Management of Low Back Pain: Do Physiotherapists Know the Evidence-Based Guidelines?

Antoine Fourré, Rob Vanderstraeten, Laurence Ris, Hilde Bastiaens, Jozef Michielsen, Christophe Demoulin, Ben Darlow and Nathalie Roussel ()
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Antoine Fourré: Department of Neurosciences, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Rob Vanderstraeten: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy (MOVANT), University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
Laurence Ris: Department of Neurosciences, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Hilde Bastiaens: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy (MOVANT), University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
Jozef Michielsen: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy (MOVANT), University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
Christophe Demoulin: Department of Sport and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Ben Darlow: Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
Nathalie Roussel: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy (MOVANT), University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Clinical practice guidelines promote bio-psychosocial management of patients suffering from low back pain (LBP). The objective of this study was to examine the current knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of physiotherapists about a guideline-adherent approach to LBP and to assess the ability of physiotherapists to recognise signs of a specific LBP in a clinical vignette. Methods: Physiotherapists were recruited to participate in an online study. They were asked to indicate whether they were familiar with evidence-based guidelines and then to fill in the Health Care Providers’ Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS), Back Pain Attitudes Questionnaire (Back-PAQ), Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ), as well as questions related to two clinical vignettes. Results: In total, 527 physiotherapists participated in this study. Only 38% reported being familiar with guidelines for the management of LBP. Sixty-three percent of the physiotherapists gave guideline-inconsistent recommendations regarding work. Only half of the physiotherapists recognised the signs of a specific LBP. Conclusions: The high proportion of physiotherapists unfamiliar with guidelines and demonstrating attitudes and beliefs not in line with evidence-based management of LBP is concerning. It is crucial to develop efficient strategies to enhance knowledge of guidelines among physiotherapists and increase their implementation in clinical practice.

Keywords: red flags; adherence; beliefs; knowledge; attitudes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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