Articles: back-pain.
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Although back pain is common among older people, limited information is available about the characteristics of these patients in primary care. Earlier research suggests that the severity of back symptoms increases with older age. ⋯ In this study, older back pain patients reported more disabilities and co-morbidity. However, the clinical relevance of these differences for the course of the back pain episode in older patients remains a subject for further research.
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Expectations for recovery are a known predictor for returning to work. Most studies seem to conclude that the higher the expectancy the better the outcome. However, the development of expectations over time is rarely researched and experimental studies show that realistic expectations rather than high expectancies are the most adaptive. This study aims to explore patterns of stability and change in expectations for recovery during the first weeks of a back-pain episode and how these patterns relate to other psychological variables and outcome. ⋯ Decreases in expectancies for recovery seem as important as baseline values in terms of outcome, which has clinical and theoretical implications.