Scribd
Upload
31 views

Table 1: Serious Pathology Indicators/ Red Flags For Low Back Pain

The document outlines indicators of serious pathology for low back pain in two tables. Table 1 lists red flags such as sphincter disturbance, saddle anaesthesia, motor weakness, and night pain. Table 2 describes a PQRST pain history approach involving questions about precipitating factors, quality of pain, radiation, severity, and timing.

Uploaded by

navuru5k
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views

Table 1: Serious Pathology Indicators/ Red Flags For Low Back Pain

The document outlines indicators of serious pathology for low back pain in two tables. Table 1 lists red flags such as sphincter disturbance, saddle anaesthesia, motor weakness, and night pain. Table 2 describes a PQRST pain history approach involving questions about precipitating factors, quality of pain, radiation, severity, and timing.

Uploaded by

navuru5k
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Table 1: Serious Pathology Indicators/ Red Flags for Low Back Pain

 Sphincter disturbance
 Saddle anaesthesia around anus, perineum or genitals
 Progressive motor weakness in the legs or gait disturbance not due to leg pain
 Difficulty with micturition not associated with medication

 First episode of back pain less than 20 or greater than 50 years of age
 Non mechanical pain
 Violent trauma
 Previous history cancer, steroids, drug abuse, osteoporosis
 HIV, systemically unwell, weight loss
 Structural deformity/height loss
 Thoracic pain
 Widespread neurology
 Previous history of cancer + new onset Low Back Pain (LBP) + no improvement with
4 weeks conservative management
 Night pain - (e.g. sleeping in chair, ‘pacing’ the floor’)

Table 2: Pain history P Q R S T Approach

 Precipitating/Alleviating Factors:
What causes the pain? What aggravates it? Has medication or treatment worked in the
past?
 Quality of Pain:
Ask the patient to describe the pain using words like “sharp”, dull, stabbing, burning”
 Radiation
Does pain exist in one location or radiate to other areas?
 Severity
Have patient use a descriptive, numeric or visual scale to rate the severity of pain.
 Timing
Is the pain constant or intermittent, when did it begin, and does it pulsate or have a
rhythm

You might also like