Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trialCommentary: Bootstrapping simplifies appreciation of statistical inferences
We feel compelled to respond to the article by Korthals-de Bos et al
in your journal.
We are concerned about the impression given, that physiotherapists
are less effective and more costly than manual therapists in the treatment
of neck pain.
We feel it necessary to emphasise that in the UK manual therapy is a
fundamental and integral component of physiotherapy treatment and
management of neck pain, where indicated. All physiotherapists at the
Glasgow Royal Infirmary outpatient department, who trained at different
physiotherapy schools in the UK and Australia, have received manual
therapy training. Continuing professional development policy ensures that
manual therapy skills are maintained and further developed beyond graduate
level for a therapists’ entire career.
We also believe this is not a clinically relevant study when
“specific manual therapy mobilisations” by a physiotherapist are
discouraged for the purposes of comparing physiotherapy and manual therapy
treatment groups. Manual therapy is a component of physiotherapy! This
is analogous to a respiratory physician treating a patient with pneumonia
and asking them not to use anti-biotics.
We are concerned this article inaccurately portrays the physiotherapy
profession in the UK as ‘ineffective and costly’ in the treatment of neck
pain to the medical profession, who make up the majority of your
readership. We wish to reassure them that UK registered physiotherapists
are indeed proficient in the management of neck pain including the use of
manual therapy techniques.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
02 May 2003
Deanne M Quartermaine
Senior Physiotherapist
Graham MacGregor, Lynn Robertson, Keri Graham, Maxene Murdoch, Nicola Anderson,
Physiotherapy Outpatient Department, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, G31 2ER
Rapid Response:
Manual Therapy is a Componenet of Physiotherapy
Dear Editor
We feel compelled to respond to the article by Korthals-de Bos et al
in your journal.
We are concerned about the impression given, that physiotherapists
are less effective and more costly than manual therapists in the treatment
of neck pain.
We feel it necessary to emphasise that in the UK manual therapy is a
fundamental and integral component of physiotherapy treatment and
management of neck pain, where indicated. All physiotherapists at the
Glasgow Royal Infirmary outpatient department, who trained at different
physiotherapy schools in the UK and Australia, have received manual
therapy training. Continuing professional development policy ensures that
manual therapy skills are maintained and further developed beyond graduate
level for a therapists’ entire career.
We also believe this is not a clinically relevant study when
“specific manual therapy mobilisations” by a physiotherapist are
discouraged for the purposes of comparing physiotherapy and manual therapy
treatment groups. Manual therapy is a component of physiotherapy! This
is analogous to a respiratory physician treating a patient with pneumonia
and asking them not to use anti-biotics.
We are concerned this article inaccurately portrays the physiotherapy
profession in the UK as ‘ineffective and costly’ in the treatment of neck
pain to the medical profession, who make up the majority of your
readership. We wish to reassure them that UK registered physiotherapists
are indeed proficient in the management of neck pain including the use of
manual therapy techniques.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests