contextual factors that can influence the outcome of using exercise to treat low back pain?And how much does adherence really matter?On this episode Ben is joined by Lianne Wood, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and Advanced Practice Physiotherapist, where they discuss:(00:00) – Introduction(00:58) - Lianne’s Realist Review Into Contextual FactorsFor Back Pain & Exercise(04:08) - The Role Of Trust & Trying To Measure It(07:16) - The Effect Of The Patients Confidence In Their OwnAbility & In The Clinicians Knowledge(09:53) - Did Motivation To Adhere Influence Outcomes?(11:32) - The Importance Of Individualised Input(12:53) - The Limitations Of Current Adherence Evidence(16:06) - The Review Into Back Pain Outcomes & AdherenceTo Exercise(20:22) - Different Ways To Measure Adherence(23:05) - Bias In Exercise Studies(24:45) - The Effects Of Beliefs On Exercise Outcomes(29:30) - The Importance Of Thinking Deeper With ExerciseFor Pain (33:25) - Lianne’s Hardest Clinical Conversations(38:24) - The Future For Exercise Adherence Research Lianne’s Two Papers Discussed:Contexts, behavioural mechanisms and outcomes to optimisetherapeutic exercise prescription for persistent low back pain: a realistreview (2024)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38176852/Exercise adherence is associated with improvements inpain intensity and functional limitations in adults with chronic non-specificlow back pain: a secondary analysis of a Cochrane review (2025)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40175237/ You can find Lianne on X @WoodwicksLianne and LinkedInHer research profile is here:https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/39689-lianne-woodYou can find Ben across social media @BWhybrowPhysio oremail clinicalcommunication@outlook.comDo Share & Subscribe!

The use of stem cells to treat various medical issues includingjoint pain is gaining more and more awareness, which means patients are asking about them more frequently. Yet most of us know very little about them, so how should weanswer the questions that commonly come up?On this episode Ben is joined by Dr Ansar Mahmood, Consultant Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon and American Board Certified in Regenerative Medicine, where they discuss:(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:00:59) - The history of stem cells, what they do & how they work  (00:13:02) – Sleeper stem cells(00:15:36) – Delays in research to practice(00:17:08) – The intelligence of stem cell function(00:20:20) – What expectations should be given for stem cell injections for joint pain (00:21:30) – Different regulations for stem cell implementation(00:28:40) – When might we see stem cells for joint pain being used in the NHS?(00:31:12) – What is pharma trying to do with stem cells?(00:35:32) – The biggest drivers for research development: collaboration & AI(00:41:43) – The risks of stem cell injections & production(00:47:15) – Setting expectations for the length of stem cell injection effect(00:54:38) – Future joint preservation clinics(00:57:03) – Will stem cells eradicate steroid injections?(00:59:17) – Dr Mahmoods social media and courses You can find Dr Mahmood on LinkedIn and Instagram @dransarmahmoodThe Kyzn Clinic – www.kyzn.co.ukThe Academy of Regenerative Medicine - https://abrm.thearm.co.uk/ or @RegenAcademy on social media. You can find Ben on social media @BWhybrowPhysio or email clinicalcommunication@outlook.comDo share & subscribe!