Thirteen patients were interviewed 14 days after discharge for low back disease requiring hospitalization with the object of illustrating their experience of the period of waiting for admission, treatment in the primary and secondary health services, their relationships to children living at home during their illness and the effect of the low back disease on sexual life. The patients stated that the period of waiting was the worst, dominated by pain, uncertainty, loss of sleep and lowered self esteem. Treatment in the primary health sector was found to be unsatisfactory as regards relief of pain but satisfactory as regards contact with the general practitioner. In the secondary health sector, relief of pain was found to be satisfactory to varying extents while better contact with the doctor treating the case and the staff as a whole could be desired. Waiting and uncertainty while waiting for a diagnosis and result of treatment, inactivity and the poor contact with the staff were considered by the patients to be contributory causes to the increasing mental vulnerability. The relationship to children living at home was dominated by bad conscience prior to admission and by poor contact during hospitalization. Conditions improved after discharge. Practically no sexual activity occurred during the illness. This was not primarily experienced by the patients as a problem but they feared it might be so in the long run. Patients stated that they required mental support during hospitalization, better information and advice about practical problems after discharge.

Sixty-two of 84 patients hospitalized consecutively for low back pain completed a questionnaire during hospitalization and seven months and 30 months after hospitalization. Out of 43 patients who were occupationally active at the time of admission to hospital, only 23 were still occupied 2 1/2 years after. Fourteen had been granted disability pensions, two were under rehabilitation, two were unemployed and two were on sick leave and had lost their jobs. Patients who were under rehabilitation or on sick leave at the time of admission but had lost their jobs, had now been awarded disability pensions. Seven months after admission, twelve patients had been dismissed from work; of these two were now at work again and seven were disability pensioners. Significant associations were found between rejection from the labour force and the following variables: presence of pain, failure of resumption of work seven months after hospitalization, sick-leave longer than 120 days and dismissal from work after hospitalization. Low educational level and age over 45 years were also associated with rejection, and there was an almost significant trend for patients belonging to social classes 4 and 5. 72% of the patients still had low back pain at least once a week, slightly less than half the patients experienced sexual problems because of the back disease, and more than half had given up at least one leisure activity. 23% used analgesics or non-steroid-anti-inflammatory drugs every day. While 58% considered that the disease was caused by work, only six had applied for and two had been awarded compensation for occupational disease or injury.