title: Difference in evaluation of patients with low back pain using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score for Back Pain and the Japanese Version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The number of patients suffering from degenerative diseases in the lumbar spine is increasing in Japan. Although various scales to measure disability or quality of life in patients with low back pain and/or lumbar diseases are currently available, it has been shown that one questionnaire is not always compatible with another. Our purpose is to evaluate the association and differences between the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score for low back pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  These two scales were examined and compared using data from 602 patients with low back pain and/or lumbar disease. The associations between the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and each subscale in the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score in back pain dominant group and leg pain dominant group, and with respect to six pathological conditions (i.e., sciatica, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal canal stenosis, muscular pain, traumatic pain) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Subjective and Activities of daily living (ADL) subscale of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score showed a good correlation (r > 0.60), the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Clinical subscale showed a weak correlation (r = 0.35). Among the six pathological conditions, the correlation between the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score was the lowest (r = 0.66) in the lumbar spinal canal stenosis category.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical signs in patients with low back pain and/or lumbar diseases are not associated closely with the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. Therefore, a combination of the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score can provide wide-ranging assessment of the level of impairment in patients with low back pain and/or lumbar diseases.
authors: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mino Municipal Hospital, Mino, Gifu, Japan.
authors: Masao
authors: M
authors: Nakamura
authors: Kei
authors: K
authors: Miyamoto
authors: Katsuji
authors: K
authors: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011336:Probability; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014177:Translations