The impact of physical therapist attitudes and beliefs on the outcomes of patients with low back pain

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem that places a major burden on individuals and society. It has been proposed that patients treated by biomedically oriented clinicians will have worse outcomes than those treated by biopsychosocially oriented clinicians. Objective: To investigate the impact of physical therapist LBP related attitudes and beliefs on the outcomes of patients with LBP. Design: Retrospective cohort design. Method: United States based physical therapists utilizing the Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes, Inc. (FOTO) database were surveyed using the Health Care Providers' Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) and the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT). Outcomes were measured using average Computerized Lumbar Functional Scale change scores (CLFS) and CLFS residual scores. Results: Analysis was performed on outcome data from 78 physical therapist and included 2345 patients. HCPAIRS was a univariate predictor of average CLFS change scores and average CLFS residual scores. PABS-PT Biomedical subscale was a univariate predictor of average CLFS change scores. After adjusting for confounding variables, higher HC-PAIRS scores and PABS-BM scores were associated with a greater change in average CLFS score, and higher PABS-BM scores were associated with higher CLFS residual scores. Conclusion: Physical therapists who believed in a stronger relationship between pain and disability had improved patient outcomes.