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Video

Video: How can psychological factors contribute to low back pain?

By Mayo Clinic staff

Transcript

Randy Shelerud, M.D., Mayo Clinic specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation

Well there seems to be more and more evidence that there is a mind-body connection here that plays in an important way. Patients with depression, for instance, are at higher risk of developing chronic low back pain. As are patients with various anxiety disorders. We are currently looking into other factors that may be associated, including patients' past pain experiences, patients' expectations about their pain, and issues regarding fear of pain and avoidance behaviors, which we kind of lump into coping strategies. Those all seem to have some role in the increased risk of developing chronic low back pain.

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May 13, 2008

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