Table 1.
Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score
| Subjective symptoms (0–9 pts) | Pts |
|---|---|
| Low back pain | |
| None | 3 |
| Occasionally mild | 2 |
| Always mild or occasionally severe | 1 |
| Always severe | 0 |
| Leg pain or numbness | |
| None | 3 |
| Occasionally mild | 2 |
| Always mild or occasionally severe | 1 |
| Always severe | 0 |
| Ambulant ability | |
| No restriction | 3 |
| Able to walk for more than 500 m, but feel some pain or numbness | 2 |
| Unable to walk for more than 500 m | 1 |
| Unable to walk for more than 100 m | 0 |
| Clinical symptoms (0–6 pts) | Pts |
|---|---|
| Straight-leg-raising test | |
| >80 | 2 |
| >30, <80 | 1 |
| <30 | 0 |
| Sensory abnormality | |
| Normal | 2 |
| Slight hypesthesia or hypalgesia | 1 |
| Severe hypesthesia or hypalgesia | 0 |
| Motor weakness | |
| MMT 5 | 2 |
| MMT 4 | 1 |
| MMT < 3 | 0 |
The total score is 15 points
Pts points, MMT manual muscle test