Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Associated with Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain in College Athletes

Figures & data

Table 1 Participants from Different Clubs with Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain

	Total	Athletes with NS-CLBP
Tennis	29	7 (24.1)
Baseball	25	3 (12.0)
Rugby football	24	6 (25.0)
Volleyball	20	6 (30.0)
Track and fields	20	2 (10.0)
Taido	17	1 (5.9)
Badminton	17	0 (0.0)
American football	17	4 (23.5)
Futsal	16	1 (6.3)
Alpine and Nordic ski	16	1 (6.3)
Table tennis	15	2 (13.3)
Softball	12	2 (16.7)
Basketball	8	0 (0.0)
Soccer	8	2 (25.0)
Yachting	7	1 (14.3)
Handball	5	1 (20.0)
Sumo	4	1 (25.0)
Boat	3	1 (33.3)

Notes: The values are given as the number of participants (%).

Abbreviation: NS-CLBP, non-specific chronic low back pain.

Figure 1 Flow chart of participant recruitment.

Notes: Among the 263 athletes, those with pain from the lower margin of the 12th rib to the lower gluteal folds for more than 3 months were classified as non-specific chronic low back pain group, and thus 41 patients were included.

Table 2 Demographic Data of Participants with or Without Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain

	NS-CLBP Group (n = 41)	Non-NS-CLBP Group (n = 222)	P value	Effect Sizes	Power
Age, yrs	20.0 (2.0)	20.0 (2.0)	0.476	0.020	0.052
Height, cm	173.0 (11.0)	170.0 (9.6)	0.223	0.218	0.249
Weight, kg	70.0 (11.5)	64.0 (13.1)	0.012	0.375	0.595
Body mass index, kg/m^2	23.1 (4.4)	21.7 (3.6)	0.022	0.347	0.529
Sex, male/female	37/4	184/38	0.352	0.173	0.801
Time per week in sports activity, hours	12.0 (8.0)	10.0 (7.0)	0.207	0.166	0.164

Notes: The values are given as the median (interquartile range). In the sex section, the number of males and females each is listed.

Abbreviation: NS-CLBP, non-specific chronic low back pain.

Table 3 Questionnaire Data of the Participants with or Without Chronic Low Back Pain

	NS-CLBP Group (n = 41)	Non-NS-CLBP Group (n = 222)	P value	Effect Sizes	Power
FABQ-PA	15.0 (6.0)	10.0 (15.0)	<0.001	0.792	0.996
AFAQ	26.0 (11.0)	24.0 (16.0)	0.169	0.249	0.309
TSK-11	25.0 (5.5)	23.0 (9.3)	0.034	0.372	0.588
PCS	22.0 (15.0)	17.5 (21.0)	0.005	0.512	0.851
RDQ	1.00 (4.0)	0.0 (0.0)	<0.001	0.447	0.745

Notes: The values are given as the median (interquartile range).

Abbreviations: NS-CLBP, non-specific chronic low back pain. FABQ-PA, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire physical activity subscale. AFAQ, Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire. TSK-11, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia-11. PCS, Pain Catastrophizing Scale. RDQ, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.

Table 4 Multivariate Regression Model Associated with Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain

	B	OR	95% CI for OR	P value	VIF
BMI	0.053	1.055	0.954–1.165	0.296	1.131
FABQ-PA	0.092	1.096	1.031–1.165	0.003	1.314
TSK-11	0.009	1.009	0.947–1.076	0.776	1.360
RDQ	0.063	1.065	0.994–1.142	0.074	1.079

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index. FABQ-PA, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire physical activity subscale. TSK-11, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia-11. RDQ, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. B, partial regression coefficient. OR, odd ratio. CI, coefficient interval. VIF, variance inflation factor.