Table 4.
Association between beliefs about back pain and self-reported low back disability
| Back Beliefs Questionnaire statements | Participants with negative beliefs about back pain* n (%) |
Univariable analysis (Chi-square) |
||
|
No disability (n = 398) |
Low disability (n = 71) |
High disability (n = 37) |
||
| There is no real treatment for back trouble | 33 (8.3) | 9 (12.7) | 7 (18.9) | 0.07 |
| Back trouble will eventually stop you from working | 46 (11.6) | 16 (22.5) | 19 (51.4) | <0.0001 |
| Back trouble means periods of pain for the rest of one's life | 104 (26.1) | 21 (29.6) | 29 (78.4) | <0.0001 |
| Back trouble makes everything in life worse | 123 (30.9) | 24 (33.8) | 17 (45.9) | 0.2 |
| Back trouble may mean you end up in a wheelchair | 42 (10.6) | 8 (11.3) | 8 (21.6) | 0.1 |
| Back trouble means long periods of time off from work | 37 (9.3) | 4 (5.6) | 8 (21.6) | 0.02 |
| Once you have had back trouble there is always a weakness | 194 (48.7) | 34 (47.9) | 24 (64.9) | 0.2 |
| Back trouble must be rested | 68 (17.1) | 12 (16.9) | 11 (29.7) | 0.2 |
| Later in life back trouble gets progressively worse | 128 (32.2) | 30 (42.3) | 22 (59.5) | 0.002 |
| Total score (mean, SD) | 31.3 (5.7) | 30.2 (6.3) | 24.8 (5.7) | <0.0001 |
* Selected agree or completely agree, which is a score of 4 or 5 respectively.