The utilisation of questionnaires for the psycho-social evaluation of low back pain

Three types of questionnaire are presented that are used for the study of the psycho-social conditions in cases of low back pain. By means of psychological tests such as MMPI applied in the cases of low back pain, it is possible to obtain information about the personality of the patient and some characteristics of the low back pain although these are not conclusive (differentiation between organic and functional, possibilities of its becoming chronic, result of orthopaedic treatment, possibilities of litigation, experience of the process) and the association of more than one psychological test is required. The employment of pain tests makes it possible to evaluate the affective, sensitive and intensity characteristics as a control mechanism or the forms of influencing the painful experience in the personality. The patient's work activity can be evaluated by means of overall questionnaires about the work place (such as Lest or RNUR) or by questionnaires specific to the tasks, some static (postures), others dynamic (lifting loads or repetitiveness), and they should be considered as initial factors triggering off a work-related pathology.