The effect of the physiotherapists’ clinical communication skills on the health outcomes of chronic musculoskeletal pain patients

Evgenia Pischina, Konstantina Savvoulidou, Paraskevi Bilika, Michaela Kyrmoutsou, George Tsatsakos, Eleni Kapreli
Purpose:

This study aimed to determine the effect of the physiotherapist's clinical communication skills on the health outcomes of CMP patients.

Methods:

The present study was a randomized controlled trial that included 51 adult patients with CMP in four different body regions: neck, lower back, knee and shoulder. The study setting was in a physical therapy clinic. The intervention was a short educational video (5 mins) on chronic musculoskeletal pain management information enriched with either "good" (group A = 17 persons) or "poor" clinical communication skills (group B = 17 persons) and  a third control group (group C = 17 persons), which had no intervention. Intervention was based on the Calgary-Cambridge Guide. The assessment before and after the intervention included a series of questionnaires (CSI, STAI-40, BIPQ, VAS, TAMPA, PCS, PSQ, GRC, WAI-SR, VES). Furthemore, a pain pressure threshold measurement (Wagner FPX™ Algometer)  and the distribution of pain (Novel Software for Pain Drawing, UTH) were recorded.

Results:

According to the results of the Anova repeated measures analysis, changes due to the intervention were observed in the pain variables, Tampa Avoid and Tampa somatic scales, BIPQ scale, PSQ scale, principal area algometry (PPTT) and pain extent (Bodychart), without though being statically significant between the three groups. A statistically significant difference between the three groups (F=8.45, p=0.001) was observed on the sense of change in pain (GRC) after the intervention.  Specifically, group A reported an average improvement of 2.26 ± 1.56, group B 1.78 ± 1.62 and the control group 0.24 ± 0.97, with a p value between groups of p = 0.001. In addition, an independent samples t-test analysis between the two intervention groups showed a statistically significant decrease of the STAI trait variable (anxiety, personality trait) in group A compared to group B.

Conclusion(s):

The therapist's "good" clinical communicative skills seems to can cause an immediate improvement in the chronic musculoskeletal patient's sense of pain and in the reduction of levels of anxiety as a personality trait, in contrast to the use of "bad" clinical communicative skills in a short time intervention period.

Implications:

 Clinical communication skills are essential for health professionals including physiotherapists, especially for those working with patients with CMP as they can influence their health outcomes. In order to enhance therapeutic results and enable them to provide efficient services, clinical communication skills should be included in the curriculum of physiotherapy higher education.

Funding acknowledgements:
The work of this research was not funded.
Keywords:
Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
Clinical Communication Skills Clinical Communication Skills Clinical Communication Skills Clinical Communication Skills
Verbal, Non- Verbal
Primary topic:
Musculoskeletal
Second topic:
Pain and pain management
Third topic:
Professional issues: diversity and inclusion
Did this work require ethics approval?:
Yes
Name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work:
Research ethics committee Internal Ethics Committee of the Department of Physiotherapy of the University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece.
Provide the ethics approval number:
1087
Has any of this material been/due to be published or presented at another national or international conference prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025?:
No

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