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Correlations between pain and function in a longitudinal low back pain cohort
Raymond W McGorry1, William S Shaw, Jia-Hua Lin
1Center for Physical Ergonomics, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton 01748, USA. Raymond.mcgorry@libertymutual.com
Disability and Rehabilitation
|September 16, 2010
Summary
Changes in low back pain (LBP) over time strongly correlate with functional limitation within individuals. This suggests tracking pain fluctuations is clinically relevant for understanding LBP and disability.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Science
- Clinical Research
- Pain Management
Background:
- Cross-sectional studies show modest correlations between low back pain (LBP) and functional limitation.
- Understanding the gap between pain and function is crucial for predicting disability outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze intra-individual changes in correlations between pain and function over time in individuals with LBP.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen men and 16 women with LBP reported pain and functional status weekly for up to 8 weeks.
- Spearman correlation coefficients between pain and function were calculated for each individual.
- Effects of pain history, intensity, variability, and trends on pain-function correlations were assessed.
Main Results:
- Steeper pain change slopes correlated significantly with stronger pain-function correlations (r=-0.91 vs. -0.45).
- Individuals reporting pain-free scores showed stronger correlations (r=-0.80 vs. -0.51).
- First-episode LBP patients had stronger correlations (r=-0.85) than those with persistent LBP (r=-0.62).
Conclusions:
- Intra-individual pain-function correlations in LBP are stronger than population-based cross-sectional findings.
- Changes in pain ratings over time are more clinically relevant than inter-individual pain level differences.
- For chronic LBP, factors beyond pain intensity, like catastrophizing, may influence functional limitation.
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