Are the attitudes and beliefs of Australian exercise-based practitioners associated with their use of, and confidence in, treatment modalities for people with chronic low back pain?

Background: Practitioners' attitudes and beliefs towards chronic low back pain (CLBP) influence their clinical decision making, but few studies have investigated decision making outside the context of patient vignettes for a range of first- and second-line treatment options for CLBP, or in accredited exercise physiologists (AEPs).

Methods: Using an online survey, Australian AEPs and physiotherapists rated their use of different treatments for CLBP (exercise, education, manual therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy) and their confidence in these treatments for reducing pain and disability. Their biomedical and biopsychosocial beliefs were also assessed using the Pain and Attitudes Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists. Differences between disciplines in treatment use and confidence were analysed using Mann-Whitney U tests and independent t-tests, respectively. Multiple linear regression was used to explore factors associated with treatment choices.

Results: Two-hundred thirty-three practitioners (n = 143 physiotherapists, n = 90 AEPs) completed the survey. Most practitioners were confident in treating CLBP, had a moderate-high level of confidence in the different treatments, and regularly used them in practice. Practitioners with higher biomedical beliefs had greater use of, and confidence in, specific exercise, manual therapy, and combined exercise and manual therapy. Practitioners with higher biopsychosocial beliefs were more confident in general exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy, pain education and combined exercise and pain education.

Conclusion: Practitioner beliefs influence their use of, and confidence in different treatments for CLBP. These findings suggest a need for strategies to enhance biopsychosocial beliefs/reduce biomedical beliefs in Australian exercise-based practitioners.