Responsiveness of pain, functional capacity tests, and disability level in individuals with chronic nonspecific low back pain.

Background: Clinical outcomes are very important in clinical assessment, and responsiveness is a component inside the outcome measures that needs to be investigated, particularly in chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP).

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the responsiveness of pain, functional capacity tests, and disability in individuals with CNSLBP.

Methods: Twenty subjects were assessed in pain using the following methods: visual analog scale (VAS) and numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), functional capacity tests: functional reach test (FRT), five-time sit-to-stand test (5 TSST), and two-minute step test (2 MST), and disability level: modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (MODQ), Thai version before and after 2-week intervention session. For interventions, the subjects received education, spinal manipulative therapy, and individual therapeutic exercise twice a week, for a total of two weeks. The statistics analyzed were change scores, effect size (ES), and standardized response mean (SRM).

Results: The most responsive parameter for individuals with CNSLBP was pain as measured by numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) (ES -0.986, SRM -0.928) and five-time sit-to-stand test (5 TSST) (SRM -0.846).

Conclusion: This study found that NPRS pain and 5 TSST were responsive in individuals with CNSLBP at two weeks after the beginning of interventions.