Optimizing Management of Low Back Pain Through the Pain and Disability Drivers Management Model

Background: Non-specific mechanical low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent, recurrent and is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite increased efforts in improving care, the self-reported levels of disability in individuals with LBP have not improved in the last decade. In order to more effectively manage LBP through non-pharmacological approaches, evidence endorses the use of classification systems to support diagnosis and guide treatments. However, this approach to care is not without limitations and a more comprehensive and broader perspective is needed. Hence, we recently proposed and validated the Low Back Pain and Disability Drivers Management (PDDM) model, which aims to identify the domains influencing pain and disability to create a profile or phenotype to guide clinical decisions. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a trial and to gather preliminary effect outcomes of the intervention in clinical setting. Methods: The design is a prospective single arm experimental design. Physiotherapists (PTs) working with a population suffering from musculoskeletal disorders and patients presenting with non-specific mechanical LBP from two different clinical settings will be recruited. The intervention consists of a one-day training workshop for PTs on using the PDDM to guide management decisions. PTs will then perform a 6-weeks follow-up with their participating patients. This feasibility study will assess recruitment and retention rates as well as PTs' acceptability and patients' satisfaction outcomes related to the intervention. Preliminary effect outcomes will also be gathered. Discussion: This study will inform the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and gather preliminary outcomes to conduct a future randomized controlled trial to measure the effectiveness of the intervention in managing non-specific mechanical LBP.