Background Low back pain (LBP) is growing health concern that affects millions of people around the globe, and there are many misconceptions regarding causes, imaging, and appropriate treatment choices. Common people usually search Google seeking information regarding LBP from different websites. However, the content of these widely accessible websites have not be evaluated in the light of evidence. The present study aims to analyze the information presented by these websites, summarize the content, and evaluate it against the published literature. Methods We conducted a systematic search of Google using search terms “low back pain,” “back pain,” “backache. NVivo software was used to capture the content from the internet. Content analysis (CA) was used to analyze online consumer information concerning LBP on the included websites. Results A total of 53 websites were included in the study by screening the search pages. There were erroneous information present on majority of the websites. Almost all of the websites consisted of nocebic terms. The causes were more oriented towards biomedical model. Treatment options mentioned did not concur with the recent clinical practice guidelines. Conclusion The Online information retrieved from a Google search lacks representation of the current best research. The findings of the study suggest that future development of websites must include information that is more accurate, and evidence driven. Online LBP information should be based on criteria that are more sensitive to the psychosocial factors that contribute to pain.
Background: Congenital fused/block vertebrae is an accidental finding in most cases. It remains asymptomatic unless struck by any traumatic event or repetitive event occurs. Symptomatic cases can present with several musculoskeletal impairments including one starting from neck pain. It should be addressed properly to help patients recover the mechanical strains on the structures.Case Presentation: A referred case of a 21-year-old male engineering student who presented with complaints of neck pain (non-radiating) for a week. The intensity of the pain had been intermittently increasing/decreasing for about a year and about 2-3 episodes in a month for approximately one year. He presented with an X-ray which showed C-3/C-4 block vertebrae. The patient was managed using pain education and exercises along with ergonomic advice.Conclusion: Patient-reported pain was decreased significantly from the initial visit. The patient was able to sit for a longer duration and had a considerable improvement in function.
Background Low back pain (LBP) is a prominent public health problem which causes disability around the globe. The prevalence of LBP is on the rise in lower to middle-income countries. India has a varied prevalence of LBP among the rural as well as urban population ranging from 6.2 to 92%. There has been a marked increase in young adults getting LBP with a proportion converting to chronic LBP later in life. Beliefs associated with any disorder affect the course, management, and need for imaging studies. Negative beliefs about LBP in any population may lead to unnecessary psychologic distress and an increase in disease burden. Focusing these negative beliefs on the younger population can help curb the chronicity and lessen the disability caused by it. This cross-sectional study explored the presence of myths in 516 college-going Indian young adults from Lovely Professional University. Results A total of 516 individuals participated in the study. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 22.69 years (2.417). Among them, 47.5% (245) were females and 52.5% (271) were males. The findings show that a high percentage of college-going young adults have false beliefs in most of the ten domains (myths) explored. The most prevalent myths were “LBP is caused by weak ‘core’ muscles and having a strong core protects against future LBP” (81.2%) and “LBP is caused by poor posture when sitting, standing, and lifting” with 80.6% agreeing to it. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that the myths of low back pain are widespread among the studied population. The findings suggest that community education programs must be developed to address these myths, hence reducing the disease burden associated with back pain.
Congenital fused/blocked vertebrae are an incidental finding in most cases. It remains asymptomatic unless there is a traumatic event or there is an increased biomechanical load which may be attributed to a task that is not typically performed by the individual. Symptomatic cases can present with several musculoskeletal symptoms including neck pain. Physiotherapy management strategies may help patients recover from the mechanical strains on the cervical neuromuscular structures. The present case is of a 21 year-old male engineering student who was referred for physiotherapy, he presented with complaints of neck pain (non-radiating in nature) for a week. The intensity of the pain had been intermittently increasing/decreasing for about a year and there were about 2–3 episodes in a month for approximately one year. He presented with an X-ray that showed C3–C4 cervical vertebrae synostosis (block vertebrae). The patient was managed using pain education and exercises along with ergonomic advice. Patient-reported pain decreased significantly from the initial visit and he was able to sit for a longer duration and had a considerable improvement in function.
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