ArticleJournal of pain research2023
Musculoskeletal Pain Management and Thermotherapy: An Exploratory Analysis of Italian Physicians' Attitude, Beliefs, and Prescribing Habits.
Article in Journal of pain research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physiotherapy approaches for pain control in patients who are critically ill.World journal of critical care medicine · 2026Review
- Potential effect and mechanism of ultrashort wave therapy in mice with chronic rhinosinusitis.Biomedical reports · 2026Article
- Superficial heat therapy in women's health.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Distinguishing acute and chronic TMD in adolescent patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Heat Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain Conditions: Actionable Suggestions for Pharmacists from a Panel of Experts.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Mechanisms and Efficacy of Contrast Therapy for Musculoskeletal Painful Disease: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Treatment Algorithms for Continuous Low-Level Heat Wrap Therapy for the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain: An Italian Position Paper.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Muscle Cramps in Outpatients with Liver Diseases in Tokyo, Japan.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: In Italy, musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders are pervasive with one-third of adults seeking medical consultation for a MSK issue in the past year. MSK pain is often treated with local heat applications (LHAs) which can be integrated into MSK care by different specialists and in different settings. Compared to analgesia and physical exercise, LHAs have been less evaluated, and the quality of randomized clinical trials is generally low. The aim of the survey is to assess the knowledge, attitude, perception/practices of general practitioners (GPs), physiatrists and sports medicine doctors towards thermotherapy as delivered by superficial heat pads or wraps. Patients and Methods: The survey was conducted between June and September 2022 in Italy. An online questionnaire with 22 multiple-choice questions was administered to explore the demographics and prescribing habits of the participants; the clinical profile of MSK patients; and physicians' attitude and beliefs about the use of thermotherapy/superficial heat applications in MSK pain management. Results: GPs are at the forefront of the MSK patient journey and preferentially select NSAIDs as first-line option in arthrosis, muscle stiffness, and strain while prescribing heat wraps as preferred choice in presence of muscle spasm/contracture. Similar pattern of prescribing habits was found among specialists who, in contrast to GPs, adopted more frequently ice/cold therapy to relieve pain due to muscle strain and limited paracetamol use. Generally, survey participants agreed on the benefits of thermotherapy in MSK care management, namely increased blood flow and local tissue metabolism as well as connective tissue elasticity and pain relief which all may be of help in attaining pain control and improvement of function. Conclusion: Our findings provided the basis for further investigations aimed at optimizing the MSK patient journey while building up additional evidence supporting the benefit of using superficial heat applications to effectively manage patients with MSK disorders.
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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.