title: Pain or resistance - the manual therapists' dilemma.
abstract: Australian physiotherapists have been encouraged to collect interpret and use information related to spinal stiffness during the assessment and treatment of patients with spinal pain. This paper discusses some problems surrounding the interpretation of stiffness data and suggests an alternative approach to clinical practice that does not rely upon these tests. A review of the literature currently available suggests that considering stiffness may hinder rather than help treatment selection and patient management.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Latimer
keywords: Backache; Decision making; Physical examination; Reproducibility of results