Efficacy of an Online Educational Program to Change Back Pain Beliefs in Physical Therapists

Efficacy of an Online Educational Program to Change Back Pain Beliefs in Physical Therapists: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy of an online educational program for physical therapists to change back pain beliefs. The main questions it aims to answer are:

- What is the effect of an online educational program to change beliefs about the management of back pain in physical therapists?

A total of 106 physical therapists will be recruited for this study. Participants will be randomized into two groups: intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive a 6-week online educational program including recommendations from international clinical practice guidelines for the management of back pain. The control group will not receive any intervention. The outcomes of this trial include beliefs about management of back pain and imaging exams and will be assessed at baseline and 6 weeks after randomization.

Inclusion Criteria:

• must be a licensed physical therapist;
• currently managing patients with low back pain, regardless of the duration of symptoms, in clinical practice;
• if not currently managing patients with low back pain, participants must have treated at least one patient in the last month.

(Patients with low back pain are defined as those patients reporting pain between the lower border of the last vertebral ribs and the gluteal fold, with or without pain referred to the lower limb).

Exclusion Criteria:

• not having access or reporting difficulty in accessing the internet.