“It’s hard to trust an individual, it’s easier to trust an image”—patients with low back pain want imaging as a means of coping with uncertainty
Many patients believed imaging for low back pain was important to gain certainty in diagnosis and reassurance that treatment was appropriate. However, their beliefs about the value of imaging may not be stable over time, as they are influenced by ongoing experiences and reappraisals. To reduce unwarranted imaging, clinicians should consider providing consistent and contextualized messaging that meets the patient's ongoing illness experience.
Authors
- Andrea M. Patey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8770-4494)
- Jan Hartvigsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5876-7410)
- Noah Ivers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2500-2435)
- Simon French (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7061-7706)
- Jill Alison Hayden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-144X)
- Jeremy Grimshaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8015-8243)
- Kathleen E. Norman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7409-7704)
- Lynn Haslam‐Larmer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2554-1981)
- Hazel Jenkins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0535-687X)
- Michael Green (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5852-0143)
- Isabella M. Thomas
Institutions
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- University of Southern Denmark (DK)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of Sudbury (CA)
- Queen's University (CA)
- Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre (CA)
- Ottawa Hospital (CA)
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (CA)
- Macquarie University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Primary Care
- Published
- 2025-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-025-02998-5
- Primary Topic
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research