Table 3.

Prognosis of Acute Low Back Pain in Primary Care

	Baseline	6 months	2 years
Sciatica (period before baseline interview; between interviews)	27%	25%	10%
Sciatica (at day of interview):	10%	4%	2%
>50% reduced activity levels for at least one day in past week.	92%	12%	35%
“discomforting” or worse (McGill):	79%	25%	32%
“distressing” or worse (McGill):	39%	8%	12%
“horrible” or “excruciating” (McGill)	13%	2%	5%
Mean pain intensity [range0–10]:	5.6 (±1.8)	1.2 (±2.0)	1.4 (±2.2)
Mean pain bothersomeness [range0–10]:	6.5 (±2.3)	1.2 (±2.3)	1.4 (±2.2)
Mean pain intensity when most tolerable	2.6 (±1.8)	0.6 (±1.3)	0.8 (±1.6)
Mean pain intensity when worst	8.6 (±1.4)	2.2 (±3.0)	1.9 (±2.8)
Mean Roland Morris score [range 0–24]:	15.8 (±4.7)	3.6 (±4.8)	4.4 (±5.4)
On sick leave for LBP:	8%	<1%	<1%