(321) Physiotherapists’ Attitudes and Beliefs Towards Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain in Saudi Arabia

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for long-term disability among the world. Up to 70–85% of people develop a back pain during the course of their lives. It affects people of all ages and is generally caused by sedentary jobs, obesity, smoking and low socioeconomic status. Chronic low back pain (CLBP) harms one’s work effectiveness, psychological condition and social responsibilities, such as family life. LBP is considered an indication for medical rehabilitation and is increasingly becoming a significant factor in rising healthcare costs. The current LBP guidelines recommend health care professionals to encourage patients to conduct daily physical activity, which includes remaining in purposeful work and staying active daily. Health care practitioners (HCPs) who hold negative beliefs toward CLBP are likely to suggest advice against the present guidelines, including longdays absence from their jobs.On the other hand, HCPs holding positive beliefs are more likely to appreciate the guidelines. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the beliefs and attitudes toward CLBP among medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdulaziz University (KAU), between June–July 2018. Methods: We conducted a qualitative cross-sectional study among 370 medical students at the KAU using an online HC-PAIRS questionnaire. We entered the data using an Excel sheet (2013)and then analyzed it using SPSS (version 23). We used chi-square, one-way ANOVA and summary and independent t-tests. Results: In this study, we used the mean and standard deviation of the total score to compare our study (µ = 64.43 ± 11.34) with a previous study that focused on functional restoration HCPs at the Tufts University, USA (µ = 38 ± 7) using summary t-test (t = –25.316). The p-value was significant (<0.001). Conclusion: We demonstrated the differences between KAU students and HCPs at Tufts University regarding the HC-PAIRS questionnaire score, which revealed a higher mean score among our participants. This led us to conclude that KAU medical students hold negative attitudes and beliefs concerning the application of CLBP guidelines. In light of this, we recommend raising awareness about CLBP guidelines among the medical students and the society at large.

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Attitudes and Beliefs of Primary Care Physicians Working in Saudi Arabia Regarding the Management of Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

International Journal of General Medicine ◽

10.2147/ijgm.s343775 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol Volume 14 ◽

pp. 10225-10233

Author(s):

Ahmed S Alhowimel ◽

Mazyad A Alotaibi ◽

Dalyah M Alamam ◽

Faris A Alodaibi ◽

Julie M Fritz

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Primary Care Physicians ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Low Back ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

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Physiotherapists’ attitudes and beliefs about low back pain influence their clinical decisions and advice

Musculoskeletal Science and Practice ◽

10.1016/j.msksp.2021.102382 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102382

Author(s):

Guillaume Christe ◽

Jessica Nzamba ◽

Ludovic Desarzens ◽

Arnaud Leuba ◽

Ben Darlow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Low Back ◽

Clinical Decisions

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Are Healthcare Providers Providing Appropriate Educational Material for People with Low Back Pain?

Journal of Spine Practice (JSP) ◽

10.18502/jsp.v1i1.9782 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 21

Author(s):

Dalia Alemam

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Educational Material ◽

Self Management ◽

Low Back ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Educational Materials ◽

Military Hospitals

Introduction: One of the contributing factors to the burden of low back pain (LBP) is the failure to provide patients with appropriate education and advice about diagnosis and management. To date, no information exists about whether the content of patients’ information and educational material provided in physiotherapy clinics in Saudi Arabia is in line with the Clinical Practice Guidelines and contemporary practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the content of educational material provided by physiotherapy clinics, hospitals, or distributed by healthcare associations to people with LBP in Saudi Arabia, to determine whether this information is adequate to reassure patients and inform self-management. This study also seeks to explore whether these materials are consistent with CPGs for people with LBP. Methodology: A sample of educational items (English or Arabic) in Saudi Arabia was collected. Content analysis was conducted to analyze data based on manifest content. Result: Seventeen educational materials were included, originating from diverse sources; the Ministry of Health hospitals (n = 10), military hospitals (n = 4), private hospitals (n = 2), and multidisciplinary healthcare association (n = 1). Six main sub-themes were identified: epidemiological/anatomical data about LBP (n = 6); causes/risk factors (n = 10); exercise (n = 14) and physical activity-related recommendations (n = 3); treatment-related recommendations (n = 2); general health and lifestyle-related recommendations (n = 8); and postural and ergonomics-related recommendations (n = 13). Ultimately, one theme was formulated, namely, the content of educational materials was hindering reassurance and self-management for people with LBP. The items reviewed were heavily influenced by the biomedical model of pain. Conclusion: The educational materials reviewed failed to properly report information about LBP from a biopsychosocial perspective and were inadequate to assure patients or inform self-management.

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Low Back Pain and Its Correlations with Poor Sleep Quality Among Healthcare Providers

Journal of Spine Practice (JSP) ◽

10.18502/jsp.v1i1.9790 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 31

Author(s):

Rayan Buhalim

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Reciprocal Relationship ◽

Musculoskeletal Symptom ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Low Back ◽

Poor Sleep Quality

Introduction: Low back pain is found to be the most common occupational and work-related musculoskeletal symptom worldwide. Its prevalence was found to be almost twice among healthcare providers (HCPs) than in other occupations. It is observed that the prevalence of poor sleep quality is higher in HCPs than the general population. To the best of our knowledge, this reciprocal relationship is still unresolved. Thus, this study aims to establish the relationship between low back pain and sleep quality among HCPs in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: An anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed on HCPs in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first section included the biographical data of the participants; the second included Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire for low back pain; and the third section was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Informed consent from each participant and ethical approval were taken before the commencement of the study. Result: Four hundred and forty-two respondents participated and completed the questionnaire. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents were male (62.7%) while the rest were female (37.3%). Most of the respondents were living in either the central (23.3%) or the northern (23.3%) regions. It was found that the correlation between global PSQI and ODI score was positively highly statistically significant (r = 0.235; p < 0.001). The correlation between ODI score and PSQI components including subjective sleep quality (r = 0.229; p = 0.007), habitual sleep efficiency (r = 0.229; p < 0.01), and daytime dysfunction were also positively highly statistically significant. Conclusion: HCPs in Saudi Arabia with higher low back pain disability rating demonstrated poorer overall sleep quality and vice versa. However, further research is needed to investigate whether this relationship is dependent on each other in terms of causality.

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