Severe low-back pain. I: Clinical assessment of two weeks conservative therapy.
A standard clinical examination was performed by two independent investigators, before and after two weeks of conservative therapy, on 33 patients with severe low-back pain. Kappa coefficients indicated a higher reproducibility of neurological tests than of e.g. muscular tenderness or scoliosis. All patients were diagnosed by CT-scan and a disc herniation was found in 20. The clinical diagnosis was more in agreement with the CT-diagnosis after than before treatment. By discriminant analyses six variables were found to classify the clinical diagnosis correctly in 32 of the 33 patients: sensory loss, ankle jerk, soreness of back extensors, lumbosacral soreness, radiating pain and back extension test. Similarly, the CT-diagnosis was classified in 25 of 33 patients by the variables: sensory loss and limping.
Christensen
T H
TH
Department of Rheumatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bliddal
H
H
Hansen
S E
SE
Jensen
E M
EM
Jensen
H
H
Jensen
R
R
Bay
H
H
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001510:Bed Rest; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D015588:Observer Variation; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014143:Traction