Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 11, 2025
06:28
Biomechanical Changes Related to Low Back Pain: An Innovative Tool for Movement Pattern Assessment and Treatment Evaluation in Rehabilitation
Published on: December 13, 2024
650
Do Italian Physiotherapists Follow Evidence-Based Guidelines When Managing Patients With Low Back Pain? A
Ryan D Muller1, Samuel M Schut2,3, Paolo Perna4
1Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities, Education (PRIME) Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Musculoskeletal Care
|August 16, 2025
Summary
Italian physiotherapists often chose recommended treatments for low back pain (LBP). However, there is a significant opportunity to decrease the use of not recommended care options in LBP management.
Area of Science:
- Physiotherapy
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
- Low Back Pain Management
Background:
- Guideline-recommended management for low back pain (LBP) improves patient outcomes and reduces costs.
- Assessing physiotherapists' adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is crucial for optimizing care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Italian physiotherapists' attitudes and adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).
- To identify factors influencing the selection of recommended and not recommended management options for LBP.
Main Methods:
- An online cross-sectional survey of Italian physiotherapists was conducted.
- Participants responded to LBP vignettes, selecting management options categorized by CPG recommendations.
- Ordinal logistic regression analyzed associations between participant characteristics and management choices.
Main Results:
- 87% of participants selected recommended care, while 32% chose not recommended care on average.
- Hospital-based practice correlated with less recommended care selection for non-specific LBP.
- Familiarity with CPGs reduced selection of not recommended care but did not increase recommended care selection.
Conclusions:
- Physiotherapists frequently select guideline-recommended care for LBP.
- A notable proportion of not recommended care options are still chosen, indicating a need for improved adherence to CPGs.
