Abstract
Purpose of study
NICE recommends 8-9 sessions of non operative therapy for back pain that has lasted for 6 weeks but less than 12 months. NICE recommended exercises, manual therapy, acupuncture and suggested that Lumbar supports, TENS, Ultrasound and Traction should not be offered. Since multiple methods and disciplines were available a survey was conducted among the local General Practitioners to determine what non operative methods they preferred and how it matched with NICE's recommendation.
Methods
An online survey was conducted on www.surveymonkey.com among the local GPs to determine their practice and preferences in investigating low back pain. The 5 questions in the survey were “rating scale questions” on a scale of 1 and 10, where 1 = DISAgree and 10 = Agree. A request to participate in the survey was sent to all the local General Practitioners by e-mail.
Results
25 General Practitioners participated in the survey. A sample of the scores obtained were as follows
| Method of treatment | Mean Score |
| Mobilisation exercises | 8.20 |
| Specific Core Stability Exercises | 8.13 |
| Physiotherapy | 7.96 |
| Pilates | 7.21 |
| Attending a Gymnasium | 6.32 |
| Medications | 6.20 |
| Yoga | 6.18 |
| TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) | 5.44 |
| Acupuncture | 5.44 |
| Chiropractory | 5.42 |
| Osteopathy | 5.41 |
| Massage | 4.73 |
| Ultrasound | 3.43 |
| Traction | 2.75 |
| Lumbar support | 2.65 |
Conclusion
This limited study demonstrates that General Practitioners prefer patients to use active modalities of treatment like exercises which require participation of the patient rather than passive methods of treatment like lumbar support and massage. The choices of the GPs are nearly in tune with the recommendations of NICE with some exceptions. TENS (not recommended by NICE) obtained a better score than Acupuncture (recommended by NICE).
Conflicts of interest - None
Sources of funding - None
We confirm that this abstract has not been previously published in whole or substantial part nor has it been presented previously at a national meeting.
