Do medical students believe the back pain myths? A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is common, affecting 58-84% of adults at some point. In benign cases, misinformation can lead to harmful coping strategies and prolonged recovery time. Deyo has identified seven 'Myths of Back Pain' as misconceptions commonly seen in clinical practice of which doctors-in-training should be aware. We sought to determine medical students' baseline knowledge of the prognosis and management of LBP compared to the general public and to dispel the 'Myths of Back Pain'. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study of medical students (pre-clinical and clinical) at the National University of Ireland, Galway where students completed a questionnaire outlining the seven 'Myths of Back Pain'. Final year students completed the survey before and after a seminar on LBP. Students' results were compared with a random sample of the public who attended Galway University Hospital. RESULTS: Two hundred nineteen students completed the questionnaire (59% female, 41% male). The mean age was 21 years (17-32). The mean number of correct answers increased according to medical school year (premedical 3/7, first year 4/7, final year 5/7). A personal history of back pain and female sex were associated with higher scores. On average, medical students answered 4/7 questions correctly overall, compared to the public (n = 131) who averaged at 3/7. Final years dispelled one further myth after their LBP seminar. CONCLUSIONS: Common misconceptions around LBP are prevalent among medical students and the general public. It is important that medical school curricula address these issues as part of their musculoskeletal programme.

Do "Myths" of low back pain exist among Irish population? A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Low back pain remains major public health problem in the Western industrialized world. The known prevalence of low back pain in Ireland is approximately 13 %. It is one of the leading causes of sickness compensation and disability pension in our justification. We hypothesized that there is a widespread misconception about the perception of low back pain among the Irish population. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the "Myths" of low back pain existed among the Irish population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study in the Republic of Ireland from April 2013 to August 2013. The Irish population who visited Galway University Hospital, Galway, Ireland, was contacted randomly at point of entry to the hospital. During the survey, the authors obtained verbal consent before handing the questionnaire, which contained the Deyo's seven myths. The responders were asked to mark their response in a three-point scale (agree, unsure, disagree) to the seven statements. RESULTS: Out of 500 responders, 59 (11.8 %) people answered none of the questions correctly. Fifty-six (11.2 %) answered one question correctly, 106 (21.2 %) answered two questions correctly, 85 (17 %) people disagreed with three myths, 88 (17.6 %) disagreed with four myths, 55 (11 %) people answered five questions correctly, and 34 (6.8 %) answered six questions correctly. Therefore, only 17 (3.4 %) people disagreed with all the seven myths. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this cross-sectional study showed that myths of low back pain widely exist among Irish population studied . The level of education played an important role. The findings from this study suggest that public health information regarding low back pain is inadequate and has not affected attitudes to low back pain in an Irish population.

Dorsal root ganglionopathy in a hepatitis C patient: a case report.

We report an unusual clinical presentation of dorsal root ganglionopathy in a hepatitis C patient with negative cryoglobulins characterized by both motor and sensory symptoms. This mixed clinical picture in a hepatitis C patient is rare but should be considered a potential complication of HCV infection.