Women with chronic lower back pain in a rural settlement: challenges of a contextualized view from a physical therapy training

Abstract

The article presents a reflection of the need for physiotherapists to develop greater cultural competence for an expanded approach to chronic pain. To develop this reflection, we initially showed a review of how models of body and pain differ, from a training that takes the anatomy laboratory and an anthropological perspective as a reference. From the contrast of these perspectives, we analyzed three situations experienced in the fieldwork, while researching six women with chronic lower back pain in a context of a rural settlement. These situations allowed us to discuss how life trajectories mark the ways we perceive our bodies, how relevant is the cultural competence for the development of the professional’s ability to listen and take action, and how conviviality and collective action between the women during work in a cooperative can contribute to coping with pain in this rural context. We conclude that having a more qualified apprehension of the way of life of patients with chronic back pain helps to understand the limits of physical therapy training and to rethink the needs and possibilities of treatment in different contexts.