Ontario Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists' Attitudes toward and Beliefs about Managing Chronic Low Back Pain

The purpose of this study was to explore Ontario musculoskeletal physiotherapists' attitudes toward and beliefs about managing chronic low back pain (CLBP), and their biomedical (BM) and bio-psychosocial (BPS) treatment orientation. Through a link in the Ontario Physiotherapy Association newsletter, we administered an electronic survey to registered physiotherapists via SurveyMonkey. We used a modified three-step Dillman approach to encourage participation. The questionnaire included the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) measure, and demographic-practice items. A total of 99 physiotherapists met the eligibility criteria and completed the PABS-PT (72.7% women; mean 17 years of experience). Respondents scored a mean of 26.98 (SD 7.69) on the BM sub-scale and 34.43 (SD 4.84) on the BPS sub-scale. Physiotherapists in public practice had a stronger BPS orientation (mean 36.52) than those in private practice (33.80; p = 0.01). Less experienced physiotherapists (<10 y) had a higher BM sub-scale score (mean 29.33) than more experienced physiotherapists (25.24, p = 0.013), and 78.8% of physiotherapists reported an awareness of clinical practice guidelines. Our preliminary findings suggest that Ontario physiotherapists' attitudes and beliefs align with a BPS orientation. Future studies should explore the impact of education that promotes a BPS approach to the management of CLBP.