Background: Pregnancy-related low back pain(PLBP) had few systematic guidelines compared to pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain(PPGP); previous studies have not evaluated physical therapy for this ailment in Korea. Women-health physical therapy has been in spotlight recently in Korea and accordingly, basic information is needed for further research in this field.
Objects: This study aimed to provide a detailed account of clinical decision making for the treatment of PLBP by Korean physiotherapists. Also, it aimed to compare awareness of women’s health physiotherapy by various measures.
Methods: A total of 955 questionnaires were distributed mainly in the places of maintenance education by the Korean Physical Therapy Association(KPTA) from April to July 2019. The same questionnaire was posted on the homepage used by physiotherapists. The questionnaire aimed at collecting subject information, a specific vignette typically represent symptoms of PLBP, and responses to multiple questions about decision making, subjective recognition and interest level in women’s health physiotherapy(WHPT) field. Awareness of WHPT was analyzed with various methods.
Results: The overall response rate was 56%(537); of these, responses to 520 questionnaires were analyzed. Most respondents chose various combinations of physical therapy methods. There were significant differences in the subjective recognition level of WHPT according to gender(p=.039), age(p=.004), education level(p=.000), and clinical experience(p=.019). There was a significant difference in interest according to gender(p=.000) and education level(p=.001). With respect to the types of treatment, significant differences were noted in selective rates in “manual therapy”, “pain control”, and “supportive devices”, based on gender. Manual therapy tended to have a higher proportion of choices with increasing age(Spearman’s rho=.148**) and clinical experience(=153**). Pain treatment had a lower selection weight as education level increased(=-.143**).
Conclusion: This is the first survey data about how Korean physiotherapist manage PLBP patient by vignette method. We were able to recognize the Korean physical therapist''s decision on PLBP patients got some interesting correlations that were statistically significant. This may aid in developing future research and education plans in WHPT field.