An evaluation of low back-pain-related content in Canadian newspaper media.
METHODS
Review of newspaper articles.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the content of newspaper articles in 2 provinces in Canada to determine if rest or avoidance of activity is being recommended for back pain.


BACKGROUND
Inaccurate back pain beliefs in the general public may arise due to messages in the mass media. One persisting belief in Canada is that rest or activity avoidance is needed until back pain resolves.


METHODS
We searched newspapers in 2 Canadian provinces via an electronic database for articles discussing back pain. Two trained raters used an article review template to indicate whether the article's main recommendation was to stay active, rest, was neutral (indicating a balance between rest and activity), or did not provide advice on level of activity during an episode of back pain.


RESULTS
One hundred 29 articles were identified. The primary advice provided related to level of activity during an episode of back pain was stay active in 24% of articles, whereas no articles primarily recommended rest or avoidance of activity. Sixteen percent of articles were rated as neutral, indicating the authors suggested a balance between rest and activity.


CONCLUSIONS
Back-pain-related newspaper articles do not carry messages that advocate rest or avoidance of activity, but rather highlight the importance of staying active during an episode or participating in exercise.
Gross
Douglas P
DP
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada. dgross@ualberta.ca
Field
Jasmine
J
Shanski
Kurt
K
Ferrari
Robert
R
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001510:Bed Rest; D002170:Canada; D003469:Culture; D015444:Exercise; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008402:Mass Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012146:Rest / Q000523:psychology*