Relationship Between Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionaire (FABQ) Scores and Acute Low Back Pain Treatment

Each year, millions of individuals are afflicted with low back pain. Clinical researchers have a growing concern that patients' acute pain will develop into chronic pain, partly because of their fear-avoidance beliefs often resulting in them not returning to work (George, 2006; Pincus, 2002). The aims of this present study were as follows: a) to examine if FABQ risk criteria was significantly related to risk criteria with the ALBP algorithm; b) to examine the differences in patients' fear-avoidance beliefs scores and their return-to-work status; c) to examine the relationship between FABQ scores and scores on other psychosocial pain measures; d) to examine the FABQ scores for those who completed treatment, compared to those who did not complete treatment; and e) to examine the differences in FABQ scores from pre-treatment to one-year follow-up. The risk criteria with the ALBP algorithm was significantly related to risk criteria on the FABQ-W, but not significantly related to risk criteria on the FABQ-PA. Patients who returned to work tended to have lower FABQ scores than patients who did not return to work. Findings indicated that patients who had higher fear-avoidance beliefs (high FABQ scores) were more likely to have obstacles that prevented them from returning to work. Also, patients with higher fear avoidance beliefs tended to perceive their overall health status as poor. Patients who were classified as 'adaptive copers' tended to have lower FABQ scores than patients classified as 'dysfunctional' which indicates patients classified as 'adaptive copers' utilize healthier coping skills. No significant difference was found between those who completed treatment and those who did not complete treatment. Additionally, patients tended to have higher fear-avoidance beliefs at pre-treatment than at one-year follow-up indicating some potential benefits of treatment. Overall, patients who tended to have high fear-avoidance beliefs were more likely not to return to work, have more obstacles when trying to return to work, perceived their overall health status as poor, and were less likely to utilize healthy coping, hence their avoidance behavior.