Assessing Physiotherapists’ Fear Avoidance Beliefs Regarding Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-sectional Study

Mbada, Chidozie Emmanuel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3666-7432, Ajomalee, Bukunmi Oluwaseun, Ademoyegun, Adekola Babatunde, Adje, Mishael, Gebrye, Tadesse ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7976-2013, Fatoye, Francis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3502-3953 and Karstens, Sven (2025) Assessing Physiotherapists’ Fear Avoidance Beliefs Regarding Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-sectional Study. Physical Therapy Reviews, 30 (3). pp. 238-244. ISSN 1083-3196

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Abstract

Background: Clinicians’ fear-avoidance beliefs (FABs) can significantly impact their clinical decisions and the advice they give to patients, but it is less investigated. This study aimed to examine the FABs of physiotherapists about chronic low-back pain (LBP). Methods: A cross-sectional study of 149 Nigerian physiotherapists in musculoskeletal practice from eight public hospitals was conducted. FABs about chronic LBP were assessed using the Health Care Providers’ Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS). Multiple regression analysis was applied. Results: About 84.60% of the respondents had moderate FABs. The mean total HC-PAIRS score was 30.06 ± 18.11. The highest and lowest mean scores were observed in factors 1 (19.52 ± 11.76) and 4 (4.54 ± 2.73) of the HC-PAIRS. With an explained variance of 3%, the model showed that age, sex and marital status are not associated with the total HC-PAIRS score. Conclusions: FABs about chronic LBP are prevalent among Nigerian Physiotherapists but are not influenced by socio-demographic factors.