EN
Introduction: Disc disease of the lumbosacral spine is a frequent ailment from which younger and younger people suffer. The main symptom of this disease is severe pain. The disease impairs not only physical condition of patients but also their social and psychological life. It is a chronic illness, therefore it requires changing of one’s unhealthy lifestyle to healthy living on a permanent and regular basis. One of manifestations of a health-promoting attitude in the disc disease is the performance of regular exercise chosen for the ailment in order to reinforce perivertebral muscles. Physical activity is both treatment and prevention in the disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. As there is an opinion that pain experienced by the ill people is the main motivating factor for treating the disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, the authors decided to investigate whether there is a relation between pain felt and physical activity undertaken in people with the disc disease of the lumbosacral spine and whether the relation is modified by sociodemographic variables. Material and methods: The study was a longitudinal type of research (two measurement points at half yearly interval) and it covered 92 people who suffer from disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. The diagnosis was found by MRI scan. The study used an interview (the sociodemographic data), the VAS scale, and a questionnaire on the indicator of healthpromoting attitude in the disc disease specially prepared for the purpose of this project. Results: For the group of people with the disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, no relation was found between the pain felt and the physical activity undertaken. A positive relation between the pain felt and the physical activity was found only for the group of younger patients. Conclusions: The pain felt may be the motivating factor for undertaking regular physical exercise only for the group of the youngest patients examined.