Abstract
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition treated by health care practitioners, including chiropractors. Chiropractors make use of manual therapeutics to treat patients, often with a holistic approach. Currently, two primary schools of thought should be considered when treating LBP: biomedical and biopsychosocial. By determining which school of thought practitioners occupy, it is possible to better understand their LBP management approach. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and beliefs of chiropractors in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, regarding their preference of either a biomedical or biopsychosocial approach to LBP management. A secondary aim was to determine if any demographic variables affected the practitioners' preferred approaches to treatment. Method: This cross-sectional, exploratory study used the Pain Attitudes and Belief Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) to fulfil the research aims. The PABS-PT was created by Houben, Ostelo, Vlaeyen, Wolters, Peters, and Berg in 2005 for their study entitled "Health care providers' orientations towards common low back pain predict perceived harmfulness of physical activities and recommendations regarding return to regular activity". The PABS-PT was used to determine if practitioners occupied a biomedical or biopsychosocial approach to LBP. The survey had two subscales being biomedical and biopsychosocial...
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)