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Discussing degenerative meniscal tears with patients can be particularly tricky. They sound scary, are quite common and don’t often come with an easy solution. Thankfully on this episode I am joined by Khalid Maidan from Clinical Physio, who himself is a Knee Specialist Physio where we discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:20) – Why Is The Meniscus The Bridesmaid To The ACL? (02:40) – The Limits Of Meniscal Objective Tests (03:47) – Analogies For Degenerative Meniscal Tears & Nocebic Messaging (10:30) – Discussing Scan Results & Management Options (22:50) – Does Saying There Is No Suitable Surgery Help With Rehab Buy-In? (29:55) – Knowing When To Feedback Scan Results & Options (33:40) – Where To Find More   You can find Khalid on LinkedIn, plus Clinical Physio on Instagram @clinicalphysio or https://www.clinicalphysio.com/ For more details on the Clinical Communication Course you can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio or email [email protected]

Communicating well with the person in front of you can be tricky in a calm clinical environment at times. But how do we manage when the environment you’re in becomes more challenging? Whether that’s in extreme environments up mountains, in jungles, deserts or space. Or with a camera crew filming your every move. Or if it’s the middle of the night and you’re exhausted from being awake for over 18 hours. On this episode I am joined by Dr Will Duffin who; is a doctor working across primary and urgent care services, is the joint medical director of World Extreme Medicine, is an on-screen medical doctor for “Survivor”, and a whole lot more, where we discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:47) – What Is Extreme Medicine & How Will Got Into It (08:47) – Wills Experience As An On-Screen Reality TV Doctor On Survivor (11:47) – How To Stay & Exude Calm Under Pressure (23:07) – How To Manage Unsafe Expectations (37:37) – The Importance Of Using Simulations (42:57) – How To Communicate Well When Tired (45:42) – Where To Find Out More About Will & Extreme Medicine (47:15) – Would Will Consider Space Medicine? (49:37) – How AI Will Change Extreme Medicine   You can find Will on LinkedIn & Instagram @the.extreme.medic His website is www.drwillduffin.com You can find out more about Extreme Medicine here www.worldextrememedicine.com   You can see Ben at the North East Musculoskeletal Society (NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 For more details on the Clinical Communication Course you can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio or email [email protected]

Welcome to this new type of episode where I take other clinicians communication queries and discus them to help fellow clinicians with similar dilemmas. If you’ve got questions that you’d like help with (and are happy to be recorded) then do let me know! On this episode I am joined by Luka who is a Physiotherapist originally from Croatia and now working in the Switzerland, we discuss: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:06) – When To Speak Formally & Informally (00:08:33) – How To Manage Patient Nocebic Beliefs & Distress (00:30:30) – How To Give Realistic Hope & Visual Explanations (00:36:06) – WIIFM (00:40:00) – Explaining Pain Without Causing Upset (00:54:20) – How To Discuss Sleep   You can see Ben at the North East Musculoskeletal Society (NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 If you’d like to take part in an episode or know more you can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio or email [email protected] You can find Luka on Instagram @lukapavlinoviclb

“Explaining Pain” has evolved over the past decade and has become almost a common part of clinical practice. Whilst this can be done individually, discussing it to an audience comes with its own challenges and requires a different approach. On this episode I am joined by Professor Cormac Ryan from Teeside University & Flippin Pain where we discuss: (00:00:00) – Do More People “Get” Chronic Pain Now? (00:10:30) – The Importance Of Stories In Explaining Pain (00:24:10) – The Value Of Humour (00:36:10) – The Importance Of Practising Talks (00:41:30) – Cormac’s Fun Fact Introductions (00:52:15) – The Power Of Lived Experience Input & Feedback (01:09:55) – Ben & Cormac at the NEMS Conference The Flippin Pain website is here: https://www.flippinpain.co.uk/ They can be found across social media & YouTube. You can see Ben & Cormac at the North East Musculoskeletal Society (NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 You can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysioor email [email protected]

Welcome to this new type of episode where I take other clinicians communication queries and discus them to help fellow clinicians with similar dilemmas. If you’ve got questions that you’d like help with (and are happy to be recorded) then do let me know! On this episode I am joined by Suki, who is a Physiotherapist originally from Serbia and now working in the USA, we discuss: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:07) – Can We Use Clinical White Lies? & Cultural Differences (00:18:30) – How To Manage Cultural Expectations For Passive Treatment (00:24:00) – Chunking & Checking (00:24:46) – Where’s The Line Between A Simple Explanation And A Lie? (200:8:30) – Addressing Difficult Beliefs (00:34:30) – Should Clinical Discussions Change If Patients Want The Blunt Truth (00:40:30) – Saying “I Don’t Know” In Practice (00:43:50) – Reframing Pain Without Upsetting The Patient (00:59:15) – What Words Has Ben Removed From Explanations (01:04:30) – How Much Uncertainty Can We Show Before Losing Patient Confidence? (01:06:00) – How To Stay Calm When Saying “I Don’t Know” (01:09:50) – How Much Credit Should Clinicians Claim When Patients Improve? (01:12:35) – How To Explain To Someone Why They Got Better (01:15:30) - Reflections   You can see Ben at the North East Musculoskeletal Society(NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 If you’d like to take part in an episode or know more youcan find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio or email [email protected]

Welcome to this new type of episode where I take other clinicians communication queries and discus them to help fellow clinicians with similar dilemmas. If you’ve got a query that you’d like help with (and are happy to be recorded) then do let me know! On this episode I am joined by Carol who is a soft tissuetherapist and personal trainer to discuss the following queries: (00:00) – Introduction (03:40) – What Is Info Dumping? (06:35) – Controlling The Need To Correct Every Belief (14:35) – Managing Catastrophising Beliefs (20:10) – Knowing When To Discuss Beliefs (41:22) – Carol’s Hardest Conversations   You can see Ben at the North East Musculoskeletal Society(NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 If you’d like to take part in an episode or know more youcan find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio or email [email protected]

This is a different episode to usual, as for the first time ever rather than a clinician I am joined by someone with a very rare condition. On this episode I am joined by Jen who has a diagnosis of thevery rare painful neurovascular condition Erythromelalgia and reached out to me to arrange this episode where we discuss:   (00:00:00) – What Is Erythromelalgia? (00:02:08) – How It Feels Having A Very Rare Condition (00:04:38) – Jen’s Journey Before & After Diagnosis (00:43:50) – What Jen Would Have Changed About Her Journey (00:51:40) – What Were The Best Conversations Jen Had   You can see Ben at the North East Musculoskeletal Society(NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 You can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysioor email [email protected] You can contact Ben on the above if you’d like to speak withJen

Conversations with young athletes and their parents can lead to a range of difficult topics related to recovery, performance or even changing sport entirely. On this episode Ben is joined by Angela Jackson, YoungAthlete Consultant Physiotherapist, where they discuss: (00:00:00) – How To Motivate Teenagers (00:04:20) – At What Ages Can Sport Become More Serious ForKids? (00:11:07) – How To Discuss Expectations For Late Development (00:14:20) – Childrens & Parents Reactions To RecoveryExpectations (00:21:50) – Ages That Children Can Grasp Complex Ideas (00:24:05) – Managing Different Parent & Child Interests (00:29:40) – Encouraging Choice With Children (00:31:34) – Knowing How Much To Involve The Parent (00:33:40) – How To Manage Interrupting Parents (00:37:03) – Managing Fear Of Not Being Able To Return To Play (00:47:16) – Breaking News Of Recovery Time (00:55:40) – Angie’s Hardest Clinical Conversation (01:02:30) – The Future Of Conversations With Young Athletes   You can see both Ben & Angie at the North East MusculoskeletalSociety (NEMS) Conference on Saturday 19th of September in Durham. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 You can find Angie on LinkedIn and Instagram @angiejphysio Her website for all resources and courses is: https://kidsback2sport.com/ You can find Ben on LinkedIn and Instagram @bwhybrowphysio

Experiences are often much more powerful for influencing beliefs and understanding that words and descriptions. Behavioural experiments give you an option to achieve this. But what does this mean? How should we go about doing them? This brief episode covers how. You can see Ben at: North East Musculoskeletal Society (NEMS) Conference Durham - Saturday September 19th 2026 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 Therapy Show Birmingham - Wednesday November 25th 2026 https://www.therapyshow.co.uk/

Most clinicians are in the business of behaviour change,whether that’s with patients or members of staff. A task that often sounds easy, but can be very difficult at times. But what really changes behaviour? Do previous theories need to change with evolving evidence? On this episode Ben is joined by Orla O’Doherty, Behaviour Change Specialist & Educator where they discuss: (00:00) – Do We Have Too Many Behaviour Change Experts? (02:20) – The Lack Of Evidence For The Stages Of ChangeModel (07:21) – Evidence Based Behaviour Change Models (10:15) – Do We Rely On Motivation To Change Behaviour Too Much? (12:58) – Can We Overcomplicate Behaviour Change? (17:23) – Making Habit Plans & Behavioural Goals (21:58) – Why Have Habits Not Gained As Much Interest Clinically? (26:52) – Starting vs Maintaining Behaviour (30:21) – Orla’s Hardest Clinical Conversations (33:16) – When It’s Not The Right Time To Discuss BehaviourChange (36:41) – The Future Of Behaviour Change (41:20) – Where To Find Orla   You can find Orla on LinkedIn & Instagram @thecliniccoach Her website is: cliniccoach.co.uk   Stages Of Change Paper Mentioned: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.01139.x EAST Framework: https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/management/east-framework COM-B Framework: https://www.com-b.org/   You can find Ben on LinkedIn or Instagram @bwhybrowphysio You can email in questions to [email protected]

What can make explanations more memorable? How do you ensure the person in front of you has understood it as you intentioned? When is the right time to explain?   This is a different episode to usual as it is a recording from a recent episode of The STA Clinician podcast with Matt Phillips and myself where we are talking all about explanations and more, including:   (00:00) - Introduction (08:45) – The Validating Aspect Of Diagnosis (13:33) – The Key First Steps (21:19) – The Importance of Timing Explanations (25:45) – Keeping Explanations Simple & Relatable (37:02) – Checking Understanding (45:17) – Explanations & Neurodiversity (47:34) – Most Memorable Clinical Communication Episodes   You can find Matt Phillips across various social media sites @mattphillipsedu The STA Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. You can find Ben on LinkenIn or Instagram @BWhybrowPhysio You can email in to [email protected]

Last year, one of the most downloaded episodes was not on communicating about a specific condition or approach, but on how to teach. Something all clinicians have to do but often receive little to no training on how to do it. Cleary there was an appetite for this topic, so we’ve recorded a part two! On this episode Ben is re-joined by Kate Purcell, Advanced Practice Physiotherapist, former lecturer and with fellowship to the Higher Education Academy. Where they discuss: (00:00) – Was Kate Surprised How Successful Our Last EpisodeWas? (04:40) – Learning From Doing (08:05) – Does The Patient Need To Want To Learn? (10:36) – Creating Psychological Safety In Learning (17:28) – How To Teach When They Don’t Agree (29:23) – How To Discuss Uncertainty (35:19) – Does Knowing About Medical Bias Change Practice? (38:00) – Should Teaching Change With Social Media? (44:33) – What If Someone Wants To Record? (48:24) – Making Learning More Visible In Practice (53:14) – Should Practice Guidelines Be More Specific OnEducation   You can find Kate Purcell on X & LinkedIn   You can find Ben across Social Media @BWhybrowPhysio or email [email protected]   Where you can see Ben: North East Musculoskeletal Society Conference – September19th, Durham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 Therapy Show – November 25th, Birmingham https://www.therapyshow.co.uk/

We often consider high level performers as those that work in sports or entertainment, but there's another group of high level performers who you may come across everyday, which is those in the corporate world. This group comes with their own unique challenges such as; working demands, knowledge level and additional access to manage their own expectations. On this episode Ben is joined Susan Julians, writer for MSKMag and who specialises in treating this group of high performers where they discuss: (00:00) – How Sue Ended Up Working With Corporate Clients (04:40) – Demands Of Working In A High Level CorporateEnvironment (10:06) – Personality Types In Corporate Environments (12:50) – Can You Tell Them To Slow Down? (18:35) – Do They Prioritise Work Over Health? (19:48) – Business Influencers & Fitness (21:12) – Managing Expectations (22:45) – Do They Need A More Direct Communication Approrach? (27:12) – What If Things Go Too Far With Work Demands? (29:45) – Managing Expectations When Conditions Don’tQuickly Improve (35:22) – Fitting Rehab Plans Into Their Life (38:15) – Does Upbringing Influence Interest To Work In TheCorporate World (40:33) – Should We Ask About Them Changing Jobs? (43:22) – Where To Find Sue (44:28) – Does Technical Testing Equipment Help With Buy-In? (45:24) – How Will The Corporate Workforce Change In The Future?   You can find Susan Julians on LinkedIn   You can find Ben across Social Media @BWhybrowPhysio oremail [email protected]   Where you can see Ben: North East Musculoskeletal Society Conference – September 19th, Durham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 Therapy Show – November 25th, Birmingham https://www.therapyshow.co.uk/

Being a supportive clinician and team player can lead tomany benefits across services, but are there downsides if we become too nice? Could less evidence-based care go unchallenged? Could avoiding conflict mean patients don’t get the rightmessage? On this episode Ben is joined by fellow Physio and recent MSKMag writer James Horner where they discuss: (00:00) – Are Physios Too Nice? (01:50) – James’s Journey Of Discovery (07:08) – The Downsides Of Being Nice (11:06) – How The MSKMag Article Came To Fruition (13:45) – Has James Changed After Writing It? (16:34) – When You Have To Be Blunt As A Clinician (20:33) – The Harms Of Being Too Nice To Patients (24:50) – Should We Change Training/Teaching? (26:16) – Addressing Uncertainty & Clinical Supervision (33:12) – Regression To The Mean (42:22) – Key Takeaways & Where To Find James   You can find James on LinkedIn or Instagram @thenerdypshyio You can find him on The Physio Pulse Podcast.   You can find Ben across Social Media @BWhybrowPhysio oremail [email protected]   Where you can see Ben: Widespread Pain Differentials with Clinical Physio, May 20thOnline 7:30pm UK time https://www.clinicalphysio.com/live-webinars/ North East Musculoskeletal Society Conference – September 19th, Durham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 Therapy Show – November 25th, Birmingham https://www.therapyshow.co.uk/

An aspect of clinical practice we can often take for granted is informing patients about "normal" imaging findings. Just say it's alright, reassure and move on right? Yet this is a conversation that they've waited a long time for and needs to be taken seriously. This brief episode gives some suggestions on how to go about it. You can find Ben across Social Media @BWhybrowPhysio orEmail [email protected]   Where you can see Ben: Widespread Pain Differentials with Clinical Physio, May 21stOnline 7:30pm UK time https://www.clinicalphysio.com/live-webinars/ North East Musculoskeletal Society Conference – September 19th, Durham https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-east-musculoskeletal-conference-2026-tickets-1981008464645 Therapy Show – November 25th, Birmingham https://www.therapyshow.co.uk/ Do share & subscribe.