What do the general public believe about the causes, prognosis and best management strategies for Low Back Pain?
Low Back Pain (LBP) is the most common reason for seeking health care and is a big financial burden for the health care system.
Managing LBP effectively is crucial for public health and in order to improve the quality of people’s lives, it is important that we address people’s beliefs and expectations regarding this condition.
A study by Hall et al. (2021) showed that a large portion of the public have wrong understanding regarding LBP. The study used a survey with questions and 428 surveys were received, with 90% of the respondents reported that they had experienced at least one episode of LBP.
The mean Back Pain Questionnaire score was 27.3, suggesting that people perceive back pain to have inevitable negative consequences.
Large portion of respondents held the following beliefs that are contrary to the best available evidence.
Having back pain means you will always have weakness in your back (49.3%)
It will get progressively worse (48%)
Resting is good (41.4%)
X-rays and scans are necessary to get the best medical care for LBP (54.2%)
Good understanding of LBP is crucial in order to manage it effectively in order to reduce the financial burden in public health and improve the quality of people’s lives.
Support available
Health 2 Employment have a team of physiotherapists specialised in supporting people back into work, and to remain in sustainable employment, whilst managing their long term back problems.
We support people through DWP funded employability programmes such as the Work & Health Programme, IPES, JETS and Restart.
In addition, we offer specialist Occupational Health support to employers & employees via our commercial division, OH One.