The burden of low back pain among undergraduate physiotherapy students at the University of Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study.

The final sample had 90 participants, giving a study response rate of 97.8%. The median age of the participants was 22 years. The lifetime prevalence of NSLBP was 56.7% (n = 51) and the mean age of onset for NSLBP was 19.7 years (SD = 1.64 years). The 12-month prevalence of recurrent NSLBP was 38.9% (n = 35). Of the 35, 20 (57.1%) experienced at least three episodes in the last 12 months. Each episode lasted for 1-7 days in most participants (n = 31, 88.6%). The mean intensity of recurrent episodes was 3.37 (SD = 1.43) measured on Visual Analogue Scale. Only 7 (20%) experienced at least one functional limitation due to recurrent NSLBP. Additionally, only 2 (5.7%) sought medical treatment for the pain. However, 6 (17.1%) had to be absent from the university secondary to recurrent NSLBP.