Many suggested that co-workers did not regard their back pain claims as legitimate.
Participants battled to be believed, making efforts to perform tasks in spite of pain. Seen as a
sign of competence, there was a worry that this could serve to further fuel delegitimisation of
their pain in the eyes of co-workers [69]. Some began to question their worth as an employee
[69]. Participants not eligible for sick pay, often described not being able to afford to take the
time off. Others pointed out reduced pay could be insufficient, and some worried about job
security or the stigma from co-workers that could result from taking sick leave (Quote 15)
[30,43,46]. Many were concerned about the ability to maintain bill payments [35,42-44]; and
some were concerned about the cost of therapy (Quotes 16, 17) [73]. One participant reported
losing his home as an indirect result of having back pain, and others described descents into
poverty