Low Back Pain Perceptions and Coping Strategies in Pre-Professional Dancers: A Qualitative Study

Low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem in pre-professional dancers which could hamper the dancers' professional career. However, pre-professional dancers are not often studied, although they may have their own pain perceptions and coping strategies towards LBP. Considering the biopsychosocial nature of LBP, it is important to increase the understanding of these perceptions and coping strategies. The aim of this qualitative research study was to explore the dancers' perceptions about LBP and their coping strategies when they suffered from LBP.

Eighteen pre-professional dancers with and without LBP from different dance schools in Belgium were included in this study. Participants were invited for an in-depth online video interview. These in-depth interviews were based on a topic list. Afterwards, the interview transcripts were analyzed thematically.

Two primary themes emerged from the data: 1) perceptions of LBP and 2) coping strategies which dancers applied when they suffered from LBP. The perceptions about LBP were related to two different themes: "it's all about the body" and "it's all about the psychosocial and contextual factors." In addition, the coping strategies were divided into "active coping strategies" and "passive coping strategies," whereas the most popular coping strategies were stretching exercises and passive coping strategies such as massages or heating cream.

Although LBP has clearly been shown to be a biopsychosocial phenomenon, this qualitative study showed that dancers mainly considered biomedical factors as contributing factors to LBP. Additionally, instead of relying on coping strategies aimed at directly improving pain or trying to treat LBP on the basis of a single-cause diagnosis, it is important to consider the biopsychosocial origin of LBP in the management plans.