title: Rating scales for low back pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During the past decades several rating scales have been developed to assess the functional status of patients with low back pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a search using the keywords 'spine' in combination with 'scoring system', 'scale', 'scores', 'outcome assessment', 'low back pain' and 'clinical evaluation'.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight scoring systems are currently available for the evaluation of low back pain. Each of them evaluates low back pain using specific variables. All these scoring systems are presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although many scoring systems have been used to evaluate the back function, we are still far from a single outcome evaluation system that is reliable, valid and sensitive to clinically relevant changes, taken into account both patients' and physicians' perspective and is short and practical to use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further studies are required to evaluate the reliability, validity and sensitivity of the low back pain scoring systems used in the common clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Campus Biomedico University, Trigoria, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Umile Giuseppe
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loppini
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Denaro
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maffulli
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Denaro
mesh_terms: D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires