The experience of low back pain in Iranian women: a focus group study

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) often proves resistant to treatment because there are different biological, psychological, and social factors that can affect its treatment. In this study, we explored Iranian women's beliefs regarding the cause of their LBP. Findings are based on four focus groups (N = 24 participants) with LBP patients. Participants articulated their causation beliefs (Explanatory Models) about low back pain through three themes: idioms of distress: stress in women's lives; lack of knowledge resulted in high-risk behaviors; and organic/biomedical. Given the difficultly regarding diagnosis and treatment of CLBP, understanding patients' health beliefs, causation beliefs, and experiences are warranted.