P-04

Background:

Spinal fusion is a type of surgery used to treat patients with low back pain. These patients commonly have intense pain in the preoperative phase, which leads to high expectations regarding the surgery. However, there are no guarantees the pain will be gone after surgery. We examine the challenges patients face during recovery in the months following treatment via interviews.

Methods:

The respondents were recruited at an orthopedic center. Semi-structured interviews were used to interview a first group of seven patients, four women and three men. The interviews were transcribed and coded using an open coding technique.

Findings:

Before surgery patients have undergone several treatments, sometimes even other surgeries, which all had limited to no effect. Although the surgery seems to be the only possible solution to their physical problem, pain and discomfort is still present during recovery. This period is filled with emotions and challenges, which all require their own coping strategy. For instance, patients struggle with the loss of independence. In addition, patients shift between the need to follow general rules set out by the hospital versus the need to listen to their own body. Also the caution while moving, avoiding unfavorable actions for their recovery, versus the need to stay active to enhance recovery, remains a challenge.

Discussion:

The many challenges patients face during the recovery period in a context of uncertainty require them to be flexible in their coping while listening carefully to their own body.