ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Use and perceived added value of patient-reported measurement instruments by physiotherapists treating acute low back pain: a survey study among Dutch physiotherapists.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Defining Skill in Manual and Manipulative Therapy: Perspectives from Physical Therapists.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A survey of practice on the use of condition-specific patient reported outcome measures with patients who have distal radius fractures.Hand therapy · 2025Article
- The Use of Patient-Reported Measures Collected Data in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.Patient related outcome measures · 2025Review
- Development and internal validation of a machine learning prediction model for low back pain non-recovery in patients with an acute episode consulting a physiotherapist in primary care.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Validation of the German version of the STarT-MSK-Tool: A cohort study with patients from physiotherapy clinics.PloS one · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study aims to explore (i) physiotherapists' current use in daily practice of patient-reported measurement instruments (screening tools and questionnaires) for patients with acute low back pain (LBP), (ii) the underlying reasons for using these instruments, (iii) their perceived influence on clinical decision-making, and (iv) the association with physiotherapist characteristics (gender, physiotherapy experience, LBP experience, overall e-health affinity).
methodsSurvey study among Dutch physiotherapists in a primary care setting. A sample of 650 physiotherapists recruited from LBP-related and regional primary care networks received the survey between November 2018 and January 2019, of which 85 (13%) completed it.
resultsNearly all responding physiotherapists (98%) reported using screening tools or other measurement instruments in cases of acute LBP; the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (64%) and the STarT Back Screening Tool (61%) are used most frequently. These instruments are primarily used to evaluate treatment effect (53%) or assess symptoms (51%); only 35% of the respondents mentioned a prognostic purpose. Almost three-quarters (72%) reported that the instrument only minimally impacted their clinical decision-making in cases of acute LBP.
conclusionsOur survey indicates that physiotherapists frequently use patient-reported measurement instruments in cases of acute LBP, but mostly for non-prognostic reasons. Moreover, physiotherapists seem to feel that current instruments have limited added value for clinical decision-making. Possibly, a new measurement instrument (e.g., screening tool) needs to be developed that does fit the physiotherapist's needs and preferences. Our findings also suggest that physiotherapist may need to be more critical about which measurement instrument they use and for which purpose.
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