AIM

The objective of the study was to develop a brief questionnaire to determine the risk of chronification for patients suffering from lumbar (low) back pain who are consulting a physician for the first or second time.

METHOD

At the outset, and again after six months, a questionnaire with 167 valid items for chronification was distributed to patients in orthopedic offices. After six months, patients were contacted by mail to inquire whether they were still suffering from back pain. Based on outcome (persistence of back pain/absence of back pain) and by means of logistic regression analysis, those variables were determined that could predict actual chronification.

RESULTS

The following items were predictive: "How strong was your back pain during the last week when it was most tolerable?" and "How much residual pain would you be willing to tolerate while still considering the therapy successful?" (Acceptance value, beta = 0.61), patient's educational level (beta = - 0.44), massage is experienced as bringing relief (beta = 0.44), 5 items of the Zung scale for depression (beta = 0.42), items of the scale for catastrophizing thoughts (beta = 0.41) and items of the scale for feelings of helplessness (beta = - 0.39) of the Kiel pain inventory; duration of the back pain for longer than 1 week (beta = 0.38), pain in other parts of the body (beta = 0.37); and female gender (beta = 0.25)

CONCLUSION

Based on these questions, it was possible to predict the chronification of back pain with a probability of 78.05 %. A corresponding questionnaire and an evaluative table were developed.