Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Monash-Cabrini Department of Musculoskeletal Health and Clinical Epidemiology, Cabrini Health, Malvern, Victoria, Australia.
BMJ Open. 2021 Sep 13;11(9):e049938. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049938.
To investigate (1) self-reported societal comprehension of common and usually non-serious terms found in lumbar spine imaging reports and (2) its relationship to perceived seriousness, likely persistence of low back pain (LBP), fear of movement, back beliefs and history and intensity of LBP.
Cross-sectional online survey of the general public.
Five English-speaking countries: UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Adults (age >18 years) with or without a history of LBP recruited in April 2019 with quotas for country, age and gender.
Self-reported understanding of 14 terms (annular fissure, disc bulge, disc degeneration, disc extrusion, disc height loss, disc protrusion, disc signal loss, facet joint degeneration, high intensity zone, mild canal stenosis, Modic changes, nerve root contact, spondylolisthesis and spondylosis) commonly found in lumbar spine imaging reports. For each term, we also elicited worry about its seriousness, and whether its presence would indicate pain persistence and prompt fear of movement.
From 774 responses, we included 677 (87.5%) with complete and valid responses. 577 (85%) participants had a current or past history of LBP of whom 251 (44%) had received lumbar spine imaging. Self-reported understanding of all terms was poor. At best, 235 (35%) reported understanding the term 'disc degeneration', while only 71 (10.5%) reported understanding the term 'Modic changes'. For all terms, a moderate to large proportion of participants (range 59%-71%), considered they indicated a serious back problem, that pain might persist (range 52%-71%) and they would be fearful of movement (range 42%-57%).
Common and usually non-serious terms in lumbar spine imaging reports are poorly understood by the general population and may contribute to the burden of LBP.
ACTRN12619000545167.
调查（1）公众对腰椎影像学报告中常见且通常不严重的术语的自我报告理解程度，以及（2）这种理解程度与对疾病严重程度的感知、腰痛（LBP）持续可能性、对运动的恐惧、背部信念和 LBP 病史和强度之间的关系。
对公众进行横断面在线调查。
五个英语国家：英国、美国、加拿大、新西兰和澳大利亚。
2019 年 4 月招募的有或无 LBP 病史的成年人，按国家、年龄和性别配额。
自我报告对 14 个术语（环状裂缝、椎间盘膨出、椎间盘退变、椎间盘突出、椎间盘高度丢失、椎间盘突出、椎间盘信号丢失、小关节退变、高强度区、轻度椎管狭窄、Modic 改变、神经根接触、脊椎滑脱和脊椎病）的理解程度，这些术语通常出现在腰椎影像学报告中。对于每个术语，我们还询问了他们对其严重程度的担忧，以及其存在是否表明疼痛持续存在并会引起对运动的恐惧。
在 774 份回复中，我们纳入了 677 份（87.5%）完整有效的回复。577 名（85%）参与者有当前或过去的 LBP 病史，其中 251 名（44%）接受过腰椎影像学检查。自我报告对所有术语的理解都很差。最好的情况是，235 名（35%）参与者报告理解“椎间盘退变”一词，而只有 71 名（10.5%）参与者报告理解“Modic 改变”一词。对于所有术语，相当一部分参与者（范围 59%-71%）认为这些术语表明存在严重的背部问题，疼痛可能持续（范围 52%-71%），他们会害怕运动（范围 42%-57%）。
腰椎影像学报告中的常见且通常不严重的术语被公众理解得很差，这可能导致 LBP 的负担增加。
ACTRN12619000545167。
