ARTICLE IN PRESS
Manual Therapy 13 (2008) 373–374
Masterclass editorial
After 46 published masterclasses over the last 13
years, it is timely to reflect on the purpose and the
success of this aspect of Manual Therapy journal, to
review the themes which have emerged and to consider
the direction and scope of future masterclasses.
The purpose of the masterclass section is to describe
in detail clinical aspects of manual therapy. This
provides a unique opportunity for authors, working at
the cutting edge of practice to present their concepts,
management approaches or specific treatment techni-
ques within a scholarly framework. Many of the
masterclass authors are pioneers in their field and are
often prolific authors invited to present keynote lectures
at national and international manual therapy confer-
ences. Indeed, many authors are commissioned to write
masterclasses following keynote presentations and
through recommendations from members of the editor-
ial committee.
The masterclasses contextualise the concepts dis-
cussed within a clinically relevant, logical and systematic
framework which can then be adopted and applied by
the reader to their own practice. For this reason
illustrations are considered an essential part of the
masterclass in order to fully inform the reader and
indications and contra-indications are provided where
relevant to enable the reader to incorporate the concepts
presented safely and effectively. To further contextualise
the concepts many authors include a case study to
illustrate the theoretical principles discussed within their
masterclass. If the word limit precludes the inclusion of
a case study within the body of the masterclass, then a
case study can be submitted as a separate paper
alongside the masterclass and published on-line only.
Moreover, the masterclasses draw on original research
where available. It is pleasing to observe how the
evidence underpinning the themes of the masterclasses
has been enhanced over recent years as a greater body of
robust findings is available to support practice. Where
evidence does not yet exist, authors will present their
approach based on their substantial clinical experience
and within a clinical reasoning framework and will often
indicate a focus and direction for future research studies
in order to further validate the concepts discussed.
1356-689X/$ - see front matter r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.math.2008.07.004
www.elsevier.com/math
Examining the topics of previous masterclasses can be
illuminating in demonstrating the direction, scope and
focus of manual therapy practice in 21st century.
Themes that have emerged include concepts such as
muscle imbalance, movement dysfunction and classifica-
tions of pain disorders. Masterclasses featuring manage-
ment of spinal dysfunction are the most common with
all areas of the spine examined from cervical headache,
whiplash, vertebro-basilar insufficiency to chronic back
and leg pain. Masterclasses on the peripheral joints have
also covered all regions from the shoulder to the foot
with, to date, the exception of the wrist and hand. In
addition, masterclasses on the use of real time ultra-
sound, electrotherapy, clinical trials, management of
chronic pain, pelvic floor and pregnancy illustrate how
authors are developing their practice and responding to
the common problems presented by patients. This
demonstrates how patient presentations and their
responses to treatment are shaping the development of
management approaches.
The majority of masterclasses have been written by
physiotherapists and this reflects the main readership of
Manual Therapy but authors have also included medical
doctors, researchers, osteopaths, chiropractors and a
podiatrist. Several authors have presented joint papers
with other professionals reflecting the mutiprofessional
nature of the working practices of the authors. Many of
the authors have emanated from Australia, but con-
tributions have also been published from Canada,
Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the
United States of America demonstrating the interna-
tional focus of Manual Therapy.
The popularity of this aspect of the journal can be
evidenced by examining the most frequent downloads
from the website. From January 2007 to April 2008 a
number of masterclasses appeared in the top 40 most
popular downloads. This includes Richardson and Jull
(1995), O’Sullivan (2000), Magarey and Jones (2003),
Vicenzino (2003), Hoskins and Pollard (2005a, b),
O’Sullivan (2005), Kerry and Taylor (2006), O’Sullivan
and Beales (2007a, b), Simmonds and Keer (2007).
In addition, in 2003 Elsevier commissioned two
books, one on peripheral joints and one on the vertebral
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
374 Editorial / Manual Therapy 13 (2008) 373–374
column which provided a collection of past masterclass
papers which authors had the opportunity to update
with a postscript. The purpose of these books was to
draw together past papers on a similar theme and
enhance the accessibility of the published masterclasses
for the reader.
So what will be the scope of future masterclass
articles? Two masterclasses are in production, one on
fibromyalgia and one on the management of stress
incontinence. In addition, masterclasses have been
commissioned on telerehabilitation, statistics, standar-
dised data collection and thoracic outlet syndrome.
An exciting future development is the proposal to
provide authors with the ability to incorporate multi-
media into the masterclasses so that the addition of
videoclips and other electronic media will enable visual
demonstrations of the concepts discussed in the articles.
This will promote further opportunities for readers
to understand and embed the concepts presented into
their own practice. These clips will be published online
only, and will be referred to as an appendix to the main
article.
The masterclass section of Manual Therapy provides a
valuable opportunity for authors to present a broad
range of contemporary manual therapy approaches,
grounded in the available evidence. I would welcome
any suggestions for future masterclass topics and if you
have any feedback on this aspect of the journal.
I look forward to hearing from you.
References
Hoskins W, Pollard H. The management of hamstring injury—Part 1:
Issues in diagnosis. Manual Therapy 2005a;10(2):96–107.
Hoskins W, Pollard H. Hamstring injury management—Part 2:
Treatment. Manual Therapy 2005b;10(3):180–90.
Kerry R, Taylor A. Cervical arterial dysfunction assessment and
manual therapy. Manual Therapy 2006;11(4):243–53.
Magarey ME, Jones MA. Dynamic evaluation and early management
of altered motor control around the shoulder complex. Manual
Therapy 2003;8(4):195–206.
O’Sullivan P. Lumbar segmental ‘instability’: clinical presentation and
specific stabilizing exercise management. Manual Therapy 2000;
5(1):2–12.
O’Sullivan P. Diagnosis and classification of chronic low back pain
disorders: maladaptive movement and motor control impairments
as underlying mechanism. Manual Therapy 2005;10(4):242–55.
O’Sullivan P, Beales D. Diagnosis and classification of pelvic girdle
pain disorders—Part 1: A mechanism based approach within a
biopsychosocial framework. Manual Therapy 2007a;12(2):86–97.
O’Sullivan P, Beales D. Diagnosis and classification of pelvic girdle
pain disorders, Part 2: Illustration of the utility of a classification
system via case studies. Manual Therapy 2007b;12(2):e1–e12.
Richardson CA, Jull GA. Muscle control–pain control. What exercises
would you prescribe?. Manual Therapy 1995;1(1):2–10.
Simmonds J, Keer R. Hypermobility and the hypermobility syndrome.
Manual Therapy 2007;12(4):298–309.
Vicenzino B. Lateral epicondylalgia: a musculoskeletal physiotherapy
perspective. Manual Therapy 2003;8(2):66–79.
Karen Beeton
Masterclass editor, Manual Therapy Journal
E-mail address: k.s.beeton@herts.ac.uk