RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIPSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND NONSPECIFIC CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.8208122624027

• Palavras-chave: Biopsychosocial Models; Pain Threshold; Low Back Pain; Chronic Pain.

• Keywords: Biopsychosocial Models; Pain Threshold; Low Back Pain; Chronic Pain.

• Abstract:

  INTRODUCTION: Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Biopsychosocial factors lead to higher levels of pain intensity and disability than anatomical factors in patients with chronic low back pain. It is believed that biopsychosocial factors may interfere with the pressure pain threshold in people with chronic low back pain, but the exact relationship between the pressure pain threshold and biopsychosocial factors in chronic low back pain is not yet known. OBJECTIVES:  To identify whether there is a correlation between biopsychosocial factors, pain intensity, and pressure pain threshold in university students with nonspecific chronic low back pain. METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of forty students from the State University of Northern Paraná (UENP) at the Jacarezinho campus in Paraná. Five questionnaires were administered to assess biopsychosocial factors, and pressure algometry was used to verify the pressure pain threshold. The questionnaires used were: PainDetect; STarT Back; Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK); Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS); Pain Catastrophizing Scale: Brazil (B-PCS). The data were tabulated in Excel 7.0 and statistically analyzed using the statistical program JASP 0.16.2.0. The significance level adopted was 95% (p≤0.05). RESULTS: Significant correlations were found between the questionnaire scores and between pain intensity and the final questionnaire scores. However, no significant correlations were found between the questionnaires and the pressure pain threshold. CONCLUSION: Pain intensity correlated with several biopsychosocial factors, such as neuropathic components of pain, catastrophizing, and functional disability. However, there was no correlation between psychosocial factors and pressure pain threshold in university students with chronic nonspecific low back pain.