Objectives: To identify the current use, knowledge of and attitudes towards mind and body practices (MBP) amongst Dublin-based physiotherapists, while also investigating the environment(s) in which clinicians have gained primary exposure to these practices.
Methods: Contact was made with the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP) in order to distribute a cross-sectional, observational and anonymous SurveyMonkey ®TM questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from UCD UREC-SPHPSS. A secure hyperlink to the questionnaire was e-mailed by the ISCP to a random sample of 250 Dublin-based physiotherapists. Development of the questionnaire was achieved by reviewing previous questionnaire-based research and pilot study feedback. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: One hundred and eighty-six physiotherapists responded (186/250, 74%), with 168 completed and submitted questionnaires - an actual response rate of (168/250, 67%). The majority of respondents (133/168, 79%) indicated that they have either a positive or very positive attitude towards MBP. Fewer (29/168, 17%) reported having a neutral attitude and only (6/168, 3%) reported they had a negative or very negative attitude.
A small number of physiotherapists reported being ‘very knowledgeable’ (5/168, 3%) or having ‘considerable’ knowledge (36/168, 21%) in relation to MBP. Others described themselves as having ‘some’ (96/168, 57%) or ‘limited’ (30/168, 18%) knowledge. Few respondents (1/168, 1%) reported having ‘no knowledge’ of MBP.
A significant, moderately strong monotonic correlation between attitudes and knowledge was calculated using Spearman’s rho (r = +0.452, n = 168, p < 0.01).
Over half of respondents indicated that they personally engaged in Pilates (85/164, 52%), with mindfulness (63/164, 38%) and meditation (38/164, 23%) being the next most popular practices. A sizeable number of participants (57/146, 39%) taught or instructed Pilates. The same number of respondents (57/146, 39%) did not teach or instruct any MBP. The MBP most frequently recommended to patients were Pilates (136/168, 81%), yoga (104/168, 62%), mindfulness (96/168, 57%) and hydrotherapy (92/168, 55%). In terms of overall use of MBP, three categories were taken into consideration: ‘personal use’, ‘teaching/instructing MBP’, and ‘recommending MBP’. Pilates, mindfulness, yoga, relaxation techniques and hydrotherapy were the most commonly used practices.
A majority of physiotherapists considered MBP most suitable as treatments for chronic conditions (158/168, 94%) or for preventative measures (134/168, 80%). Over half of respondents indicated that MBP are also appropriate for acute conditions (95/168, 57%) and very few (6/168, 4%) suggested MBP were suitable for none. MBP were most often used to targeted quality of life (136/164, 83%), pain (127/164, 77%) and flexibility (106/164, 65%).
Conclusion: Dublin-based physiotherapists used a range of MBP in both personal use and clinical practice, the most popular of which were Pilates, mindfulness and yoga. A Spearman rho correlation found a statistically significant, moderately-strong relationship between attitudes and knowledge. Most physiotherapists did not consider themselves ‘very knowledgeable’ regarding MBP. However, many had a positive or very positive attitude towards MBP, which may suggest that this group may be receptive to further education, training and use of MBP in their clinical practice.
