What Are the Brakes and Levers of Physical Activity Practice for Patients With Chronic Lower Back Pain?

Overview

Non-specific chronic lower back pain is a common pathology which is a real public health problem. Around 84% of the population could have non-specific chronic lower back pain at least once in their lives and 8% of that non-specific lower back pain could become chronical (pain that would last at least 3 months). This proportion of patients represents 85% of the costs related to this pathology. Physical activity practice is involved in medical care for plenty of chronical diseases and particularly for chronic lower back pain. In 2003, World Health Organization pointed out the poor adhesion of patients with chronical diseases to medical prescriptions and the after-effects it could have on illness evolution. Therefore, adhesion to physical activity practice for patients with chronic lower back pain is one of the most challenging matters for medical teams. The aim of this study was to identify the brakes and levers of physical activity practice for these patients. Sixteen individual interviews and four focus groups have been carried out on patients with chronic lower back pain who were taken care of either by a rachis functional restoration program or by primary care.

Non-specific chronic lower back pain is a common pathology which is a real public health problem. Around 84% of the population could have non-specific chronic lower back pain at least once in their lives and 8% of that non-specific lower back pain could become chronical (pain that would last at least 3 months). This proportion of patients represents 85% of the costs related to this pathology. Physical activity practice is involved in medical care for plenty of chronical diseases and particularly for chronic lower back pain. In 2003, World Health Organization pointed out the poor adhesion of patients with chronical diseases to medical prescriptions and the after-effects it could have on illness evolution. Therefore, adhesion to physical activity practice for patients with chronic lower back pain is one of the most challenging matters for medical teams. The aim of this study was to identify the brakes and levers of physical activity practice for these patients. Sixteen individual interviews and four focus groups have been carried out on patients with chronic lower back pain who were taken care of either by a rachis functional restoration program or by primary care.