Beliefs about chronic low back pain amongst osteopaths registered in Spain: A cross-sectional survey

Background: Healthcare providers' (HCPs) attitudes and beliefs might influence patients’ attitudes and beliefs as well as their management approach. It was hypothesised that osteopaths have a more biopsychosocial mindset towards chronic low back pain (CLBP) because of their holistic reasoning. Objective: The primary aim of the study was to assess the beliefs of osteopaths registered in Spain about CLBP and the presence of kinesiophobic and fear-avoidance beliefs. The secondary aim was to compare these results with previous research and cut-off values. Method: Members of the Spanish Federation of Osteopaths (FOE) were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey based on three questionnaires: the Health Care providers Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS), the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia 11-item version for healthcare providers (TSK(11)-HC) and the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire for healthcare providers (FABQ-HC). The mean scores were calculated for each questionnaire and correlations were established to assess the strength of the associations between the different instruments. The results were compared to previous research with other HCPs and to cut-off scores where available. Results: The response rate was 14.58% (n = 70). The mean score on the HC-PAIRS was 59.44 ± 12.19 [CI 95% 56.54–62.35] and there was a large variation in scores. On the TSK(11)-HC and FABQ-HC 28.6% and 25.7% of the sample respectively reached the cut-off scores. Conclusion: The study suggests that the Spanish osteopaths do not have a more biopsychosocial orientation towards the management of CLBP than other HCPs. Approximately a quarter of them hold kinesiophobic and fear-avoidance beliefs that might negatively influence their treatment approach.