Here is the list of risk factors that were nominated by our previous participants. Risk factors are characteristics that the patient might have, which are unlikely to change and / or would not change with treatment for back pain.
For context, the participants gave a clarifying question that might be asked of the patient to gain the information during the assessment. They have also nominated a potential method of measurement.
For context, the participants gave a clarifying question that might be asked of the patient to gain the information during the assessment. They have also nominated a potential method of measurement.
Name |
What would you ask the patient to gain this information? |
How is this measured? |
Age |
How old is the patient in years? |
18-65 / 65-80 / 80+ |
Sex |
What is the sex of the patient? |
Male / female |
Smoking status |
What is the patient's smoking status? |
Current / ex / never |
PMH long term conditions |
Does the patient have a history of long term conditions such as cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid condition or diabetes? |
Yes / no |
Frailty |
How frail is the patient? |
Rockwood scale |
Number of co-morbidities |
How many significant co-morbidities does the patient have? |
0 / 1-2 / 2+ |
Medication use |
Is the patient currently using appropriate analgesic medication? |
Yes / no / underuse / overuse / not using appropriately |
Previous treatment |
What treatments has the patient had? |
Manual therapy / individual exercise / group exercise / analgesia / pain management / education / wait & see / injection / surgery / CBT |
Duration or chronicity |
How long has the patient had LBP? |
<2 weeks / <6 months / >6months |
Family history of LBP |
Does the patient have a parent or sibling with non-resolving LBP? |
Yes / no |
Past operations |
Has the patient had any relevant operations? |
Yes / no |
BMI |
What is the patient's body mass index? |
<18.5 / 19-25 / 26-30 / 31-35 / 35+ |
Personal history of non-resolving LBP |
Does the patient have a history of non-resolving LBP? |
Yes / no |
Locus of control |
Does the patient have an external or internal locus of control? |
External / internal |
Health literacy |
What is the patient's level of health literacy? |
Inadequate, marginal, adequate |
Educational status |
What level of education does the patient have? |
Left school before completion / completed secondary / post-secondary / university |
Impact of occupation |
What are the consequences of not being able to function as usual e.g. self-employed, caring for dependents, sick pay policy? |
High negative impact / medium negative impact / low negative impact / negligible / low positive impact / medium positive impact / high positive impact |
Insurance claim |
Is the patient going through an insurance claim related to this complaint? |
Yes / no |