Diagnosiing discogenic LBP associated with DDD using a medical interview.

Tonosu J et al PLoS One Nov. 2016.

This research project sought to find the specificity and sensitivity of a series of (5) clinician questions associated with disc-related back pain whose responses may indicate a likelihood of discogenic pain.
These constitute a support-tool from which clinicians can better assess the target-area generating the patients’ symptoms:
1. Experience pain after prolonged sitting?
2. Pain standing-after-sitting?
3. Squirming in a chair after sitting too long?
4. Pain ‘washing one’s face’ while standing over a sink?
5. Pain standing in sustained flexion?
The researchers found these questions pertinent to determine discogenic pain compared to a control group. The sensitivity reached 100% with specificity at 72%. Their conclusion was these (5) questions were a useful support tool for diagnosis discogenic LBP. As with our classification-analysis (which includes most of these questions) enough research has been performed to draw reasonable assumptions as to disc-related pain vs, “other”.