Purposes of Study and Background: To survey beliefs and attitudes about the management of mechanical back pain in General Practitioners (GPs) in two cities in the East Midlands, and to compare the findings with a similar recent Australian study. We also conducted a ‘found experiment’ on the use of ‘The Back Book’ by the GPs in the two cities following the purchase and distribution of its copies to the GPs in Leicester by the local Primary Care Trusts.

There has been a paradigm shift in the management of mechanical low back pain in the last ten years. Several different clinical guidelines are available based on current evidence in the literature. There is little to show how far these guidelines are being implemented. There are no studies of the barriers to implementation in the British population.

Methods and Results: A postal questionnaire consisting of ten questions, eight of which were taken from a questionnaire used in a similar survey from Australia. Two additional questions relating to the ‘Back Book’ were included. 164 GPs in the city of Leicester and 353 in the city of Nottingham were surveyed in August – September 2001.

The response rate was 70.1% (115) from Leicester and 65.7% (232) from Nottingham. The majority of GPs from both cities were aware of the current concepts about the management of mechanical back pain. The awareness and usage of “The Back Book” was significantly better amongst the GPs in Leicester (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: General practitioners in two cities in Trent region are well aware of current best practice in the management of acute back pain. Their attitudes and beliefs towards back pain management compared well if not better in some aspects, with those of their Australian counterparts. If the resource of ‘The Back Book’ is made available then GPs will use it, in keeping with current best evidence.