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Findings in lower back pain reported from Keele University



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This article was published in Pain & Central Nervous System Week, which you can subscribe to online.
2007 NOV 19 -- New investigation results, 'Living with low back pain-Stories of hope and despair,' are detailed in a study published in Social Science & Medicine. According to a study from the United Kingdom, "Previous qualitative research has illustrated a range of issues about the daily life of people living with low back pain (LBP). In this paper, we consider the struggle between hope and despair through consideration of six people's narratives about their experiences of chronic LBP."

"The six cases were selected from a larger qualitative study of 37 patients in the UK, sampled from a prospective cohort of people consulting their general practitioner. These six cases were selected for particular focus as they exemplify the fluctuating emotions of hope and despair. A number of linked themes emerged which influenced the extent to which people oscillate between hope and despair, the most salient of which were 'uncertainty', 'impact on self', 'social context of living with pain', and 'worry and fear of the future'. It is clear from the narrative accounts that it is not only just physical pain that the back pain sufferer must endure, but also that the psychosocial implications pose an added and often complicated challenge," wrote M. Corbett and colleagues, Keele University.

The researchers concluded: "Health care practitioners should consider these fluctuating emotions of hope and despair in order to facilitate more patient-centred strategies for treatment."

Corbett and colleagues published the results of their research in Social Science & Medicine (Living with low back pain-Stories of hope and despair. Social Science & Medicine, 2007;65(8):1584-94).

For additional information, contact M. Corbett, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.

The publisher of the journal Social Science & Medicine can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd., the Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England.

Keywords: United Kingdom, Back Pain Relief, Lower Back Pain, Social Science.

This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsRx.com.