Objectivity and repeatability of measurements in low back pain.
A set of measurements for the quantification of low back pain was tested on 48 subjects suffering from idiopathic low back pain. Measurements were performed according to a repeated latin square model. Carry-over effects were found to be insignificant. Inter- and Intraobserver errors were small in proportion to the contribution of the subjects to the total variance of the variables indicating a good objectivity and repeatability of the test. Calculation of sum scores from similar questions, e.g. total pain score from six pain variables, permitted a further reduction of experimental errors.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement