International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift für Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de réadaptation
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This study investigates whether different subgroups of chronic low back pain patients (CLBPs) differ in psychological aspects assessed with the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) and the Multidimensional Pain Questionnaire (MPI-DLV). Four subgroups of CLBPs are discerned using the results of lumbar dynamometry: 1. Patients with performances lower than healthy subjects (expected performance; n = 45). 2. ⋯ Significant differences in psychological aspects were found between patients with submaximal and patients with expected performances but not between patients with normal and patients with expected performances. All patients with submaximal performance report a high degree of psychological distress, in contrast to 30% of those with normal performance and 20% of those with expected performance. Because of the differences found in psychological aspects between the CLBP subgroups, it is thought that a physical screening together with a psychological screening provides better insight in the two aspects of the deconditioning syndrome and thus can give better treatment indications than a physical screening alone.