Pain ManagementDetermining the Effectiveness of the Pain and Disability Drivers Management Model on the Management of Low Back Pain

Participating clinicians in the intervention arm will use the PDDM model to guide assessment and treatment of their patients and data will be collected over a 12-weeks period.

Participating clinicians in the active comparator arm will perform assessment and treatment of their patients based on the recommendations from the most recent and high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and data will be collected over a 12-weeks period.

PTs assigned to the intervention arm will undergo a one-day training specific to the PDDM model. The objectives of the workshop are 1) to acquire knowledge on the functioning of the PDDM model by identifying the different domains of the model, and the specific elements that are deemed "problematic" for a given patient to appropriately establish the clinical profile and 2) to adopt a structured approach to manage and select appropriate interventions to address problematic areas. The model is composed of five domains upon which the clinician can base his assessment and orientate treatment allocation and includes: 1) nociceptive pain drivers, 2) nervous system dysfunction (NSD) drivers, 3) comorbidity drivers, 4) cognitive-emotional drivers and 5) contextual drivers. This profiling will inform and lead the clinician's treatment approach based on the combined contribution of each domain driving the experience of pain and disability.

For the PTs allocated to the control arm, they will participate in a three-hour training on the most recent CPGs on the management of LBP. The content of the training is based on the results of a thorough review of the literature summarizing the different recommendations from CPGs with a focus on the rehabilitation management of LBP. The objectives of the workshop are 1) to acquire knowledge about the recommendations from the most recent and high-quality CPGs for the management of LBP and 2) to foster their integration into clinical practice. An interactive workshop will be conducted to present the results of the review of the literature with the help of case-studies to facilitate implementation and promote active participation.