Chronic neck and low back pain from personal experiences: a written narrative approach

Background: Chronic neck and low back pain are very common and have detrimental effects for people and society. In this study, we explore the experiences of individuals with neck and/or back pain using a written narrative methodology. Materials & methods: A total of 92 individuals explained their pain experience using written narratives. Narratives were analyzed through thematic analysis and text data mining. Results: Participants wrote about their experience in terms of pain characteristics, diagnosis process, pain consequences, coping strategies, pain triggers, well-being and future expectations. Text data mining allowed us to identify concurrent networks that were basically related with pain characteristics, management and triggers. Conclusion: Written narratives are useful to understand individuals' experiences from their point of view.