Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Psychosocial Aspects of Health
• Qualitative Health Research

Background:

• Chronic low back pain significantly disrupts patients' lives, affecting daily activities and overall life trajectories.
• Understanding the patient's perspective on these disruptions is crucial for effective rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how chronic low back pain disrupts patients' life paths.
• To evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on reconstructing these life trajectories from the patient's viewpoint.

Main Methods:

• An interdisciplinary qualitative research approach was employed.
• Semi-directive interviews were conducted with 20 participants before and after a three-week hospital-based rehabilitation program for chronic low back pain.

Main Results:

• Chronic low back pain causes disruptions in daily and professional activities, impacting life linearity.
• The rehabilitation program served as a restorative space, helping most participants regain a sense of life continuity and normality, especially in domestic, family, and social spheres.
• Professional life benefits were moderate, with pain management and functional capacity improvements reported.

Conclusions:

• Multidisciplinary rehabilitation positively influences patients' life trajectories, promoting a return to perceived normality.
• The program equips patients with tools for autonomous pain and problem management, enhancing functional capacities.
• Restorative effects are most pronounced in social and family domains, with more limited impact on professional reintegration.