{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T12:24:57Z","timestamp":1787833497627,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,20]],"date-time":"2024-12-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734652800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Adherence to management regimes is pivotal to successfully managing patients with low back pain (LBP). Barriers decrease adherence, resulting in disability.\n\nObjectives:\u00a0Our pilot study aimed to determine barriers associated with physiotherapy treatment attendance and home exercise programme adherence among patients with LBP and treating physiotherapists in Eswatini.\n\nMethod:\u00a0A cross-sectional descriptive pilot study using a self-developed Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) survey was conducted with 62 LBP patients. Descriptive, regression and bivariate statistical analyses with odds ratios (OR) were used to identify adherence barriers.\n\nResults:\u00a0Twenty-two (35.5%) participants missed appointments because of feeling better. Twenty-one participants (33.9%) missed scheduled appointments due to painful sessions, cost and the burden of changing their routines. Home exercise adherence was positively associated with understanding the condition (p\u00a0= 0.001) and negatively with too many exercises (p\u00a0= 0.005).\n\nConclusion:\u00a0Our study identified patient barriers to physiotherapy adherence, particularly females aged 40\u201369 years. Although doctor referrals improved adherence, time constraints and pain remained significant barriers. Barriers to prescribed home exercise programme adherence included pain during exercises, fear, no time, forgetting\/no reference and too many exercises. While most participants understood their condition, some lacked understanding, underscoring the need for better education. Addressing these barriers could enhance adherence and reduce the impact of LBP.\n\nClinical implications:\u00a0To overcome the barrier of adherence to keeping appointments, prioritising health education and providing reasons for exercises should be empathised. Exercise programme adherence could be improved by providing reference material, less and more meaningful and\/or functional exercises.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/sajp.v80i1.2077","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,20]],"date-time":"2024-12-20T06:32:16Z","timestamp":1734676336000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Low back pain treatment adherence barriers in Eswatini private physiotherapy practices: A pilot study"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"80","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1289-5895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tapiwa","family":"Chikaka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rp50x72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Witwatersrand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1513-295X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monique M.","family":"Keller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rp50x72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Witwatersrand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Al-Eisa, E., 2010, \u2018Indicators of adherence to physiotherapy attendance among Saudi female patients with mechanical low back pain: A clinical audit\u2019, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 11, 124. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/1471-2474-11-124","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2474-11-124"},{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ali, N. & May, S., 2017, \u2018A qualitative study into Egyptian patients\u2019 satisfaction with physiotherapy 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& Bachmann, S., 2018, \u2018Recommendations for improving adherence to home-based exercise: A systematic review\u2019, Physikalische Medizin, Rehabilitationsmedizin, Kurortmedizin 28(01), 20\u201331. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1055\/s-0043-120527","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0043-120527"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barbari, V., Storari, L., Ciuro, A. & Testa, M., 2020, \u2018Effectiveness of communicative and educative strategies in chronic low back pain patients: A systematic review\u2019, Patient Education and Counseling 103(5), 908\u2013929. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.pec.2019.11.031","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pec.2019.11.031"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, Y., Campbell, P., Strauss, V.Y., Foster, N.E., Jordan, K.P. & Dunn, K.M., 2018, \u2018Trajectories and predictors of the long-term course of low back pain: Cohort study with 5-year follow-up\u2019, Pain 159(2), 252\u2013260. 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