title: The development of a functional rating scale to measure the treatment outcome of chronic spinal patients.
abstract: A Functional Rating Scale (FRS) was developed to quantify behavioral changes in chronic pain patients relative to six subcategories. The aim was to demonstrate its validity, test the instrument's reliability, and determine its value in measuring treatment outcome. Five sample populations were examined: a test group of 58 pain clinic patients; a medical control group comprising 29 outpatients with arthritis; and a three-part, healthy control group of 98 subjects. The validation and reliability of the scale were affirmed by clearly differentiating healthy from infirm subjects and through a test-retest check of the four control groups. The difference between means of the test group, before and after treatment, was of high statistical significance, which indicates the practical value of the FRS in measuring relative changes.
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000628:therapy; D001416:Back Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D059408:Pain Management; D011379:Prognosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires