July 8, 2010 - most of the adults experience back pain in their lives, but for people with nearly 1 in 10, the condition is persistent and disabling.
It has long been recognized that the attitudes and beliefs about their pain on the back of the patients can play a big role in how their pain is managed. Now new research confirms level knowledge on the status of a patient is also crucial, and their willingness and ability to use this knowledge.Australia researchers have examined the ability of patients to find, understand and use health information that they received their pain in the back, a concept called health literacy.
A high level of health literacy has been linked to better outcomes in patients with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and other chronic diseases. But health literacy has not been previously studied in patients with back pain, said study investigator Andrew M. Briggs, Ph.d., Curtin University of Technology the Australia, Perth.
He tells WebMD that for the vast majority of patients with persistent back pain and disabling, physical factors are not the only contributors to the perception of pain and management.
"For most patients, psychological factors as well as beliefs, attitudes and health literacy will also come into play," he said. "" "". We can say the patients to stay active, for example, but if they believe will help in the exercise or if they fear the activity will aggravate their condition, they are not going to do. »
The study included 56 persons with low chronic low back pain that characterizes their condition as being very disabling or not very catastrophic, as well as 61 people without back pain. All participants were recruited in a middle class in Western Australia district.
Patients were asked about the seriousness of their back pain and how it affects their daily lives. Asked on their beliefs on the back of the pain, their ability to cope with their pain, and other issues to determine their health literacy.
Investigations revealed that the patients who reported being strongly handicapped by their back pain were more likely to believe that there was a reason specific to their pain, physical or anatomic.
They were also less likely to believe that their back pain would be better with treatment.
"We know from the literature that the anatomical causes represent only a small proportion of cases of back pain," said Briggs.
Patients who reported more being disabled by their back pain was afraid that resuming normal activities or exercise would worsen their condition.
Many patients had difficulties to find, understand, or using the information they received on their State. It was more common among patients with disabling pain back when researchers have used their own assessment of health literacy.
The study appears this week in the journal of pain.
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