Article

Everyday activities are important factors for avoiding the development
of chronic low back pain (LBP). The purpose this study was to explore LBP
patients' perspective on long-term effects of participating in a counseling
intervention designed to motivate them to change work routines and to exercise.
METHOD: Follow-up qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were made of 25
LBP patients who had received the counseling intervention. Interviews were
transcribed and explored with an interpretative thematic analysis. The findings
were organized around Kleinman's conception of "explanatory models". RESULTS: For
the individual participant the beliefs about the illness were internally
coherent, but most often they were idiosyncratic and fitted to the particular
participants' overall explanatory model. Participation in the counseling
intervention had created a sense of certainty and potential control over the
disease and had legitimized their sick role at work and at home. The majority of
the patients reported having integrated exercise into their explanatory models
and understood exercise to be beneficial in their continual and concrete
management of their LBP. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention had affected the patients'
personal agency and space for action. We suggest that this effect was linked to
the individually tailored approach drawing on both educational and motivational
agents. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Maintaining everyday activities,
including retaining one's occupation, is an important factor in low back pain
rehabilitation. Counselling on low back pain rehabilitation must be aligned with
people's beliefs about their illness. A counselling intervention made patients
adopt exercising into their long-term management of low back pain.

Langue : ANGLAIS