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Objective: Low back pain (LBP) is little explored in the aging population especially when considering age-relevant and culturally dependent outcomes. We aimed to describe socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of Brazilian older people with a new episode of LBP presenting to primary care. Methods: We sourced baseline information on socio-demographic, pain-related and clinical characteristics from 602 older adults from the Brazilian Back Complaints in the Elders (Brazilian BACE) study. We analyzed differences in pain, disability, functional capacity and psychosocial factors between sub-groups based on age (i.e. participants aged 55-74 or ≥75 years), education (i.e. those with four years or less of schooling or those with more than four years of schooling) and income (i.e. participants who reported earning two or less minimal wages or three and more). Results: Participants presented severe LBP (7.18/10, SD: 2.59). Younger participants were slightly more disabled (mean difference 1.29 points, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.03/5.56), reporting poorer physical health, and less fall-related self-efficacy (mean difference of 2.41, 95% CI 0.35/4.46). Those less educated, and those with income equal or less than two minimum wages had more disability, pain catastrophizing and worse functional capacity. Conclusions: This was the first study showing that Brazilian older adults with LBP present high levels of functional disability and psychological distress, especially those with low socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a major health and economic problem worldwide. Graded activity and physiotherapy are commonly used interventions for nonspecific low back pain. However, there is currently little evidence to support the use of one intervention over the other in the medium-term. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of graded activity exercises to physiotherapy-based exercises at mid-term (three and six months' post intervention) in patients with chronic nonspecific LBP. Methods: Sixty-six patients were randomly allocated to two groups: graded activity group (n = 33) and physiotherapy group (n = 33). These patients received individual sessions twice a week for six weeks. Follow-up measurements were taken at three and six months. The main outcome measurements were intensity pain (Pain Numerical Rating Scale) and disability (Rolland Morris Disability Questionnaire). Results: No significant differences between groups after three and six month-follow ups were observed. Both groups showed similar outcomes for pain intensity at three months [between group differences: -0.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.5 to 1.2)] and six months [0.1 (95% CI = -1.1 to 1.5)], disability at three months was [-0.6 (95% CI = -3.4 to 2.2)] and six months [0.0 (95% CI = -2.9 to 3.0)]. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that graded activity and physiotherapy have similar effects in the medium-term for patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]