Association Between Two Classification Models of Chronic Painful Low Back Disorders, "Biomedical" and "Biopsychosocial"

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) represents a complex condition. Although, by the biomedical model, biological signals and symptoms use to be the guide to both the diagnostic and prognostic, those does not correspond to the CLBP biopsychosocial etiology by ignoring the patient's beliefs and convictions about their pain. Objective: To examine the association between CLBP classification based on the biomedical model and the biopsychosocial model. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross sectional observational study. The study analyzed physiotherapeutic screening records obtained from an institutional research group. The classification of CLBP was determined using both the biomedical model and the biopsychosocial model. The biomedical model classified cases as specific or non-specific, while the biopsychosocial model categorized them as low, medium, or high risk for developing poor prognosis. The association between the two models was assessed using the Chi-squared test. Results: A total of 98 physiotherapeutic screening records were evaluated and classified as follows: non-specific and low risk (n=18); non-specific and medium risk (n=22); non-specific and high risk (n=23); specific and low risk (n=7); specific and medium risk (n=15); specific and high risk (n=13). The analysis revealed no significant association between the classifications according to the two models. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the CLBP classification based on the biomedical model does not appear to be associated with the biopsychosocial classification. Further research and exploration are needed to better understand the complexities and potential interplay between these classification systems.