Physiotherapy in Health, Physical activity, fitness, Education & Rehabilitation: AB No: 170: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pain Neuroscience Education Among Physiotherapists: A Cross Sectional Survey

• Published in: Journal of Society of Indian Physiotherapists 2022-07, Vol.6 (2), p.71-72
• Main Authors: Heggannavar, Anand, Deshmukh, Shreya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Exercise; Neurosciences; Pain; Physical therapy; Questionnaires
• ISSN: 2456-7787; 2582-0702
• DOI: 10.4103/2456-7787.361088

Purpose: To determine the Knowledge, attitude and Practice of Pain Neuroscience Education among physiotherapists through a questionnaire based survey. Relevance: A significant population in India suffers from chronic pain and it is one of the commonest symptoms managed by physiotherapists. Pain neuroscience education has been found to be effective in pain management when included in a multimodal treatment. A number of misconceptions about this concept are prevailing. Participants: Qualified practicing physiotherapists and physiotherapy academicians in India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physiotherapists across India. Data was collected using an online self-reported questionnaire constructed on Google Forms Application. The link of the questionnaire was circulated among the physiotherapists via various social media platforms. Analysis: Percentage analysis of the responses was done using MS excel. Results: 411 responses were subjected to statistical analysis. Only 50% of the respondents were aware of the term pain neuroscience education. Most of the questions in the knowledge domain received correct responses from more than 50% respondents. Most of the respondents have a negative attitude towards Pain Neuroscience Education. There is poor practice of Pain neuroscience education among physiotherapists in India. Conclusion: There is lack of awareness about pain neuroscience education among physiotherapists in India. Physiotherapists having good knowledge about pain neuroscience, don’t have a positive attitude towards it and show poor practice. Implication: Awareness about pain neuroscience education should increase among physiotherapists which can be done by including it in the syllabus of physiotherapy students and conducting workshops.