Experience, Perceived Knowledge and Perspectives of Physiotherapists Towards the Use of Virtual Reality-Based Interventions in the Musculoskeletal Setting: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background Multimodal physiotherapy including exercise therapies is widely advocated for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions; however, many people continue to experience persistent pain. Virtual reality (VR) based interventions involving exercise provision within a highly engaging virtual environment may provide opportunities for MSK rehabilitation. Since physiotherapists will play a key role in implementing VR interventions in the future, this pilot study aimed to explore UK physiotherapists' knowledge, experience and perceptions of VR-based interventions for MSK rehabilitation, with a particular focus on identifying barriers and facilitators to implementation in addition to informing the design/conduct of a larger survey in the future. Methods A cross-sectional online pilot survey was conducted using convenience sampling between June and August 2023. Eligible participants included UK physiotherapists working across any clinical, research, or educational setting. Data were analysed descriptively using means, percentages and frequency distributions. Results From the valid 40 responses, most were practising physiotherapists (n = 33, 83%) specialising in the MSK field (n = 34, 85%). The majority had little familiarity with VR (n = 21, 53%) and knew little about VR for pain management (n = 23, 58%). A significant proportion had engaged with VR for entertainment (n = 17, 43%), while fewer had done so for research purposes (n = 7, 18%). If available, nearly half agreed that they would like to offer VR for MSK rehabilitation (n = 19, 48%) and also agreed that patients might be willing to engage with VR interventions (n = 22, 55%). 'Cost of purchase and maintenance' and 'clinician familiarity' were ranked as the most important barriers to implementation. Conclusion Although physiotherapists have limited knowledge/experience of VR-based interventions for MSK pain management and identify barriers to implementation, positive perceptions towards the intervention were expressed. A more extensive survey, in addition to qualitative investigations, is needed to generalise these preliminary findings to the wider physiotherapy workforce.