Table 1.

Japanese Orthopaedic Association scoring system for low back pain

Criteria of the JOA scoring system	Score
Subjective symptoms (9 points)
Low back pain
None	3
Occasionally mild	2
Always mild or occasionally severe	1
Always severe	0
Leg pain and/or numbness
None	3
Occasionally mild	2
Always mild or occasionally severe	1
Always severe	0
Walking ability
Normal	3
Able to walk more than 500 m, pain, numbness, and muscle weakness	2
Unable to walk 500 m due to pain, numbness, and muscle weakness	1
Unable to walk 100 m due to pain, numbness, and muscle weakness	0
Objective findings (6 points)
Straight leg raising test (including tight hamstring)
Normal	2
30°–70°	1
<30°	0
Sensory function
Normal	2
Mild sensory disturbance	1
Marked sensory disturbance	0
Motor function (MMT)
Normal	2
Slight muscle weakness (grade 4)	1
Marked muscle weakness (grade 0–3)	0
Restriction of ADLs (14 points)
Turning over while lying down	0–2
Standing	0–2
Washing face	0–2
Leaning forward	0–2
Sitting (1 h)	0–2
Lifting or holding	0–2
Walking	0–2
Bladder function (−6 points)
Normal	0
Mild dysuria	−3
Severe dysuria	−6
Total score	29

In restriction of ADLs, a score of 0 = severe restriction, a score of 1 = moderate restriction, and a score of 2 = no restriction

ADL activities of daily living, MMT manual muscle testing