Physiotherapists' understanding of red flags for back pain.

Introduction: The expanding role of physiotherapists, with increasing use of services such as self-referral, means that demonstrating an ability to understanding and ask red-flag questions appropriately has never been more important. The present study investigated how physiotherapists define common red flags, how they ask red-flag questions, which red flags they routinely record and the importance that therapists attribute to individual red-flags.

Methods: In this qualitative study, an online questionnaire survey was circulated to physiotherapists using various UK special interests networks.

A Delphi study investigating consensus among expert physiotherapists in relation to the management of low back pain.

Objectives: Low back pain (LBP) affects a large proportion of the adult population, with over 90% of people expected to experience symptoms associated with it. LBP is one of the most common conditions managed by primary health care practitioners, and physiotherapists are the largest professional group responsible for its management. Clinical guidelines exist for the management of LBP and are based on the best available evidence.