Back to basics: 10 facts every person should know about back pain

Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is often associated with costly, ineffective and sometimes harmful care.1 What drives disability and poor care?2 Unhelpful beliefs about LBP are associated with greater levels of pain, disability, work absenteeism, medication use and healthcare seeking.3 Unhelpful beliefs are common in people with and without LBP, and can be reinforced by the media, industry groups and well-meaning clinicians. In this editorial and infographic, we identify 10 common unhelpful beliefs about LBP and outline how they may influence behavioural and psychological responses to pain. We counter with 10 important facts about LBP, calling on clinicians to incorporate these into their interactions with patients. The infographic is designed for the public use (figure 1). Figure 1 What every person should know about low back pain. Unhelpful LBP beliefs are common, culturally endorsed and not supported by evidence.2 4 5