In an article published in BMC Public Health, they found that a lot of people have beliefs contrary to the evidence. For instance, they believe that having back pain means you will always have weakness in your back, it will get progressively worse, resting is a good thing, and that x-rays and other scans are necessary to get the best medical care for lower back pain. In my office, I try to empower my patients by getting them out of pain as quickly as possible, and work on instructing them as to how to regain the strength necessary to function. ~ Dr. Broussard
Large proportions of respondents held the following beliefs that are contrary to best available evidence: (i) having back pain means you will always have weakness in your back (49.3%), (ii) it will get progressively worse (48.0%), (iii) resting is good (41.4%) and (iv) x-rays or scans are necessary to get the best medical care for LBP (54.2%).
What do the general public believe about the causes, prognosis and best management strategies for low back pain?
BMC Public Health. 2021; 21: 682.
Published online 2021 Apr 8. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10664-5
PMCID: PMC8028215
PMID: 33832463
A cross-sectional study
Amanda Hall
Abstract
Background
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for seeking health care and is costly to the health care system. Recent evidence has shown that LBP care provided by many providers is divergent from guidelines and one reason may be patient’s beliefs and expectations about treatment. Thus, examining the nature of patient beliefs and expectations regarding low back pain treatment will help coordinate efforts to improve consistency and quality of care.
Methods
This study was a cross-sectional population-based survey of adults living in Newfoundland, Canada. The survey included demographic information (e.g. age, gender, back pain status and care seeking behaviors) and assessed outcomes related to beliefs about the inevitable consequences of back pain with the validated back beliefs questionnaire as well as six additional questions relating beliefs about imaging, physical activity and medication. Surveys were mailed to 3000 households in July–August 2018 and responses collected until September 30th, 2018.
Results
Four hundred twenty-eight surveys were returned (mean age 55 years (SD 14.6), 66% female, 90% had experienced an episode of LBP). The mean Back Beliefs Questionnaire score was 27.3 (SD 7.2), suggesting that people perceive back pain to have inevitable negative consequences.
Conclusions
A high proportion of the public believe LBP to have inevitable negative consequences and hold incorrect beliefs about diagnosis and management options, which is similar to findings from other countries. This presents challenges for clinicians and suggests that considering how to influence beliefs about LBP in the broader community could have value. Given the high prevalence of LBP and that many will consult a range of healthcare professionals, future efforts could consider using broad reaching public health campaigns that target patients, policy makers and all relevant health providers with specific content to change commonly held unhelpful beliefs.