Pain profile of patients with low back pain referred to physical therapy

Detailed pain descriptions of, patients with low back pain referred to physical therapy have not been adequately summarized in the literature. The purpose of this study was to present a detailed pain characteristic profile for patients who were referred to physical therapy for treatment of low back pain. One hundred patients (52 males and 48 females) completed portions of the McGill Pain Questionnaire and were interviewed to obtain additional descriptions of pain using a comprehensive pain questionnaire developed for this study. The scores on the McGill Pain Questionnaire demonstrated variability from those previously reported in other populations of patients with low back pain. The comprehensive pain questionnaire revealed that the most intense pain was distributed across the waking hours. Seventy-seven of the 98 subjects (79%) noted that lifting and forward flexed postures increased the pain intensity. In contrast, only 27 of 98 subjects (28%) reported an increase in symptoms with backward bending. Seventy-four of the 98 subjects reported that silting made their pain worse, and 17 of 84 subjects (20%) reported that sitting resulted in their worst pain. Fifty-nine of 84 subjects stated a recumbent position was the most effective means of relieving the pain. Fifty-two subjects (53%) reported that they experienced pain severe enough to wake them from sleep (night pain). Only three of these patients (6%) stated they were unable to fail back asleep once they were awakened. It was concluded that the detailed pain profile was consistent with symptoms associated with activity-related spinal disorders.