Abstract

Background: Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders requiring medical attention worldwide. More than half of the population will seek medical care for back pain at one point in their lifetime. This study aims to evaluate the causes, risk factors, disability, and management effects among patients with LBP.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted in Riyadh's primary health care clinics. Random sampling technique was used to target males and females, 18 years old or more, living in Riyadh who complained of LBP. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for the data analysis.
Results: The study included 132 participants. Around 52% of patients stop working for at least a month because of LBP. There is a statistically significant relationship between age and osteoporosis as a cause of LBP (p < 0.001) and between physiotherapy sessions and pain improvement (p < 0.02). There is no statistically significant relationship between analgesics (p < 0.226), back injection (p < 0.092), or surgery (p < 0.193), and pain improvement.
Conclusion: LBP can lead to prolonged absenteeism from work and can be a significant financial burden on the healthcare system. Physiotherapy was found to be perceived to alleviate the symptoms.

Key words: Epidural, trauma, severity, lower back pain, risk factors