DOES CLINICAL EXAMINATION OF SPINE IN LOWER BACK PAIN AND/OR RADICULOPATHY ALTER OR CONTRIBUTE TO MANAGEMENT?
R. Kamath; P. Chandran; S. Malek; and A.M.M.A. Mohsen Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, UK Introduction and Aims: Back pain patients usually demand more time in clinic. A significant proportion of this time is spent in performing clinical examination. It has been recognised that a detailed history of symptoms is the backbone in reaching the diagnosis and deciding the management plan for patients with lower back pain and/or radiculopathy. Method: A prospective, blinded study was carried out to determine the usefulness of history and clinical examination, individually, to reach the diagnosis and plan the management. Sixty consecutive lower back pain and/or radiculopathy patients were included in the study. All the patients were seen by two orthopaedic registrars. Detailed history was taken by one and clinical examination was performed by the other registrar. A provisional diagnosis was made by both registrars based on their information. A consultant also took history and examined these patient
