Musculoskeletal science & practice
-
Musculoskelet Sci Pract · Apr 2019
Patients' experiences of how symptoms are explained and influences on back-related health after pre-surgery physiotherapy: A qualitative study.
Since the pre-surgery phase is a new setting for physiotherapy, exploring patients' experiences might contribute to new insights for future development of care in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disorders. ⋯ Improvements in back-related health in all the biopsychosocial dimensions emerged. Even those who expressed no symptom improvements, felt better performing exercises than being inactive, and exercises improved their frame of mind, a useful experience in possible low back pain recurrences. Pre-surgery physiotherapy provided reassurance and gave time to reflect on treatments and lifestyle. Despite pre-surgery physiotherapy, back-related symptoms were mainly described in line with a biomedical explanatory model. Those using broader explanations were confident that physiotherapy and self-management could influence their symptoms. Suggesting more emphasis on explanatory models suitable for surgery, pre- and post-surgery physiotherapy and self-management in the professionals' dialogue with patients.