Beliefs and attitudes in patients with chronic low back pain

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dysfunctional attitudes and beliefs in patients with low back pain may interfere with pain, disability, and mood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of beliefs and attitudes in chronic low back pain and to correlate them with the intensity of pain, disability, anxiety, and depression. METHODS: We evaluated 82 patients with chronic low back pain according to the Numerical Scale of Pain, Survey of Pain Attitudes, Hospital Scale of Anxiety and Depression, and Oswestry Disability Index. RESULTS: More than half of the patients were female (51.22%) with a mean age above 40 years. The pain was mild to moderate at 53.65%. Severe disability was observed in 64.63%, anxiety in 63.41% and depression in 41.46%. The solicitude and disability beliefs showed significant associations in all groups. For physical damage, there was an association with disability and anxiety. Medical cure correlated between the anxiety variable. CONCLUSION: Patients presented dysfunctional beliefs associated with the intensity of pain, anxiety, depression and mainly disability, with a probable influence on the treatment. This relationship shows how important it is to carry out new studies that evaluate therapeutic approaches, such as targeted interventions and educational programs, aimed at the patient's beliefs with low back pain to determine their impact on pain control and treatment.

Atividades de trabalho e lombalgia crônica inespecífica em trabalhadores de enfermagem

“…(16,20) On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that pain intensity does not only depend on physical factors or high demand for work, since perception of and reaction to pain are specific to each person and should be evaluated considering physical, psychic, social and spiritual aspects. (21) This fact was evidenced in a study in which its participants, even when dealing with constant pain, suffered in silence, tried to minimize their pain and had difficulty determining if their pain or discomfort was significant. (19) The relationship between pain intensity and WRAPI activities showed some relevant associations by the Mann-Whitney U Test; however, Pearson or Spearman's correlations showed weak associations.…”

“…Also, pain lasting more than 48 months was present in most of the sample, which is a warning for the chronicity of LBP and a reflection of poor pain management. (21) As pain can be insidious or have a late effect, it can prevent professionals from establishing a cause/effect relationship between pain and work activities. (3) Among the study limitations are the cross-sectional design, which analyzes cause and effect at the same time; having workers from various sectors of the hospital and with specific work characteristics, which may affect outcomes -however, regardless of the work sector, perceptions were similar; and the research carried out only in a single hospital unit, which limits its external validity.…”

Incapacidade Funcional E Intensidade Da Dor Na Lombalgia Crônica Inespecífica Em Trabalhadores De Enfermagem

“…No entanto, a dor é um processo perceptivo complexo associado com fatores psicossociais e culturais e envolve subjetividade (1) . Causa alterações biológicas, emocionais, cognitivas e comportamentais (16) . Seu manejo clínico e reabilitativo para melhorar os resultados em longo prazo deve levar em conta fatores sociais e culturais (1) .…”

“…Aspectos psicossociais influenciam mais no manejo e tratamento da dor e têm mais impacto na incapacidade que a própria intensidade da dor (16) . É aconselhável que as intervenções dos profissionais ao tratar DLC incapacitante levem em conta essas condições no ambiente laboral (22) .…”

“…A DL ocorre mais em faixas etárias a partir de 40 anos e em idade produtiva. Além do problema físico, esse fato traz também consequências sociais como absenteísmos e gastos previdenciários (16) .…”