An investigation into the factors affecting patient selection of chronic low back management methods, with particular reference to non-utilization of the complimentary therapies, in the United Kingdom.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is an increasingly common, persistent and costly problem. There is evidence to suggest that some sufferers benefit more from methods still considered 'complimentary' in the UK, than from the conventional management methods, which continue to be offered as standard care under the British National Health System (NHS). Despite this evidence, relatively few CLBP sufferers in the UK utilize these 'complimentary' therapies. This investigation set out to evaluate what factors affect utilization and asks why people do not use complimentary therapies (CTs) for CLBP, as this has not been asked before. One hundred and fifty subjects completed self-reporting questionnaires, which asked about knowledge, health care beliefs and other possible influencing factors. The three groups comprised 50 CLBP sufferers using both private and National Health Service (NHS) funded outpatient conventional management methods, 50 CLBP sufferers using private CT management methods, and 50 'healthy' non-user subjects. Sixty-four per cent of conventional patients had not used CTs. The most significant barriers to the utilization of CTs appeared to be lack of knowledge and lower socio-economic group (SEG). Gender may affect selection.