Association between low back pain and biomedical beliefs in physiotherapy academics

Abstract

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is considered the primary disability cause and generates high social costs related to treatment expenses and absenteeism factors at work. There are two models of approach to the physiotherapists on their management with patients with LBP. However it’s unclear why a significant number of these profissionals still do not follow the guidelines. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the association between low back pain and biomedical beliefs in physiotherapy academics. Methods: This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of 365 first and last year undergraduate physiotherapy students form three universities in city of Fortaleza/CE. The subjects were recruited during May 2017 in the classroom and filled a questionnaire containing questions about LBP and PABS.PT. Its characteristics were described by means of proportions, mean and standard deviation. The mean and 95% CI of the PABS.PTbiomédico and PABS.PTbiopsicossocial scores were calculated among physiotherapy students. Unpaired t-test was used to compared the first and last year students scores and the association between low back pain and biomedical and biopsychosocial was verified through linear regression. Results: The mean age of participants was 23.57 years (SD 4.77), with a predominance of females (80, 27%). A total of 23.84% reported low back pain, 18.9% had already undergone imaging exams at the lumbar and 36.71% reported that family members with low back pain also underwent these exams. The means of the "biopsychosocial" and "biomedical" subscales of the PABS.PT corresponded to 20.19 (in first year students) and 20.63 (in last year's academics) and 32, 1 (in first year), 32.73 (in last year's academics) respectively. There was an association between the presence of low back pain and biomedical beliefs in the students of the last year (beta coefficient = 2.17, 95% CI 0.39 - 3.95, p = 0.02). Conclusion: First and last year physical therapy students did not present a difference between biomedical and biopsychosocial beliefs. Although biomedical beliefs were prevalent in both groups, the academics of the last year who had low back pain presented stronger biomedical beliefs than the academics of the last year without low back symptoms.