A Survey on Physiotherapist Knowledge in Undersatnding the Association of Lower Back Pain and Urinary Incontinence

Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common but often under-reported medical condition that laid a significant impact in one's quality of life (QoL). Studies have highlighted that there is strong association between UI and lower back pain (LBP). However, there is limited evidence on clinician incorporating UI assessment and treatment as a part of LBP management. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate physiotherapy knowledge in understanding the association of lower back pain and urinary incontinence. A cross sectional study design was adopted to a randomly selected sample. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtained detailed information on the awareness of risk factor of LBP, understanding the associated problem of LBP, common LBP management and evaluating knowledge level of LBP and UI. A total of 60 participants has participated in this survey. The results demonstrate almost more than 50% of physiotherapist is not fully aware of the association between lower back pain and urinary incontinence. About 57% of physiotherapist did not incorporate bladder management as part of LBP care. However, when compared between genders, female populations had better knowledge and understanding of the association of LBP and UI. The results show there is still a lack of knowledge on the association of lower back pain and urinary incontinence among Physiotherapists. In the future, more of education talk about the association between lower back pain and urinary incontinence would help in increasing the knowledge level of Physiotherapist thus incorporating UI assessment and treatment as a part of lower back care.