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

Manual 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. To explore knowledge about UBP, including diagnosis and treatment,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy 2024-12, p.1-9
Main Authors: Kovanur Sampath, Kesava, Smith, Tevin, Belcher, Suzie, Farrell, Gerard, Fryer, Gary, Vaughan, Brett, Moran, Rob
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Manual 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. To 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. A cross-sectional survey administered through an online platform (Qualtrics) between September 2023 and January 2024. One hundred and ten NZ osteopaths and manipulative physiotherapists completed the survey. Forty-eight percent (  = 53) of respondents identified their profession as physiotherapists and 52% (  = 57) as osteopaths. Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) 'strongly agreed' that a multimodal approach is essential for effective UBP management. Osteopaths were significantly more likely to proffer 'wear and tear/degeneration' (  
ISSN:1066-9817
2042-6186
2042-6186
DOI:10.1080/10669817.2024.2438196