The ODI remains a valid and vigorous measure and has been a worthwhile outcome measure .
The behavior of the instrument is incompletely understood , particularly in sensitivity to real change .
The Oswestry Disability Index ( ODI ) has become one of the principal condition-specific outcome measures used in the management of spinal disorders .
To review the versions of this instrument , document methods by which it has been vali date d , collate data from scores found in normal and back pain population s , provide curves for power calculations in studies using the ODI , and maintain the ODI as a gold st and ard outcome measure .
It has now been 20 years since its original publication .
Disability and functional status in patients with low back pain receiving workers' compensation: a descriptive study with implications for the efficacy of physical therapy.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The efficacy of a physical therapy outpatient program with multiple interventions to treat low back pain in subjects receiving workers ' compensation was examined . The primary purpose of the study was to describe the level of disability , physical impairment , and rate of return to work for compensated patients . SUBJECTS One hundred thirty-eight patients ( 84 male , 54 female ) , aged 17 to 63 years ( mean = 38 , SD = 10 ) , were evaluated prospect ively . METHODS Subjects were assessed initially ( INA ) and were reevaluated 1 month later ( 1MO ) and again at the time of discharge ( DC ) . The Oswestry disability score , fingertip-to-floor distance during forward bending , maximal isometric lift , and work status were described as outcomes . Subjects were grouped based on compliance , chronicity , and leg symptoms . Each disability/impairment outcome was analyzed with paired t tests ( INA versus 1MO and INA versus DC ) . The frequency of subjects returning to work across groups was evaluated with a chi-square analysis corrected for unequal group sizes . RESULTS Overall , there was improvement in each dependent measure at 1MO and DC compared with the INA . Subjects with high compliance had a 10 % reduction in mean disability at 1MO and a 12 % reduction in mean disability at DC compared with the INA . The low-compliance group , in contrast , showed less than a 5 % reduction in mean disability at both the 1MO and DC assessment s compared with the INA . The magnitude of improvement in disability status , forward bending , and maximal lift was approximately two to three times greater for subjects with acute symptoms compared with those with chronic symptoms . The increase in mean forward bending for subjects without leg symptoms was over twice as large as the increase in forward bending for subjects with leg symptoms . Seventy-five percent of the subjects followed at DC ( 30 out of 40 ) were released to work in some capacity . There was no association between compliance or presence of leg symptoms and work status at DC . Eighty percent of the subjects with acute symptoms , however , were working at the time of DC compared with 44 % of those with chronic symptoms . CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION Compliance , chronicity , and leg symptoms are all factors that can affect the outcome of physical therapy . The positive outcomes for subjects who complied with therapy suggest that a physical therapy program with multiple interventions may decrease disability and impairment
The ODI remains a valid and vigorous measure and has been a worthwhile outcome measure .
The behavior of the instrument is incompletely understood , particularly in sensitivity to real change .
The Oswestry Disability Index ( ODI ) has become one of the principal condition-specific outcome measures used in the management of spinal disorders .
To review the versions of this instrument , document methods by which it has been vali date d , collate data from scores found in normal and back pain population s , provide curves for power calculations in studies using the ODI , and maintain the ODI as a gold st and ard outcome measure .
It has now been 20 years since its original publication .