Journal of orthopaedic science : official journal of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association
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The Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ) was developed in 2007, including the five domains of Pain-related disorder, Lumbar spine dysfunction, Gait disturbance, Social life disturbance, and Psychological disorder. It is used by physicians to evaluate treatment efficacy by comparing scores before and after treatment. However, the JOABPEQ does not allow evaluation of the severity of a patient's condition compared to the general population at a single time point. Given the unavailability of a standard measurement of back pain, we sought to establish reference scores and interquartile ranges using data obtained from a multicenter, cross-sectional survey taken in Japanese primary care settings. ⋯ Reference scores and interquartile ranges for JOABPEQ were generated based on the data from the examination data. These provide a measurement standard to assess patient perceptions of low back pain at any time point during evaluation or therapy.