Grit in Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Low Back Pain Is Related to Self-Physical Training Habits

Introduction Self-management is an effective way to manage chronic low back pain (LBP) and is frequently recommended. However, the psychological aspects, including grit (ie, perseverance and passion for long-term goals), of the habit of self-management remain unclear. Objective To investigate the relationship between grit and the self-directed exercise. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Setting Community-dwelling older adults. Participants Fifty-nine older adults with LBP (30 men, 29 women; mean age 72 +/- 5 years, range 65-82 years). Intervention Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcome measures included grit scores on the Short Grit Scale and the number of months performing self-directed exercise. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between participants' grit and duration of self-directed exercise. Results A significant positive correlation between grit and the duration of self-directed exercise habits was observed (r = 0.49, P < .001). Furthermore, in multiple regression analysis, grit was a significant factor of the duration of self-directed exercise. Conclusion Low grit was associated with reduced self-directed exercise in individuals with LBP self-directed exercise.