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Fear Avoidance Beliefs Predict Disability in Older Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain
Author(s) -
CamachoSoto Alejandra,
Sowa Gwendolyn A.,
Perera Subashan,
Weiner Debra K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pmandr
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1934-1563
pISSN - 1934-1482
DOI - 10.1016/j.pmrj.2012.01.017
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , depression (economics) , mcgill pain questionnaire , physical therapy , geriatric depression scale , chronic pain , low back pain , gait , preferred walking speed , back pain , physical medicine and rehabilitation , visual analogue scale , depressive symptoms , psychiatry , cognition , alternative medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives To determine whether fear avoidance beliefs (FABs) in older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP) are significantly associated with gait speed decline and/or self‐report of greater disability. Design Cross‐sectional analysis. Setting An academic medical center (single site). Participants Two hundred English‐speaking participants aged 65 years and older with CLBP every day or almost every day of moderate or greater intensity for ≥3 months. Main Outcome Measurements The physical activity portion of the FAB questionnaire assessed FABs. Disability was measured with gait speed and the Roland Morris Questionnaire. Covariates measured included age, gender, body mass index, chronic disease (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), and pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire Short Form). Results FABs were significantly associated with the Roland Morris Questionnaire ( P < .0001) and gait speed ( P = .002) after controlling for all covariates. Conclusion FABs related to physical activity in older adults with CLBP were significantly associated with both self‐reported and performance‐based disability after controlling for known confounders. Previous studies have reported similar associations between self‐reported measures of disabling back pain and FABs. Ours is the first study to examine the relationship between FAB and gait speed, a powerful predictor of morbidity and mortality. Future work should examine whether targeting fear avoidance in addition to other psychosocial measures in older adults with CLBP improves gait speed and functional independence.