Conclusions For most clinical tests in LBP there is not consistent evidence for an association with outcome .
Central ization and non-organic signs are exceptions from that .
Background There is a strong tradition of performing a clinical examination of low back pain ( LBP ) patients and this is generally recommended in guidelines .
However , establishing a pathoanatomic diagnosis does not seem possible in most LBP patients and clinical tests may potentially be more relevant as prognostic factors .
The aim of this review of the literature was to systematic ally assess the association between low-tech clinical tests commonly used in adult patients with acute , recurrent or chronic LBP and short- and long-term outcome .
Prognostic factors for time receiving workers' compensation benefits in a cohort of patients with low back pain.
STUDY DESIGN Prospect i ve inception cohort study . OBJECTIVE To develop a prognostic model that predicts time receiving  workers ' compensation benefits for low back pain cl aim ants . SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA As the cost and difficulty of managing low back pain escalate , any predictor of outcome is advantageous . METHODS To obtain the outcome and predictor variables , patient data from two separate data bases were linked : a clinical data base and an administrative ( Ontario workers ' compensation ) data base . Cl aim ants injured between January 1 and December 31 , 1994 , were included and observed for 1 year from the date of accident . The outcome variable was cumulative number of calendar days receiving benefits . RESULTS Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression ( forward stepwise ) showed eight significant predictors ; five were associated with increased time receiving benefits compared with their reference groups : 1 ) working in the construction industry , 2 ) older age , 3 ) lag time from injury to treatment , 4 )  pain referred into the leg  , and 5 ) three or more positive Waddell nonorganic signs . Three predictors were associated with reduced time receiving benefits : 1 ) higher values of question naire score , 2 ) intermittent pain , and 3 ) a previous episode of back pain . A predictive score was calculated to categorize cl aim ants as at high or low risk for chronicity . When an arbitrary cutoff point was set at the 75th percentile of predictive score , negative predictive value was 94 % . CONCLUSION This research identified eight factors for time receiving workers ' compensation benefits among cl aim ants with low back pain . This model discriminates between high- and low-risk cl aim ants . Few low-risk cl aim ants continued to receive benefits for more than 3 months
Conclusions For most clinical tests in LBP there is not consistent evidence for an association with outcome .
Central ization and non-organic signs are exceptions from that .
Background There is a strong tradition of performing a clinical examination of low back pain ( LBP ) patients and this is generally recommended in guidelines .
However , establishing a pathoanatomic diagnosis does not seem possible in most LBP patients and clinical tests may potentially be more relevant as prognostic factors .
The aim of this review of the literature was to systematic ally assess the association between low-tech clinical tests commonly used in adult patients with acute , recurrent or chronic LBP and short- and long-term outcome .