Musculoskeletal disorders have an elevated pre- valence, and they can be source of pain, disability and high social and economic costs. Scientific research has studied and verified instruments and treatments which can help patients improve their symptoms, but it has also revealed many treatments which are not effective, i.e. their effect is not superior to placebo or the natural course of the disease. Despite this, practitioners continue to support and propose them, and patients also still seek these treatments. The aim of this article is to disclose the factors for which ineffective therapies appear to yield benefits in clinical practice. To this end, we present the scientific papers published on this subject and discuss their clinical implications.