‘Your spine is so worn out’ – the influence of clinical diagnosis on beliefs in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain – a qualitative study’

Abstract

BackgroundPatients’ beliefs have an important influence on the clinical management of low back pain and healthcare professionals should be prepared to address these beliefs. There is still a gap in the literature about the influence of patients’ perceptions of their clinical diagnosis on the severity of their pain experience and disability. ObjectivesTo identify the perceptions of patients with chronic non-specific low back pain regarding the influence of their clinical diagnosis on pain, beliefs, and daily life activities. MethodsQualitative study of 70 individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain. A semi structured interview was conducted about patients’ beliefs and perceptions regarding the influence of clinical diagnosis on their daily activities and pain intensity. ResultsMost participants believed that higher number of different clinical diagnoses for the same individual may be associated with high pain intensity and disability for daily activities and that pain and injury are directly related. Patients beliefs were grouped into four main themes: (1) pain has multifactorial explanation in physical dimension; (2) improvement expectation is extremely low in patients with chronic pain; (3) clinical diagnosis influences pain and disability levels; (4) clinical diagnosis is extremely valued by patients. ConclusionsPatients believe that there is a strong relationship between structural changes in the lower back, pain, and daily life activities; thus, providing evidence of a strong influence of the biomedical model on their beliefs.