The influence of the physiotherapist-patient relationship on pain and disability
- 1 January 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice
- Vol. 13 (1) , 89-96
- https://doi.org/10.3109/09593989709036451
Abstract
The relationship between physiotherapist and patient is very important in the outcome of treatment, affecting both pain and disability. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for the effects of the interaction. These can conveniently be described by a number of different models including: (1) the quality of communication and patient education; (2) compliance and adherence to a treatment programme; (3) self-efficacy or the patient's perception of control over the problem and ability to cope; (4) the patient's expectations and the physiotherapist's enthusiasm for the treatment; and (5) the principles of operant conditioning in influencing pain behaviour. The physiotherapist has an opportunity to build rapport with a patient and affect both attitudes and behaviour, for example encouraging individuals to take control of their problem and take up a graded return to previous activities. Self-efficacy is now accepted as an important component of health care which needs to be emphasised by the therapist. Conversely, care needs to be taken to avoid inadvertently increasing pain behaviour by focusing on the patient's pain complaint and reinforcing it through its repeated assessment.Keywords
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) and the role of fear-avoidance beliefs in chronic low back pain and disabilityPublished by Wolters Kluwer Health ,1993
- Physiotherapy Management of Chronic Low Back PainPhysiotherapy, 1992
- The Distress and Risk Assessment MethodSpine, 1992
- Patient compliance with exercise: Different theoretical approaches to short-term and long-term compliancePatient Education and Counseling, 1991
- Perceived control of recovery from physical disability: Measurement and predictionBritish Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1989
- The Perception of Musculoskeletal Pain and Incapacity for Work: Prevention and Early TreatmentPublished by Elsevier ,1988
- The effect of patient—Practitioner interaction on compliance: A review of the literature and application in rheumatoid arthritisPatient Education and Counseling, 1988
- Behavioral theories and the problem of compliancePatient Education and Counseling, 1987
- 1987 Volvo Award in Clinical Sciences: A New Clinical Model for the Treatment of Low-Back PainSpine, 1987
- Strategies for enhancing patient complianceJournal of Community Health, 1980