Opening clinical encounters in an adult musculoskeletal setting.

Effective communication between healthcare professionals and their patients is crucial for successful consultations, and can profoundly affect patients' adherence to treatment. Despite this evidence, communication within the physiotherapy profession is still underexplored, in particular, how 'best' to open clinical encounters. This study explores the issue by seeking the preferences of physiotherapists for opening encounters in the adult musculoskeletal outpatient setting.