Sexual Disability in Low Back Pain and Physiotherapy

July 11, 2023 updated by: Paolo Pillastrini, University of Bologna

Sexual Disability Related to Low Back Pain. Online Survey Among Italian Physiotherapists.

A treatment centered on the person uses an approach capable of considering all the components of disability, from a physical, psychological and social point of views. Some studies have shown that sexual function is disturbed in subjects with low back pain (LBP) and sexual disability can contribute to a deterioration in quality of life. It has also been shown that, in sexually active patients complaining of LBP, sexuality is a significant mediator of the relationship between pain intensity and depressive symptoms.

The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) includes a specific item to investigate sexual function (item #8). A previous study of ours confirmed the relationship between sexual disability detected by the ODI and the presence of depression, avoidance of activities and rumination (Ferrari et al. 2019 - Digital Object Identifier: 10.1589/jpts.31.360).

The discussion on sexual disability among patients and healthcare professionals is very limited, although patients require more involvement from clinicians, especially physiotherapists, as evidenced by our previous qualitative study (Ferrari et al. 2020 - Digital Object Identifier: 10.1080/09638288.2020 .1817161).

Although studies on this topic have highlighted the importance of this disability in the life of subjects complaining of LBP, little has been investigated on clinical behaviors of the physiotherapists in this area.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the clinical behaviors of Italian physiotherapists in the management of LBP-related sexual disability. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • the knowledge of this topic;
  • the ways in which sexual disability is detected in patients complaining of LBP (Oswestry Disability Index, specific open or closed questions, patient' reporting, etc.);
  • the difficulties and obstacles in the management of sexual disability;
  • the suggestions provided to the patient;
  • the therapeutic strategies (procedures for pain modulation, exercises addressed to lumbar mobility, strength, endurance, etc.);
  • the possible involvement of the patient' partner;
  • the outcome measures.

The hypothesis of this survey is to highlight the degree of attention and competence of Italian physiotherapists with respect to this topic, the critical issues and therapeutic strategies for the management of LBP-related sexual disability.

Participants will answer to a online questionnaire.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

502

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Emilia-Romagna
      • Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, 40138
        • Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Physiotherapists registered with AIFI who deliver physiotherapy treatments on subjects with low back pain

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being a physiotherapist registered with AIFI
  • Carrying out physiotherapy treatments on subjects with low back pain
  • Agreement to voluntarily sign informed consent to participate in the study
  • Agreement to voluntarily sign consent to data processing

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to understand written Italian
  • Being a retired physiotherapist

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Italian physiotherapists
The survey will take place through the administration of a questionnaire accessible via the website of the Italian Physiotherapy Association (AIFI), the Scientific Association of reference for the physiotherapists, registered since 2020 in the list of Scientific Societies recognized by the Italian Health Ministry.
Other: Survey
Online survey via a questionnaire composed of 28 questions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Clinical behaviors of Italian physiotherapists regarding sexual disability in patients with low back pain
Time Frame: From date of first completion of the survey until the date of last completion of the survey.
Level of attention and competence of Italian physiotherapists with respect to sexual disability related to low back pain, critical issues, opportunities and therapeutic strategies adopted in the management of sexual disability related to LBP.
From date of first completion of the survey until the date of last completion of the survey.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Bologna

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Paolo Pillastrini, PT, MSc, University of Bologna

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 2, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 24, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

July 10, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 16, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 24, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

December 5, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 12, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 11, 2023

Last Verified

July 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Sex and LBP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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