Effects of Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire thresholds and gender on spatiotemporal parameters during walking in patients with chronic low back pain

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the threshold value of Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Subscales on quantified movement as a function of gender.

Design study

Retrospective cohort study.

Settings

Single center study.

Participants

One hundred forty patients (aged 38.4) with chronic low back pain and referred to functional restauration program.

Intervention

Patients participated in a five-week multidisciplinary Functional Restoration Program between 1 April 2013 and 1 April 2019, evaluated with clinical scales, psychosocial care and objective gait analysis. This study was a noninterventional retrospective study.

Main measures

Objective gait analysis with the Vicon Motion Systems (Ltd, Oxford, UK), Fear-Avoidance Belief Scale, Visual Analog Scale, the DALLAS Pain Questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Results

Data from 131 patients were studied. Patients with significant Fear-Avoidance Beliefs scores walked with significantly higher cadence. Patients with higher work subscale values presented significantly lower cadence, without effects on step length and self-selected speed. Women with significant fear-avoidance belief score walked with higher step length (0.58 m (0.05)) than men with significant fear-avoidance belief score (0.61 m (0.05). Correlations between Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire and spatiotemporal parameters were gender-dependent but nonsignificant or low.

Conclusions

The threshold values depicted in the literature on psychometric analysis reveal low but quantitative effect of fear-avoidance on spatiotemporal parameters. These threshold values can be used by clinicians to evaluate the significance of the clinical scale. Considering gait, cadence should help the clinician to assess the fear-avoidance, particularly for patients are not able to complete all clinical scale items.

Keywords

Low back pain avoidance behavior gait gender cutoff value

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