Determination of physiotherapists treatment modalities for chronic low back pain due to lumbar disc herniation

Chronic pain is one of the clinical findings that experienced by patients diagnosed with Lumbal Disc Herniaion, is a finding that can lead to problems such as kinesiophobia, insomnia, and anxiety if a wide variety of conservative treatment methods are tried and not prevented with the right treatment modalities. The aim of this study is to determine which treatment modalities are prefer by physiotherapists who are actively working when creating the content of the treatment programs they prepare for patients who are apply to the clinic diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and the complain of chronic low back pain. In this study, 104 participants were included, who have been actively working for at least 2 years as a physiotherapist, treating patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation, and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Physiotherapists who were participating in the study were asked open-ended questions to determine the tests they preferred to evaluate pain, which treatment modalities they preferred, and how they guided the patients after the treatment, based on the given patient scenario. The responses were statistically analyzed of 104 individuals who were participating in the study to determine the applied treatment modalities for chronic low back pain. The findings were reported as follows: 86,5% (90 people) of the physiotherapists participating in the study applied electrotherapy agents, 81,7% (85 people) applied manual therapy techniques, 43,4% (45 people) applied hydrotherapy, 83,7% (87 people) preferred therapeutic exercise approaches and It was found that 5,8% (6 people) preferred other pain reduction methods.