Attitudes and beliefs of older adults with acute low back pain: 12-month results from the Brazilian cohort back complaints in the elders.

Background: Psychosocial factors have been identified as important predictors of onset, course and persistence of low back pain (LBP) in the general population.

Objective: To identify factors associated with attitudes/beliefs in older adults with LBP throughout a 12-month follow-up.

Methods: A longitudinal investigation was conducted with 500 participants aged ≥60 years reporting a new (acute) episode of nonspecific LBP.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reproducibility of the Back Beliefs Questionnaire among older Brazilians with acute low back pain. A cross-sectional study.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has emerging as an epidemic, multifactorial and multidimensional condition in older age. Assessment of attitudes and beliefs of patients with back pain is necessary for understanding the impact of psychosocial factors on pain perception and management.

Objectives: To cross-culturally adapt and examine the validity and reproducibility (intra and interrater reliability and agreement) of the Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ) in older Brazilians with acute LBP.

Effect of the Auricular Acupoint Associated with Physical Exercise in Elderly People: A Randomized Clinical Test.

Objective: To analyze the effect of auricular acupoint associated with physical exercise on balance, mobility, and fear of falling in the elderly.

Method: The study is characterized as a clinical, controlled, and randomized trial with 22 elderly people divided into two groups: kinesiotherapy group (n = 11) and kinesiotherapy/auriculotherapy group (n = 11). The instruments used for evaluation were Falls Efficacy Scale International; Berg Balance Scale, and Timed up and Go Test.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor plasma levels are increased in older women after an acute episode of low back pain.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a growing public health problem in old age, and it is associated with disabling pain and depressive disorders. We compared brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels, a key neurotrophin in pain modulation, between older women after an acute episode of LBP and age-matched pain-free controls, and investigated potential differences in BDNF levels between controls and LBP subgroups based on pain severity, presence of depressive symptoms and use of analgesic and antidepressant drugs.

Methods: A total of 221 participants (154 with LBP and 67 pain-free) were studied.

Gait speed correlates in a multiracial population of community-dwelling older adults living in Brazil: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: Gait speed is a strong predictor of a wide range of adverse health outcomes in older adults. Mean values for gait speed in community-dwelling older adults vary substantially depending on population characteristics, suggesting that social, biological, or health factors might explain why certain groups tend to self-select their gait speed in different patterns. The vast majority of studies reported in the literature present data from North American and European populations.