ArticleThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2015
Physical therapists' treatment choices for non-specific low back pain in Florida: an electronic survey.
Article in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinician approaches to spinal manipulation for persistent spinal pain after lumbar surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2023Pooled it
- Do physical therapists follow evidence-based guidelines when managing musculoskeletal conditions? Systematic review.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Treatment preference changes after exposure to treatment in adults with chronic low back pain.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation · 2023Trial
- Optimization of Spinal Manipulative Therapy Protocols: A Factorial Randomized Trial Within a Multiphase Optimization Framework.The journal of pain · 2021Trial
- The Impact of a Heated Effleurage and Heated Tapotement Massage on Low-Back Discomfort from a Seat.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Determinants and strategies for implementing guideline-adherent physiotherapy: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Utilization patterns and perceived effectiveness of manual therapy for low back pain among Saudi physical therapists: a national cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Measuring guideline adherence in physiotherapy: A scoping review of methodological approaches.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Article
- Adherence to neck and low back pain clinical practice guidelines based on clinical specialization: a survey of physical therapists.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Article
- Correlation between change in pain, disability, and surface electromyography topographic parameters after interferential current treatment in patients with chronic low back pain.Journal of physical therapy science · 2021Article
- Physical therapy for patients with low back pain in Germany: a survey of current practice.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Determinants of clinical practice guidelines' utilization for the management of musculoskeletal disorders: a scoping review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Effectiveness of Ultrasound Therapy on the Management of Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Journal of pain research · 2021Review
- Adherence to key domains in low back pain guidelines: A cross-sectional study of Danish physiotherapists.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2020Article
- Does the Keele STarT Back Screening Tool Contribute to Effectiveness in Treatment and Cost and Loss of Follow-Up of the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy for Patients with Low Back Pain?Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- A user-friendly clinical practice guideline summary for managing low back pain in South Africa.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2020Article
- Are Productivity Goals in Rehabilitation Practice Associated With Unethical Behaviors?Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2019Article
- Physical therapy clinical specialization and management of red and yellow flags in patients with low back pain in the United States.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2018Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesNo study has described low back pain (LBP) treatment choices among physical therapists (PTs) in the United States (US) in the new millennium. Intervention for LBP in the new millennium is largely based on evidence-based practice (EBP) recommendations. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to describe PTs' preferences for treating acute and subacute non-specific LBP in Florida and to compare these preferences to EBP guideline recommendations and (b) to compare outpatient musculoskeletal therapist (MSPT) choices for management of acute and subacute LBP to non-outpatient musculoskeletal therapist (NMSPT) choices.
methodsThe data were collected with an electronic survey. Study participants selected treatment choices for acute and subacute LBP clinical vignettes.
resultsA total of 327 PTs participated in the study, of which 128 worked in outpatient musculoskeletal settings. The most common treatment choices for acute and subacute LBP were home exercise program, exercise in the clinic, back care education, joint mobilization, ice/heat, and interferential current. The EBP adherence rate for acute LBP was 30% for MSPTs and 15% for NMSPTs. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of MSPTs and 30% of NMSPTs adhered to EBP guidelines for subacute LBP. DISCUSSION: The EBP adherence rate for management of acute and subacute LBP was low. Spinal manipulation was underutilized for management of acute LBP, and passive therapeutic procedures were overutilized for subacute LBP. Physical Therapy schools and professional associations should reemphasize the benefits of spinal manipulation to manage non-specific acute LBP and active interventional procedures to manage subacute LBP.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.