Health care workers' perceptions of their low back pain at a single center: A qualitative approach

The primary aim of this research is to explore the perceptions of health care workers in India regarding their low back pain (LBP). This study also evaluates the respondents ’views about physiotherapy treatment and concerns related to that treatment.

Interpretative Phenomenology was used. The study was conducted in HAL Medical Centre, Hyderabad, India. Three health care workers with low back pain, aged between 36 and 45 years, who had self-referred themselves to the physiotherapy department were approached based on the eligibility criteria and recruited in the study using convenience sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The interviews were then analysed using thematic analysis.

The results suggested that the pain had a strong influence on the functional activities, social and psychological aspects of the health care workers ’lives. Health care workers perceived manual handling and poor ergonomics as the main contributory factors for their low back pain. Ageing, lifestyle, stress, obesity and smoking were other associated co-morbidities. Sociocultural, religious aspects and activities of daily living were also a concern for the Indian health care workers. Pain medicines, physical therapy exercises, support from employers and doctors were the available management strategies. Some hospital workers held the opinion that self-management was a preferable way to manage their problem while others felt that health care practitioners and employer support were essential in work-focused rehabilitation.

This study shows that health care workers struggle with LBP. Therefore, practitioners should ask them about their needs and preferences, and these should be incorporated into shared decisions about treatment and outcome measures. Support from doctors, physiotherapists and employers are vital, especially with regard to workplace adaptations and return to work.

The main limitation of this research is an inability to observe patients ’facial expressions during telephone interviews. Also, this study did not consider all age groups in the working population.

This study suggested that health care workers ’decisions need to be considered when treating LBP. Support from doctors and employers is important in coping with LBP in the workplace.