Table 1 Clinical application of contextual factors. The table presents examples of use of contextual factors aimed to enhance placebo effects and avoid nocebo effects. Adapted from [16, 17, 19]

(A) Physiotherapist’s features

• improve physiotherapist’s professionalism;

• be aware of physiotherapist’s mindset;

• promote physiotherapist’s appearance;

• overlook physiotherapist’s professionalism;

• be unaware of physiotherapist’s mindset;

• disregard physiotherapist’s appearance;

(B) Patient’s features

• examine patients’ mindset;

• analyse patients’ baseline;

• neglect patients’ mindset;

• ignore patients’ baseline;

(C) Patient-physiotherapist relationship

• manage verbal communication;

• optimise non-verbal communication;

• neglect verbal communication;

• ignore non-verbal communication;

(D) Treatment features

• amplify the rituality of treatments;

• be aware of therapeutic touch;

• consider the modality/posology of treatment;

• use marketing of treatment;

• limit the rituality of treatments;

• be unaware of therapeutic touch;

• omit the modality/posology of treatment;

• neglect marketing of treatment;

(E) Healthcare setting features

• adopt positive distractors and supportive indications;

• use comfort elements, decorations and ornaments;

• avoid positive distractors and supportive indications;

• omit comfort elements, decorations and ornaments;