Can physical therapists deliver a pain coping skills program? an examination of training processes and outcomes

Abstract

Background. Physical therapists are well established as providers of treatments for common, painful, and disabling conditions, such as knee osteoarthritis (OA). Thus, they are well placed to deliver treatments that integrate physical and psychosocial elements. Attention is usually given to outcomes of such programs, but few studies have examined the processes and outcomes of training physical therapists to deliver such treatments.Objective. The aim of this study was to describe the processes in training physical therapists: (1) to deliver a standardized pain coping skills treatment and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of that training.Design. This study was an analysis of data relating to t..