Abstract
Background: Chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapists play key roles in the management of low back pain patients in the UK In our previous work we used mixed methods to investigate theor cognitions and attitudes to treating back pain. We developed and tested a scale, the Attitudes to Back Pain- Musculoskeletal Practitioners Scale, which includes both a personal and professional dimensional
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between the attitudes of three professional groups: Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Physiotherapists.
Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was sent to 300 practitioners randomly selected from the registers of each profession. The returned questionnaires (N=465, response rate 61%), including the new ABS-mp and a questionnaire about personal and professional factors were analysed, using ANOVA, to compare the responses from the three groups.
Results: Physiotherapists tend to limit the number of treatment sessions offered to LBP patients. They work more clearly within a re-activation approach than their colleagues in the either of the other two professional groups. When practice setting (NHS versus private practice) was considered, the differences in personal interaction attitudes were unchanged but the differences in treatment orientation attitudes become less marked.
Conclusions: Aspects associated with practice settings, and especially those concerned with working within the NHS or privately impact on practitioners attitudes. There are also some professional differences, indicating that physiotherapists hold attitudes more closely in line with current guidelines.
Correspondence should be addressed to Ms Alison McGregor, c/o BOA, SBPR at the Royal College of Surgeons, 35–43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.
