Abstract
Objective
To analyze attitudes and beliefs about movement and physical activity in people with
low back pain (LBP) and compare these beliefs between people with acute and chronic
LBP.
Design
Qualitative inductive analysis of data collected via face-to-face semistructured interviews.
Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Setting
Participants were purposively recruited from 1 region of New Zealand.
Participants
Persons with LBP (N=23), consisting of individuals with acute LBP (<6wk; n=12) and
chronic LBP (>3mo; n=11).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure
Themes that emerged from participant interview transcripts using analysis based on
Interpretative Description.
Results
Participants with acute and chronic LBP made judgments about physical activity and
rest using the same conceptual model. Concerns about creating more pain, tissue damage,
or impairment influenced the physical activity judgments of most participants with
acute and chronic LBP. These perceived risks were balanced against the perceived benefits,
the most important of which were psychological or social rather than physical. Judgments
made by those with acute and chronic LBP were context dependent and influenced by
the nature and duration of pain, the type of physical activity, the importance of
the activity, and the participant's previous experience. Participants with acute pain
who had not experienced back pain previously often expressed more uncertainty, whereas
those with chronic LBP appeared to have developed cognitive rules that determined
physical activity decisions.
Conclusions
Exploring the perceived risks, benefits, and contextual factors that influence decisions
about physical activity and rest may help clinicians to understand the behavior of
patients with acute and chronic LBP. Clinicians may best support their patients to
engage in physical activity by providing an informed assessment of risks and an explanation
about the range of potential benefits.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
LBP (low back pain)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 12, 2015
Footnotes
Supported by a Searchwell Grant from the Wellington Branch of Physiotherapy New Zealand. S.Dean's involvement was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the National Institute for Health Research, or the Department of Health.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
