Report on Back Pain in the Netherlands
Eight out of every 10 adults will have back pain at some time in their lives. Only three of those pain sufferers will seek medical care. The goal of this study was to find out who asked for care for their back pain and why.
Workers in seven nursing homes and care facilities in the Netherlands were included in the study. There were nine kinds of workers, including nurses, kitchen help, physical therapists, office workers, drivers, and housekeepers. Questions were asked about health, work, and type of medical care used. Each worker filled out the survey twice, with a one-year gap between surveys.
The authors report how many workers had low back pain (LBP) during the one-year time period. More than half reported LBP at the time of the first survey. Of those workers, 75 percent had more than one bout of LBP during the year. Many of the workers with LBP also reported shoulder, neck, or knee pain. Overall general health was lower compared to workers without LBP.
Workers with pain lasting more than three months were more likely to seek care. Three types of doctors were consulted: general practitioner, occupational physician, and specialist. Chronic LBP patients were often sent by the doctor to a physical therapist.
Factors linked with seeking care included:
Most workers with LBP don't seek help. Only those people with intense, chronic pain use the services of doctors and other specialists. The authors say that knowing who seeks help for LBP can guide public health policy and research. It can also show us which workers are most in need of preventive care.
References: W. IJzelenberg, MSc, and Alex Burdorf, PhD. Patterns of Care for Low Back Pain in a Working Population. In Spine. Vol. 29. No. 12. Pp. 1362-1368.
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