Interrelationships among pain, disability, and psychological factors in young Korean conscripts with lumbar disc herniation.

The aim of this study was to compare the psychological factors between young Korean conscripts with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and healthy controls and to evaluate the interrelationships among pain, disability, and psychological factors in LDH conscripts. The subjects consisted of 56 young conscripts with LDH and 76 controls. All subjects completed Beck's Depression Inventory and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. To evaluate pain intensity and functional disability, the Visual Analogue Scale and the Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire were used. LDH conscripts had more depression and anxiety than the controls. The functional disability of the LDH conscripts was significantly related to the four variables: pain intensity, depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. Pain intensity and state anxiety significantly contributed to the functional disability in the LDH conscripts. This study suggests that LDH conscripts have some psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, in comparison to healthy controls. Furthermore, the pain intensity and state anxiety predict the functional disability in LDH conscripts.