Because then you’ve got a paper saying “you are sick”. It's all very well making us an information brochure, but it's as much a case of making an information brochure for the other four million people in Norway” (Informant 3, Niels, 55-year-old lorry driver). This study of illness experiences among Norwegian back pain sufferers shows that a common topic of concern is the degree in which ones illness is accepted among health professionals, family and friends and a fear that the reality of ones pain is being questioned. The source of each quote is clearly identified, however, and throughout the text individuals that have participated in the interviews are referred to as “informants” while individuals that have participated in the discussion list are referred to as “contributors”. Delegitimation and stigma: back pain as “character blemish” The back pain sufferers in this study describe a fear that their experience of suffering and the motives for their behaviour are being questioned.

Purpose . To explore how patients with persistent unexplained pain interpret and utilise the biopsychosocial model. Method . We conducted three interviews with 20 patients attending a pain management programme for persistent unexplained back pain; prior to attending the course, immediately following the course and at 1 year.

Purpose . Physiotherapy for low back pain (LBP) includes exercise therapy. This study explores patients' and physiotherapists' perceptions of exercise adherence.

Summary Non-specific low back pain affects people of all ages and is a leading contributor to disease burden worldwide. Management guidelines endorse triage to identify the rare cases of low back pain that are caused by medically serious pathology, and so require diagnostic work-up or specialist referral, or both.

Abstract This study investigated the prevalence of back pain, disability, and, of most importance, the presence of misconceptions about low back pain (LBP), its diagnosis and treatment in a bicultural community sample (Belgium). Using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale [Pain 50 (1992) 133] persons were classified according to pain intensity and disability in five subgroups. In our sample (n =1624) the 6-month prevalence of low back pain was 41.8%. Only in 8.2% back pain was disabling.

Consequently, it does not take into account that “each of us is a body and has (i.e., experiences) a body” (Bendelow & Williams, 1995, p. 86), which leads to limited understanding of the complex phenomenon of pain (Jackson, 2000; Baszanger, 1998). In this paper I discuss how Finnish women experienced initial back pain and the long and uncertain process of getting a name, a medical diagnosis for their discomfort. Second, the violations of the normal expectations for a story line make their stories worth telling, and the women do so in a culturally comprehensive way (Bruner, 2001, pp. 29–30). Thus, the narratives serve as forums for explaining, presenting, and negotiating illness (Hyden, 1997). Most of the previous literature on back pain experiences has focused on the diagnostic process around chronic back pain (Rhodes, McPhillips-Tangum, Markham, & Klenk, 1999; Kugelmann, 1999; Eccleston, Williams, & Stanton Rogers, 1997; Kleinman, 1988; Murphy & Fisher, 1983). Another angle of the research agenda has focused on living with chronic back pain without a diagnosis (Baszanger (1994), Jackson (2000); Baszanger, 1998; Honkasalo (1998), Honkasalo (1999), Honkasalo, 1998, 1999 (2001); Good, 1994; Morris, 1991; Kleinman, 1988; Hilbert, 1984; Kotarba, 1983). So far not much seems to have been written on the early stages of the diagnostic process before back pain is considered a chronic problem.

This led to publication of a pilot study in 2008 [4 ] where 32 chronic low back pain patients with Modic type 1 endplate changes and a previous lumbar herniated disc were treated with amoxicillin and clavulanate for 90 days. Eur Spine J 17(10):1289–1299 Article PubMed Google Scholar Albert HB, Briggs AM, Kent P, Byrhagen A, Hansen C, Kjaergaard K (2011) The prevalence of MRI-defined spinal pathoanatomies and their association with Modic changes in individuals seeking care for low back pain.