Factors associated with fear avoidance beliefs among University students with Low Back Pain in the United Kingdom: A cross-sectional survey study protocol

Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of chronic disability and is predicted to escalate in the next 20 years globally. Fear Avoidance Beliefs (FAB) are one of the most important factors associated with low back pain outcomes, including the first onset of back pain, pain intensity, pain episodes, disability and quality of life. With the prevalence rate of low back pain in young adults increasing exponentially, the factors associated with fear avoidance beliefs among university students in the United Kingdom (UK) are currently unknown. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the factors associated with fear avoidance beliefs among UK university students with low back pain. An online cross-sectional study will be conducted. University students with low back pain in the UK will be recruited through university contacts and social media of the 131 universities in the UK. The online survey will collect demographic information (sex, age, ethnicity, religion, the regional location of the university, the faculty the participant is currently studying in, working status and hours of work), perceived cause of LBP, severity of pain, pain site and symptoms, pain duration, previous surgeries in the lower back area, treatment received for low back pain, the experience of seeing family members/ significant others with disabling low back pain, advice received from others, physical activity levels, mental health status and disability levels, and fear avoidance beliefs will be collected. Descriptive analysis (frequencies and percentages, means and standard deviations, median and interquartile range) will summarise data. Correlation analysis will be used to assess bivariate associations between variables. Multiple linear regression analysis will determine the factors associated with fear avoidance beliefs.