Table 1.
Baseline characteristics for the total population
| n = 466 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Sociodemographic variables |
|
|
| Age years mean (SD) |
43.6 |
(11.5) |
| Males n (%) |
268 |
(57.5) |
| Current smoker n (%) |
200 |
(43.3) |
| Education >; 12 years n (%) |
227 |
(50.1) |
| Working status |
|
|
| Working full time n (%) |
92 |
(19.8) |
| Partly sick leave n (%) |
51 |
(11.0) |
| Total sick leave, rehabilitation n (%) |
234 |
(50.4) |
| Disability pension n (%) |
33 |
(7.1) |
| Other n (%) |
54 |
(11.6) |
|
Back pain/sciatica history |
|
|
| First sciatica episode n (%) |
210 |
(45.3) |
| Duration back problems <; 1 year n (%) |
145 |
(31.1) |
| Duration current sciatica episode <; 3 months n (%) |
192 |
(41.4) |
|
Self-reported health status |
|
|
| MSBQ (0–12) mean (SD) |
8 |
(3) |
| Pain intensity* back (0–100) mean (SD) |
42.6 |
(30.0) |
| Pain intensity* leg (0–100) mean (SD) |
63.2 |
(28.2) |
| SBI† (0–24) mean (SD) |
14 |
(5) |
| Subjective health complaints (0–27) mean (SD) |
7.5 |
(4.5) |
| Kinesiophobia‡ (13–52) mean (SD) |
27 |
(7) |
| Emotional distress§ (1–4) mean (SD) |
1.58 |
(0.43) |
|
Clinical finding |
|
|
| Muscular weakness n (%) |
203 |
(44.5) |
| Reflex reduced or absent n (%) |
212 |
(46.2) |
| Sensory loss n (%) |
273 |
(59.0) |
| Straight-leg-raising test <; 60˚ n (%) | 267 | (58.0) |
*Visual analogue scale; †Sciatica Bothersomeness Index; ‡ Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia; § Hopkins Symptom Check List-25