Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39654110›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2025

Diagnosing and treating upper back pain: insights from New Zealand's manipulative physiotherapists and osteopaths.

Kesava Kovanur Sampath, Tevin Smith, Suzie Belcher, Gerard Farrell, Gary Fryer, Brett Vaughan, Rob Moran

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kesava Kovanur SampathCentre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Tevin SmithCentre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Suzie BelcherCentre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Gerard FarrellCentre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research (CHARR), School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Gary FryerCollege of Sport, Health and Engineering, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Brett VaughanDepartment of Medical Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8623-4558
Rob MoranCentre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundManual therapy is routinely used in the management of upper back pain (UBP), a disabling condition. However, the approach to diagnosis and treatment techniques used by manipulative physiotherapists and osteopaths is largely unknown.

objectivesTo explore knowledge about UBP, including diagnosis and treatment, by New Zealand (NZ) osteopaths and manipulative physiotherapists and to investigate differences (if any) in the self-reported approaches to diagnosis and management of UBP between the professions.

designA cross-sectional survey administered through an online platform (Qualtrics) between September 2023 and January 2024.

participantsOne hundred and ten NZ osteopaths and manipulative physiotherapists completed the survey.

resultsForty-eight percent (

conclusionsThe survey highlights a strong consensus among respondents that a multimodal approach is essential for effective UBP management. The survey also identified profession-specific approaches to the diagnosis and management of UBP. Future research using qualitative methods is required to further explore these profession-specific differences and explore outcomes of care.

Indexed as

Back PainManipulation, OsteopathicOsteopathic PhysiciansPhysical TherapistsAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNew ZealandSurveys and Questionnairesdefinitiondiagnosismanual therapyNew Zealandosteopathyphysiotherapysurveythoracic spine painUpper back pain

Identifiers

PMID39654110
PMCPMC11924269

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.