Table 4.

Outcome in 170 patients who consulted their general practitioner with a new episode of low back pain and were followed up at 12 month interview by their status at initial interview. Values are numbers (percentages) of patients

Status at initial interview	12 month outcome*
	No pain and no disability	Pain or disability	Pain and disability
No pain and no disability (n=3)	1 (33)	2 (67)	0
Pain or disability (n=41)	18 (44)	14 (34)	9 (22)
Pain and disability (n=126)	23 (18)	27 (21)	76 (60)

^*No pain and no disability: visual analogue score for pain=0 or 1, Hanover disability score >90%. Pain or disability: either pain score=2-10 or disability score <90%, not both. Pain and disability: pain score=2-10 and disability score <90%.