Sample Of Low Back Pain Patients Research Articles

The Modified – Modified Schober Test for range of motion assessment of lumbar flexion in patients with low back pain: A study of criterion validity, intra- and inter-rater reliability and minimum metrically detectable change

Purpose. The objective was to estimate the psychometric properties of the Modified – Modified Schober Test (MMST).Design. This study compared range of motion measurements of lumbar flexion in low back pain (LBP) patients using the MMST with measurements calculated on X-rays as the gold standard, and compared the measurements taken by two independent examiners.Method. This study was conducted at the main hospital in the Outaouais area, Quebéc, Canada. Thirty-one subjects with LBP from private and public clinics participated in the study. After a warm-up session, measurements with the MMST were taken in neutral position and an X-ray technician took an exposure in the same position.Results. Pearson's correlation test (r) between measurements made with the MMST and the gold standard, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), minimum metrically detectable change (MMDC) and confidence interval (CI) were used to analyze the data. The MMST demonstrated moderate validity (r = 0.67; 95%CI 0.44 – 0.84), excellent reliability (intra: ICC = 0.95; 95%CI 0.89 – 0.97; inter: ICC = 0.91; 95%CI 0.83 – 0.96) and a MMDC of 1 cm.Conclusions. In our sample of LBP patients, the MMST showed moderate validity but excellent reliability and MMDC.

Functional disability in nonspecific low back pain: The role of pain-related fear and problem-solving skills

Previous studies have shown that pain disability in chronic back pain patients is closely associated with pain-related fear and avoidance. This study was aimed at replicating this finding in a sample of low back pain (LBP) patients with a new episode of sick leave. In addition, the supplemental value of problem solving in predicting pain disability was examined. It was further hypothesized that problem solving would moderate the effects of daily stress on pain disability. The results were partly as predicted. Pain-related fear, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, daily stress, and problem solving were found to be individually related to functional disability, of which pain intensity and pain catastrophizing were the strongest predictors. Problem solving neither added predictive value regarding pain disability, nor could the moderating role of problem solving be confirmed. Surprisingly, and in disagreement with previous findings, pain intensity was found to be closely related to disability in this sample of LBP patients.

Relationship between the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory and the minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) in low-back pain patients

The Millon Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI) is being used with increasing frequency for the assessment of chronic pain, although there is a relative lack of evidence as to its utility, and prior studies have not examined low back pain. This investigation compared the MBHI to the MMPI in a sample of low-back pain patients and analyzed subgroups of pain patients based upon their MBHI responses. Subjects were 60 patients who had been admitted to outpatient multidisciplinary pain clinics of two Chicago-area hospitals. Patients completed both the MMPI and the MBHI and provided demographic information. Results of correlational analyses indicated strong relationships between the MBHI psychogenic attitude, psychosomatic correlate, and prognostic index scales and the validity scales of the MMPI. The MBHI Pain Treatment Responsivity scale (PP) correlated with 16 of the other 19 MBHI scales. PP did not demonstrate specificity with low back pain patients. The results of both the scale comparisons and the exploratory two-group cluster subgroup analysis support the notion that responses to the MBHI are largely affected by the respondent's tendency to deny psychopathology or to admit emotional distress.