Jack Mest Physiotherapy

06/10/2026

Tendons and ligaments are both forms of connective tissue composed mainly of type 1 collagen....but this is about where the similarities end!

These specialized tissues are actually very different! In this video, I explain the difference.

Thanks to the media team at University of Canberra for putting this together!

What's causing that pain in your leg after a run? Is it a tendon injury, a ligament injury, or something else entirely?🦵

In our new episode of UC Explains, Sports Physiotherapist and UC PhD researcher Jack Mest explains the key differences between tendons and ligaments, how they work, how injuries occur, and why tendon pain can take much longer to recover from than other common injuries.

Watch it here 👉 https://youtu.be/OwTPwMbwzYA

Thanks, Jack for working with us! Subscribe to UC Explains on YouTube for more.

25/09/2026

Earlier this year I was invited to discuss the findings from our systematic review on the podcast. Tendinopathy is a common affliction among runners.

We synthesized data from 21 studies comparing psychological factors between those with and without .

It was great to chat about the psychological profile that emerged from this synthesis with Brodie Sharpe. Please follow the link below if you would like to listen to the conversation.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/28KiRVdJAdNzrGzXgwyUjT?si=uoIziIBwQ6Okdv4h6-Qo2A&utm_source=copy-link

The Run Smarter Podcast · Episode

11/06/2026

Tendon pain is surprisingly common. In fact, “tennis elbow” (or lateral elbow tendinopathy) affects around three percent of the general population, while one in five middle-aged women will be affected by gluteal tendinopathy.

A new UC study has, for the first time, revealed the mental health toll of these injuries, showing that tendinopathy patients had significantly worse mental health than healthy controls.

But why is this? And what can be done about it?

Jack Mest, a PhD researcher with the UC Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, unpacks the findings on UC News: https://bit.ly/4xgv4zj

If you or someone you know suffers from Achilles tendinopathy, take part in Jack’s next study: https://bit.ly/4xBiT0m

30/04/2026

Introducing the second publication of my PhD....

"Sensorimotor dysfunction does not predict pain-related cognition, but proprioception is associated with pain catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy in people with lower limb tendinopathy: A cross-sectional study"

In this study we demonstrate a link between and psychological factors in a lower limb tendinopathy cohort. This highlights the need for patient-centered care when managing people with a lower limb

Our paper can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2026.101921

A huge thank you to my esteemed co-authors, without whom this publication would not be possible: Andrew Flood, Angela (Angie) Fearon, Peter Preston, Gordon Waddington, Peter Malliaras.

UC-RISE
University of Canberra

15/04/2026

It was great to sit down with Dan and Chelsea from the Insights team to discuss our paper: Differences in Psychological Factors Between People With Persistent Tendinopathy and Those Without Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.

In this episode we discuss the unique psychological profile of those with and how clinicians might approach psychologically informed care during Tendinopathy Rehabilitation

Podcast Episode · JOSPT Insights · April 13 · 23m

18/01/2026

I recently wrote a short blog summarizing the findings and clinical implications of our systematic review.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: THE ‘ACHILLES HEEL’ OF THOSE LIVING WITH PERSISTENT TENDON PAIN?

Open access at JOSPT blog

Psychological factors are associated with poor outcomes across a range of chronic musculoskeletal conditions including persistent tendinopathy. 7, 9, 10 Evidence has emerged supporting psychologically informed approaches in chronic lower back pain and knee osteoarthritis.1, 3 To date, research in te...

09/01/2026

Our publication in last month's issue of JOSPT.

We showed that pain catastrophizing but not pain-related fear was higher in people with persistent compared to those without tendinopathy.

Anxiety and depression appeared to form part of the lower limb tendinopathy psychological profile. However, we did not detect this profile in those with upper limb tendinopathy (lateral elbow tendinopathy or rotator cuff tendinopathy).

This may have implications for psychologically informed care during tendinopathy rehabilitation.

Differences in Psychological Factors Between People With Persistent Tendinopathy and Those Without Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

in the December JOSPT

Read ➡️ https://ow.ly/Fae650XNV7l

05/12/2025

Introducing the first publication of my PhD....

Differences in psychological factors between those with persistent and those without tendinopathy: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Our results demonstrate the unique psychological profile of those with tendinopathy.

https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2025.13307

UC-RISE, University of Canberra

OBJECTIVE: To compare psychological factors between those with tendinopathy and nontendinopathy controls. STUDY DESIGN: Prognosis systematic review with meta-analysis (PROSPERO:CRD42023489445). LITERATURE SEARCH: Seven databases were searched until September 24, 2024. STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: Studi...

17/07/2025

14/11/2024

Work-in-progress/Midway confirmation seminar completed today at UC-RISE University of Canberra capping off a big year in my PhD candidature.

My team and I are nearing in on some outputs as my thesis starts to move from the 'conceptual' to the 'tangible' with more fascinating research to come in 2025.