Belief, Knowledge and Perception of Causes of Low Back Pain among Rural and Urban Dwellers in a Nigerian City

The study examined the belief, knowledge and perception of causes of low back pain among rural and urban dwellers in Nigeria. One hundred and ninety-two (192) participants (99 from rural and 93 from urban community) were recruited for this study. A modified questionnaire from a previous similar study from India was administered to each of the participants to complete. The completed questionnaire was collected immediately. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, alpha level, was set at 0.05. Result showed that one hundred and thirty-three (71 urban and 62 rural) participants (133, 69.3%) perceived that pile was very important as a cause of low back pain. Considering the fear avoidance belief, 149 (69 urban and 80 rural) 77.6% agreed that low back pain get progressively worse in life. With regard to the knowledge of participants, 72 (45%) participants were able to answer two or three questions correctly and so were termed partially knowledgeable. Nature of work has significant association with each of the following perception, pile (X²=203.38) and poor mattresses (X²=237.830) as major cause of low back pain. This study concluded that many residents in Ile-Ife are not adequately knowledgeable about LBP and had negative perception and beliefs regarding low back pain (LBP).