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Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management
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Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Rehabilitation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 September 2026 | Viewed by 2673

Editors

Dr. Stefanos Karanasios

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Physiotherapy Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Aigaleo, Greece
Interests: physiotherapy; musculoskeletal diseases; musculoskeletal injuries; tendinopathy; rehabilitation; exercise therapy; manual therapy; pain management
Prof. Dr. George Gioftsos

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Guest Editor
Physiotherapy Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Aigaleo, Greece
Interests: physiotherapy; rehabilitation; gait analysis; biomechanics; musculoskeletal disorders; kinesiology; human movement science; exercise science; motion analysis; injury biomechanics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue, "Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management", aims to address the critical challenges and evolving practices within the field of pain management through the lens of physiotherapy. As chronic pain conditions continue to rise globally, effective management strategies are vital for enhancing patient outcomes and improving quality of life. This issue aims to consolidate recent advancements in research and clinical practice, with a focus on innovative approaches to pain assessment and rehabilitation.

The scope of the Special Issue encompasses a wide range of topics, including original research and reviews that investigate the mechanisms of pain modulation, the role of physiotherapy in chronic pain syndromes, and the integration of multidisciplinary approaches. Topics of interest include emerging modalities in pain management and the effectiveness of personalized rehabilitation programs. The Special Issue "Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management" will cover a spectrum of conditions, including, but not limited to, chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatic diseases, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, or even pain related to neurological conditions, highlighting the diverse challenges faced in physiotherapeutic interventions.

By bringing together diverse perspectives and innovative research, we aspire to foster dialogue among healthcare professionals and researchers, ultimately contributing to the improvement of physiotherapy practices in pain management. We look forward to your valuable contributions that will drive the field forward and enhance patient care in this crucial area of health.

Dr. Stefanos Karanasios
Prof. Dr. George Gioftsos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pain management
  • physiotherapy
  • chronic pain
  • rehabilitation
  • pain assessment
  • patient outcomes
  • musculoskeletal
  • central sensitization
  • pain sensitivity
  • analgesia
  • pain modulation
  • exercise therapy
  • pain education
  • telerehabilitation
  • health-related quality of life
  • pain coping strategies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 440 KB  
Article
Agreement Between Video-Based and In-Person Assessment in Patients with Knee Pain—A Prospective Repeated-Measures Pragmatic Study
by Stefanos Karanasios, Athanasios Koutsouradis, Christina Mavrogiannopoulou, Vasiliki Sakellari and George Gioftsos
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(9), 3200; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093200 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 551
Abstract
Background: Digital health has accelerated telehealth uptake, yet evidence comparing video-based musculoskeletal assessment with traditional in-person examination is limited. This study evaluated the concurrent validity and interrater reliability of video-based physiotherapy assessment versus face-to-face assessment in patients with knee pain. Methods: Patients with [...] Read more.
Background: Digital health has accelerated telehealth uptake, yet evidence comparing video-based musculoskeletal assessment with traditional in-person examination is limited. This study evaluated the concurrent validity and interrater reliability of video-based physiotherapy assessment versus face-to-face assessment in patients with knee pain. Methods: Patients with knee pain underwent randomized consecutive in-person and video-based assessments by experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists. Clinical diagnoses were categorized into seven groups (red flag, yellow flag, arthrogenic, tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain, muscle sprain, neurogenic). Primary outcomes were intermethod agreement and Cohen’s kappa; sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and interrater reliability for video assessments were also reported. Results: Forty-five participants (mean age 38 ± 6.5 years; 55.6% female) completed the study. In-person and video-based assessments produced identical diagnoses in 43/45 cases (Cohen’s κ = 0.92, p < 0.001). Telehealth accuracy was high across all diagnostic categories (90–100%). Interrater agreement between video-based assessors was 93.3% (κ = 0.89, p < 0.001). Agreement between assessments was moderately associated with KOOS (r = 0.312, p = 0.037). Conclusions: In this selected pragmatic sample, video-based physiotherapy assessment demonstrated high concurrent agreement and excellent interrater reliability with face-to-face assessment. Given the study’s sample size, repeated-measures design, and lack of an independent reference standard, these results indicate feasibility and intermethod agreement rather than diagnostic equivalence. Video assessment may be a feasible option for triage and management in selected settings, but further research in larger, more diverse populations and evaluation against independent reference standards is required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management)
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Review

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16 pages, 842 KB  
Review
Beyond Neuropathy: The Mechanisms and Phenotypes of Diabetes-Related Musculoskeletal Pain
by Lívia Bernardi Nardini, Julia Kortstee Ferreira, Jo Nijs, Isabel C. N. Sacco and Paula Rezende Camargo
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(7), 2639; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15072639 - 31 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1424
Abstract
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major global health concern associated with serious complications, high healthcare costs, and reduced quality of life. Musculoskeletal pain is a common complication and contributes to limitations in daily activities and increased healthcare utilization. Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon [...] Read more.
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major global health concern associated with serious complications, high healthcare costs, and reduced quality of life. Musculoskeletal pain is a common complication and contributes to limitations in daily activities and increased healthcare utilization. Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon typically classified as nociceptive, neuropathic, or nociplastic; however, evidence regarding pain mechanisms and phenotypes in people with DM remains limited. This review aimed to synthesize and critically review the literature on musculoskeletal pain in individuals with DM, focusing on pain mechanisms and phenotypes according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) classification. A narrative review with systematic search procedures examined the applicability of the seven clinical criteria proposed by the IASP for nociplastic pain to musculoskeletal pain phenotyping. Searches were conducted in PubMed and Web of Science from inception to December 2025. Evidence was analyzed according to the IASP nociplastic pain criteria to explore alignment with pain phenotyping approaches. Overall, the literature indicates that neuropathic pain mechanisms are relatively well documented and consistently reported in individuals with diabetes, while nociceptive musculoskeletal drivers are also described but with more limited and heterogeneous evidence. In contrast, evidence addressing hypersensitivity phenomena and other domains related to nociplastic pain remains scarce and is still emerging. This pattern suggests that current research on pain in people with DM remains focused on neuropathic mechanisms. Future research adopting standardized pain phenotyping frameworks is needed to support more precise and individualized pain management strategies in this population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Physiotherapy in Pain Management)
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