Table 3.
Association between beliefs about back pain and self-reported low back pain intensity
| Back Beliefs Questionnaire Statements | Participants with negative beliefs about back pain* n (%) |
Univariable analysis (Chi-square) |
||
|
No pain (n = 140) |
Low pain intensity (n = 284) |
High pain intensity (n = 82) |
||
| There is no real treatment for back trouble | 12 (8.6) | 24 (8.5) | 13 (15.9) | 0.1 |
| Back trouble will eventually stop you from working | 22 (15.7) | 36 (12.7) | 23 (28.0) | 0.004 |
| Back trouble means periods of pain for the rest of one's life | 28 (20.0) | 84 (29.6) | 42 (51.2) | <0.0001 |
| Back trouble makes everything in life worse | 56 (40.0) | 80 (28.2) | 28 (34.1) | 0.047 |
| Back trouble may mean you end up in a wheelchair | 22 (15.7) | 24 (8.5) | 12 (14.6) | 0.05 |
| Back trouble means long periods of time off from work | 23 (16.4) | 18 (6.3) | 8 (9.8) | 0.004 |
| Once you have had back trouble there is always a weakness | 64 (45.7) | 143 (50.4) | 45 (54.9) | 0.4 |
| Back trouble must be rested | 27 (19.3) | 48 (16.9) | 16 (19.5) | 0.8 |
| Later in life back trouble gets progressively worse | 42 (30.0) | 96 (33.8) | 42 (51.2) | 0.004 |
| Total score (mean, SD) | 30.2 (6.3) | 31.5 (5.8) | 28.5 (5.7) | 0.051 |
* Selected agree or completely agree, which is a score of 4 or 5 respectively