What Works in Reducing Fear in Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain

Fear in Individuals with Chronic low back pain needs to understand that those fears need to be addressed in order for them to have a better quality life, and also to have a normal life as possible.

According to the National Institutes of Health, around 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point (1). There are many reasons that they can experience low back pain. Most people only have low back pain for a short period of time, ranging from days to a few weeks. When it lasts longer, it is considered chronic low back pain, and it can be a problem that impacts the person’s life in numerous ways.

Chronic low back pain is that which lasts for 12 weeks or longer. It’s something that around 20 percent of those who have acute back pain will go on to experience. It’s a leading cause of people not being able to work, and also leaves people with a fear of movement.

Chronic low back pain patients have fears of:

Engaging in exercise,
Work,
Activities that looks painful afterward

Researchers set out to the research that has been conducted on this fear that people have and to see what conservative interventions work to reduce it. The results of their study are published in the August 2019 issue of the journal Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2). The two researchers reviewed databases, such as PubMed, for all published studies related to fear in individuals with chronic low back pain, from inception through May 2019.

Their searching found 61 studies that fit the evaluation criteria. They then reviewed each study for a range of criteria to gather information regarding what conservative and surgical interventions were reported as being effective. There were three fear threats that were measured in the studies they analyzed, which included fear-avoidance beliefs, fear of falling, and kinesiophobia. What they found was that fear-avoidance beliefs were reduced by such treatments as manual therapy and electrotherapy. When it comes to the fear of falling, they found that a multidisciplinary intervention helped. To reduce kinesiophobia, they found that exercise and multidisciplinary interventions helped.

This is important information for those who have chronic low back pain or work in providing a treatment plan for those who do. Addressing the fear needs to done be in order to help people live a better quality of life and be able to engage in many of their normal activities, including working and exercising. Knowing what methods can help reduce the fear can help in providing effective pain management plans.

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