Running Head: BACK PAIN 1 BACK PAIN 7 Back pain in elderly patients Abdullah Albahrani California State University-Long Beach 1/17/20 Introduction Mrs. Al Bahrani is my seventy-five years old grandmother who has born and brought up in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. She freely agreed to by my interviewee in this life review interview. This is a rare opportunity offered to me to reflect and know her legacy. I have always had much respect for her, discerning the details of her life will help me become a better person, be more compassionate and conscientious nurse. After spending like a long time with Mrs. Al Bahrani, I got the chance to know her better. She lives in her own house that is located near my house. With the knowledge I have acquired throughout this semester, we were able to have engaging communication. The semi-structured interview took place in my grandmother’s room. We started by having a cup of coffee and our conversation lasted for about two hours, with such a soul near you, time can really fly! I can confidently say that talking to the old and wise is very rewarding, it increases the connection between the parties and helps understand one another. The life review interview illuminates different concept of legacy. For my grandmother, her legacy has been her family and big love she shares with other people. Summary of the interview As a teen, I lived with both parents and they loved me so much. During my childhood, I involved myself in manual jobs and walked four miles on a scaring path to school every day. She had intense passion in learning and her favorite subject in school was drawing. I was almost likely to have a younger brother, unfortunately my mother has a still birth during her second pregnancy. My parents never got any other child and this made her life revolved around her parents and the few neighbors. The family did not have much wealth at their disposal and this meant that toys were uncommon. Despite this, I loved to play hide-and-seek and make-it believe games. During her elementary schools, my parents decided to relocate to rural land to practice agriculture. I had to join a new school and at this new place, I had hard time trying to adjust and this affected her studies. After completing my high school, I had hope of becoming a nurse. I wanted to help her community fight killer diseases, she owned it to her people because they were seemingly nice to her. In my teenage year, I met a young and promising man who swept me off her feet. We as lovebirds had passion in dancing and this made us have many dates. Sometimes thereafter, we got engaged and invested more time together. My fiancé’ taught her how to drive, unfortunately, he had narcolepsy and this made it unsafe for him to be on the road. My alarm for back pain went off after giving birth to my daughter. One night I woke up and realized I was in agony. It was my back, I tried to move, I tried lying still, I also tried to sit, every posture hurt. I r ...

1. Running Head: BACK PAIN 1
BACK PAIN 7
Back pain in elderly patients
Abdullah Albahrani
California State University-Long Beach
1/17/20
Introduction
Mrs. Al Bahrani is my seventy-five years old grandmother
who has born and brought up in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. She
freely agreed to by my interviewee in this life review interview.
This is a rare opportunity offered to me to reflect and know her
legacy. I have always had much respect for her, discerning the
details of her life will help me become a better person, be more
compassionate and conscientious nurse. After spending like a
long time with Mrs. Al Bahrani, I got the chance to know her
better. She lives in her own house that is located near my house.
With the knowledge I have acquired throughout this semester,
we were able to have engaging communication. The semi-
structured interview took place in my grandmother’s room. We
started by having a cup of coffee and our conversation lasted for
about two hours, with such a soul near you, time can really fly!
I can confidently say that talking to the old and wise is very
rewarding, it increases the connection between the parties and

2. helps understand one another. The life review interview
illuminates different concept of legacy. For my grandmother,
her legacy has been her family and big love she shares with
other people.
Summary of the interview
As a teen, I lived with both parents and they loved me so much.
During my childhood, I involved myself in manual jobs and
walked four miles on a scaring path to school every day. She
had intense passion in learning and her favorite subject in
school was drawing. I was almost likely to have a younger
brother, unfortunately my mother has a still birth during her
second pregnancy. My parents never got any other child and this
made her life revolved around her parents and the few
neighbors. The family did not have much wealth at their
disposal and this meant that toys were uncommon. Despite this,
I loved to play hide-and-seek and make-it believe games.
During her elementary schools, my parents decided to relocate
to rural land to practice agriculture. I had to join a new school
and at this new place, I had hard time trying to adjust and this
affected her studies.
After completing my high school, I had hope of becoming a
nurse. I wanted to help her community fight killer diseases, she
owned it to her people because they were seemingly nice to her.
In my teenage year, I met a young and promising man who
swept me off her feet. We as lovebirds had passion in dancing
and this made us have many dates. Sometimes thereafter, we got
engaged and invested more time together. My fiancé’ taught her
how to drive, unfortunately, he had narcolepsy and this made it
unsafe for him to be on the road.
My alarm for back pain went off after giving birth to my
daughter. One night I woke up and realized I was in agony. It
was my back, I tried to move, I tried lying still, I also tried to
sit, every posture hurt. I remember one day I closed the door on
my crying baby and left her in her crib, stretching out for me.
This experience made me walk away in tears. My child was
sick, and as a loving mother I wanted to calm her. But I could

3. not raise and rock her to help her sleep. Seemingly my broken
back was fast wasting away!
At one point I visited physiotherapist recommended by a family
friend, however, I do not remember her explanations. Over the
next months, the pain intensified just above the right hip, but it
had infused my whole body, drained my energy, and taken my
pleasure of parenting. It was exhausting being in pain and
worrying about the pain. I started exercise but shortly after, I
went from exercising five time each week to doing zero
exercise. I had the urge to get better instantly, so that I could
slide back to my old ways of doing things. There is something
about my back pain that makes me desperate to find instant
solution. Bearing the pain and waiting for it to come to an end
is unthinkable.
I have had the back pain for the better part of my life caused by
scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. One day, I thought my back
would snap if I cuddled by growing daughter. I had to give up
on some parenting practices. Because of the back pain, I cause
my daughter suffering. I realized that the pain make kids whose
caregivers have the chronic pain at higher risk for behavioral
issues, adjustment challenges, and the children are expected to
have the pain. The entire family suffers. In my case, my two
children felt I was uninvolved emotionally and physically, and
more likely to be unpredictable and ill-tempered. Because of
this, may be my child hid her true needs from me, lived in
anxiety of stressing me or bringing more pain. Unfortunately,
young adults and children who deal with this type of parents
become perfectionists and retreat in silence.
My back pain advanced steadily. From age of 6 to 18, I had a
brace under my clothes to strengthen my S-shaped spine. At the
start, the brace kept the spine straight but the curving, like
unruly adult, could not be controlled. At the age of 45years, the
spine persisted with its wayward path and this means that the
pain was constant in my body (Stensland & Sanders, 2018).
After the strenuous pregnancy, the pain intensified and took
another dimension. I went through my parenting taking anti-

4. inflammatory medication. A scoliosis expert suggested
corrective spinal fusion surgery, however, I observed that the
risks of the operation are not significant compared to the
possible benefits. The operation would involve “slitting the
back, inserting steel rods, taking bone graft by the hip, and
fusing the vertebrae together to stabilize the spine” (Wong,
Karppinen, & Samartzis, 2017). I had worried of the operation.
What if the surgery brings complications in other areas? What if
the surgery cause paralysis and damage of nerves? The pain is
more at my age but at least I am managing.
Fast forward, I know odds are against me now because of my
age. I do not know what the medical future hold, lifetime of
pain, therapies, or surgery. Parenthood may have damaged my
body more, but as per doctor’s orders, I checked my curve.
Currently I am push my back beyond its limits with little
consideration of curve and the frequent pain.
Wear-and-Tear Theory
The low back pain (LBP) is a major incapacitating health
conditions affecting people aged above 60 years. However,
while most causes of the back pain are self-limiting and non-
specific, older persons are more prone to develop low back pain
pathologies because of their age-related psychosocial and
physical changes. Existing literature shows that chronic and
sever back pains increase with age. Compared to working-age
adults, older people are likely to have certain back pain
pathologies such as spinal infections, tumors, osteoporotic
vertebral fractures, and lumbar spinal stenosis (Wong,
Karppinen, & Samartzis, 2017). Moreover, different age-related
mental, physical, and psychological change such as dementia,
spinal degeneration, and physical inactivity as well as other risk
factors such as genetic and gender may affect the prognosis and
management of low back pain.
According to age-clock theory, the back pain can be explained
based on different factors. As people age, their muscle lose the
elasticity, the bone also lose their strength, and the spine lose
cushioning, all these lead to back pain (Docking, Fleming,

5. Brayne, Zhao, & Macfarlane, 2015). Moreover, Injuries cause
back pain. In case of an accident, through lifting heavy object,
you can strain the spine and cause the disc to rupture or even
bulge outwards. This puts more pressure on the back and nerves
within it, and pain results. Other risk factors increase the
chances of back pain. These include poor sleeping habits,
overweight, inactivity, and smoking. Behind the high incidence
of nonspecific (LBP) of young people lies the fact that these
people should have high degree of activity of daily life at the
point when age-related change in tissues and lumbar spine start
to occur (Wong, Karppinen, & Samartzis, 2017). Therefore, as
people try to fight symptoms and signs of aging, some foes
greater compared to other. This is the case with back pain.
Majority of the people will experience back pain at some point
in life. However, back pain does not have to be inevitable part
of aging process.
Reflection
The interview has brought me closer with the interviewee.
Before I conducted the interview, she did not have much
influence on me, but I have learned more about back pain from
her life and the connection was resourceful. I had great learning
time about the prognosis and management of back pain. This
was possible because of the communication skills which I
exercised. I would mention something and she would go into
details about herself. I did not use the question-answer approach
because it is limiting in terms of details. My interviewee
enjoyed a continual conversation and it was a great time.
This was my first clinical experience in my nursing profession
and it was a great learning process. Her conditions and fear
makes me want to give evidence-based care and managed her
fears on possible effects of spine surgery. Her worries push me
to be a nurse who can be approached and offer solutions to
different groups based on their culture, experience, and
expectations. Unfortunately her source of back pain has genetic
influences and this is a non-modifiable cause. Studies (Wong,
Karppinen, & Samartzis, 2017; Docking, Fleming, Brayne,

6. Zhao, & Macfarlane, 2015) shows that genetic play a significant
role in vulnerability to chronic pain development, it plays a role
in modulating pain sensitivity, and responses to analgesics. My
grandma genetic factors predispose her to spinal disorder
(scoliosis) and also altered her brain structures which modify
central pain processing and perception. I believe the way out is
to avoid occupational exposures to lifting heavy object or
bodies, reduce twisting and bending, and stooping as a way of
avoiding risks for the back pain in when. To this end it is true
that higher education helps to prevent the back pains. More
educated person are likely to be compliant to treatment and are
willing to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
References
Docking, R., Fleming, J., Brayne, C., Zhao, J., & Macfarlane,
G. (2015). Epidemiology of back pain in older adults:
prevalence and risk factors for back pain onset. Rheumatology
(Oxford), 1645–53.
Stensland, M., & Sanders, S. (2018). Living a Life Full of Pain:
Older Pain Clinic Patients’ Experience of Living With Chronic

7. Low Back Pain. Qualitative Health Research, 28(9), 1434-1448.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732318765712
Wong, A. Y., Karppinen, J., & Samartzis, D. (2017). Low back
pain in older adults: risk factors, management options and
future directions. Scoliosis Spinal Disorder, 12(14).
doi:10.1186/s13013-017-0121-3
Instructions: Life Review Paper
(250 points Total: Proposal/ Script 30 points + Final Paper 220
points)
A Life review is a naturally occurring, universal process
consisting of reminiscence, thinking about
oneself, and a reconsideration of previous life experiences and
their meaning. You will be doing a Life
Review on an older adult (65 years or older), by interviewing
them. This Life Review assignment can
be done with a family member, a loved one, a friend etc. DO
NOT ASK SOMEONE YOU DO NOT
TRUST, I DO NOT WANT YOU UNCOMFORTABLE OR IN A
COMPRIMISING SITUATION.
Ultimately, I would love for you to interview someone you have
a connection with and someone you
would like to know more about (as long as they are 62+). If
finding an older adult is an issue for you,
please email me by 12/31/19 ([email protected]) so we may
figure something out for you. If
you do not let me know by 12/31/19, I will assume you have
someone you can interview and are moving
along with the assignment.

8. The “Life Review Paper” will have two submissions:
1. Proposal / Script (Due by 11pm, on 1/3/20)
2. Final Life Review Paper (Due by 11pm, on 1/17/20)
Format and Submission:
Submissions will be made via Dropbox on BeachBoard. The
Final Life Review Paper should
be 6-9 pages long (do not exceed 9 pages) and are due on the
dates stated above. These submissions
must be typed in Times New Roman, size 12 font, double
spaced, and in APA (6th ed.) format with in-text
citations and include a Title Page, Abstract, and Reference Page
(Title, Abstract and Reference pages are
not included in total page count). I will accept late papers;
however, you will be penalized 7 points for
each day it is late (unless you have an excused absence and
provide documentation of the situation (such
as doctors note, family issue, jury duty etc.), in which case,
keep me in the loop.
Grading:
Use the assignment guidelines below to compose an A+ paper,
if you include the necessary
components of this paper in APA format, you will do just fine �
The Point Scale is as follows:
Proposal / Script (2-3 pages): 30 points
Final Life Review Paper (6-9 pages): 220 overall points
distributed as following:
Interview: 100 points

9. Application of Theory: 60 points
Reflection: 40 points
Paper organization, grammar, spelling, APA, etc.: 20 points
Background Information for our Life Review Paper – Why this
paper is important for our class?
Life review, as described by Robert Butler, is a naturally
occurring, universal mental process
prompted by the realization of a foreshortened life expectancy.
It potentially proceeds toward a
reorganization of the self, including the achievement of such
characteristics as wisdom and serenity in the
aged. The process consists of reminiscence, thinking about
oneself, and a reconsideration of previous life
experiences and their meaning. The task of a life review is to
evaluate one’s life and accomplishments
and to accept the whole, both the good and the difficulties, as
all necessarily a part of one’s own
individual life. This sense of embracing life confirms that one’s
story has been “a meaningful adventure
in history.”
The life review process takes place gradually over a period of
years for the older person and an
interested other person usually assist the older adult by taking
an oral history. The history can be taken
over a period of several sessions and may be tape recorded
(when consented to). The results are life long-
lasting memories, which may be given to the older adult or their

10. family members and kept as a keepsake
and shared with younger family members.
Reference: "Life Review." Encyclopedia of Aging. Retrieved
March 15, 2018 from
Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-
and-maps/life-review
Instructions on how to conceptualize / write your Life Review
Paper:
Proposal/ Script (30 points, Due 1/3/20, by 11pm):
Prior to writing your Final Life Review Paper, you will need to
complete and submit (via
Dropbox) the “Proposal / Script”. This submission will be
graded, and feedback will be provided shortly
after submission. Only after this submission is graded and you
receive feedback, should you start working
on your interview/ paper.
Proposal (1 page): First you are required to submit a proposal of
how you will complete this
assignment. Compose 1 page on what you know about this
person and what you hope to know or
understand about this person. In addition, the Proposal should
answer the following questions:
nterviewing? (relation to you, age, gender and
any other
demographic information you would like to include).

11. date and time if you
have that information)
What have you always wondered about this person?
in completing this
assignment?
experiencing and why?
(acquaint yourself with the theories prior to the actual interview
so you are
prepared to assimilate the theory with the older adult. The
theories are listed
below.)
The Script: After your proposal, you will need to come up with
a series of questions (script) that
you will want to ask the older adult you are interviewing. These
questions should cover the history of the
person’s life and capture the essence of who they are. These
questions should also help you assess the
older adult using a theory model (possible theories below).
While developing the questions, please have
in mind the theoretical approach you will use to assess the older
adult.
There is not a specific number of questions you should come up
with, however, a good set of
questions for a paper of this caliber will round to an average
about 15 questions. The questions should be
derived from our course concepts such as chronic disease,
biology of aging, love and intimacy, social

12. interactions, living arrangements, economic security, productive
aging, retirement, death and dying, etc.
Please stay respectful of any topic your interviewee does not
want to discuss. In writing this paper,
think of yourself as a qualitative researcher. Meaning, in this
process you have the chance to
design your research study, conduct your own case study, and
later discuss its results. Your
Proposal / Script is the first step to designing your case research
study!
http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/life-review
http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/life-review
Final Life Review Paper (220 points, Due 1/17/20, by 11pm):
This is the final submission of this paper and must include The
Interview (including the setting
portion of your proposal), Theory Application, and Reflection.
The Interview (4-6 pages): Please include the highlights from
the “setting” portion of your
Proposal with this portion of the paper, as you are telling the
story of the life of an older adult, you want
to give the reader a good amount of detail of their background.
This section is written in paragraph format
in descriptive writing form (example is provided on page below,
along with recommendations for the
interview).
Application of Theory (1-2 pages): This portion allows you to
coin learned course material to
your interview. In this section, incorporate what you learned in

13. class, into this interview. Please state and
define the theoretical approach(s) you are using to analyze the
interviewee. It is a good idea to describe
the older adult’s wellness and capabilities at the time of
interview. Show your understanding of course
concepts’ in your application to the interviewee. Three citations
necessary (any material presented in
this course can be used), don’t forget: whenever you cite a
source you need to give the appropriate
APA reference.
Reflection (1 page): Reflect on what you learned from this
assignment. Address elements not
only learned from the older adult, but also the interview
processes and application of course concepts.
Moreover, state what you learned from this writing process.
Describe what you would have done different
through this process and explain why. Also, briefly describe
your own personal reactions associated with
one’s own aging process.
Possible Theories of Aging to use for your paper, please refer to
your text and outside sources for more
theories and or detailed information on these theories (pick at
least 1):
y
-Clock Theory

14. -and-Tear Theory
-we-have-lost Syndrome
Recommendations on how to conduct your interview
Begin by briefly expressing your interest in learning about the
life of the older adult’s life and set
an appointment for a convenient time and place where the
interview will take place. Explain that you will
use this interview as a class assignment and ask for permission
from the older adult at this time to share
the interview with your professor/class (you do not need to
mention real names in your paper if you do
not want to). Interview your subject in a quiet location. With
permission, you can use a recorder device to
register the interview process and your subject’s answers. By
recording the interview rather than taking
notes, it will give you the chance to focus on other types of
communication, such as body language, facial
expression, etc. which will help with your descriptive skills
while writing your paper. Make sure the older
adult is comfortable and is seated in a position to be heard (you
could also maintain eye contact if in the
elder’s cultural background eye contact is a form of being
polite.) Allow adequate time for the interview
but do not prolong more than two sessions.
After conducting the interview, you will then write up the
questions and answers to the interview
in paragraph format. When writing up the interview be as
descriptive as possible. You must use critical
thinking skills to make the experience flow and you want to
allow the reader to feel as if they experienced
the interview for themselves. Thus, do not just simply state I

15. asked her if she was married and she replied
her husband died 7 years ago. Instead describe the reactions and
report in descriptive detail.
>Example of Descriptive Detail Writing:
As we sat near the window a cool breeze came in the room, she
grabbed her blanket around her
shoulder and pulled it tightly to warm herself. I asked Mrs.
Hudson if she had ever been married, adding
a smile to soften the question. She replied: “I was married for
42 years to the love of my life, Charles”.
She paused, it seemed for an eternity, and then continued, “…
he passed away 7 years ago, and I think of
him each day. Be sure to use descriptive words and transitions
to make this portion of the paper flow.
A final note:
This is not only a writing assignment. It is also designed to give
you experience with
interviewing, work and learn from an older adult and expand on
your writing skills. Give it your best
effort, and you will learn something valuable by listening to a
real-life story. The Life Review Interview
should present a full picture of your subject’s life. Details help.
To accomplish this, you will need to be an
engaged listener, involving yourself in the person’s story, and
not just completing a class assignment.
You may need to interview the person twice, going back for
more detailed answers in areas that interest
you. At times, you may need to rephrase some of the questions
to make them better understood.

16. You may need to prompt the older adult, using such phrases as
“tell me more,” “I think I understand, you
were…” etc. Do not force the person to go into detail on a
particular topic if he/she is really
uncomfortable! Allow the interviewee to talk about what
interests him/her but, move him/her along so
you can have a story that covers the whole life. You can get the
interview moving along by saying things
like, “I would like to hear more on that later if we have time.
Now, I’d like to ask you about…”
I am here to help, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me if
you have any questions.
Final Life Review Paper (6-8 pages): 220 overall points:
-6 pages): Highlights from the
“setting” portion of your
Proposal, detail of their background, Descriptive paragraph
form interview.
-2 pages): Displayed
leaned course material, Stated
and defined the theoretical approach(s) you used to analyze the
interviewee. At least three
citations in APA format.
on what you learned
from this assignment.
Described what you would have done different through this
process with explanation.
Brief description of your own personal reactions associated with
one’s own aging
process.
length guidelines (6-8

17. pages), grammar, spelling,
APA (title page, abstract, in text citations and reference page):
20 points
Running head: LIFE REVIEW PROPOSAL/SCRIPT
1
LIFE REVIEW PROPOSAL/SCRIPT
2
Life Review Proposal/Script
Abdullah Al Bahrani
California State University-Long Beach
1/3/2020
Biology of Aging Theory
Abstract
Zahra Al Bahrani is an old woman who is suffering from back
pains. Me and my siblings were living with her in the same
house and that where I got the opportunity to interview her. The
interview will be about her life disability and how she is
straggling with it. What was the cause, challenges experienced
and how it is being maintained?
Proposal
Mrs. Al Bahrani is seventy-five years old. She is my
grandmother and we are staying in the same house with her

18. while looking at her. She is short, of the medium body but
moves around using a wheelchair. This is because she has a
problem with her backbone and it no longer supports her body
well.
First, Mrs. Al Bahrani will be prepared for the interview that
will take place in her house. After the preparation, the interview
will take place in two days. The first day of the week and in the
middle of the week. It will take place from the house in the
living room where she always stays during the day and meets
other visitors. The specific time of the interview will be mid-
morning before she gets tired.
I chose my grandmother because of the life stories that she used
to tell us and because she took care of me when I was a kid.
Due to that both of my parents were in full-time job, she was
the one that took care of me and my other siblings. She used to
be strong and ever working but all over sudden at the age of
forty-five she fell it and she could not regain her full strength.
As a result of this, I wanted to know the cause of her sickness,
the medication and how her life changed after in a sudden
manner. Whenever I look at her, I always wondered how she
could be in normal life without the sickness striking her.
From this, the assignment level is very comfortable. I have
always been curious to know what happen to my grandmother.
Despite this, she is loving and accepted herself which also made
me comfortable to choose her for the assignment. Besides, being
used to her and I like talking with her about life situations.
To the completion of the assignment, I am looking forward to
knowing the cause of her disability, treatment, and the
preventable measures to the other generations. From this, the
interview theory that I can see from her is the biology of the
aging theory. This is because it deals with the human body
together with the damages and how it is programmed.
Script
Interview Questions
1. How was your life before the illness?
2. What were the activities that you liked doing regularly?

19. 3. What happened before you feel sick?
4. How did the sickness start?
5. Are you being bullied or bothered?
6. How do you explain the illness and all you are suffering from
your friends and relatives?
7. Do you feel intimidated or undermined whenever you are
asked or questioned about the disease?
8. Do you feel different from others?
9. What is the hardest part of having a disability and staying
with the illness?
10. How do you view yourself?
11. How differently are different people treating you in
different situations whenever their help is needed or when they
pay a visit?
12. Did you enjoy your healthy life or you wish you were like
normal people?
13. How are the medication expenses, do you feel burned?
14. How is the experience of taking the medication every day?
15. How did you cope to stay with the illness for this long
without showing the signs of giving up in life?
16. Was the sickness preventable or it just comes without any
preventable measures? If it was preventable, what did you do to
prevent it, and what happened so that it stroke you down?