Session Information
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Session Title: Spine and Pain Research Report
Session Time: 11:15am-12:45pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 7
Disclosures: John Taylor Mansfied, DO: Nothing to disclose
Objective: Identify the average functional level of disability at the time of initial presentation to a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) clinic as determined by the validated functional outcome measure, the Modified – Oswestry Disability Index (m-ODI).
Design: Prospective Cohort Study
Setting: Single site outpatient PM&R clinic
Participants: N = 234
Interventions: Not applicable
Main Outcome Measures: m-ODI % at the time of initial visit to PM&R clinic.
Results: The mean +/- standard deviation with respect to the functional level of disability, as determined by the m-ODI, at the time of initial visit to a single site PM&R clinic was 34% +/-22%. The median was 34% as well.
Conclusions: The m-ODI is an extremely important tool that researchers and disability evaluators use to measure a patient’s permanent functional disability. This measure is considered the ‘gold standard’ of low back functional outcome tools (source). To our knowledge, there are currently no studies in the literature that assess the average level of functional disability at the time of initial visit to a PM&R clinic. Statistical analysis of our cohort of patients revealed mean m-ODI 34%. This equates to moderate disability (21-40%). Characteristics of moderate m-ODI disability are: patient experiences more pain and difficulty with sitting, lifting and standing. Travel and social life are more difficult, and they may be disabled from work. Personal care, sexual activity and sleeping are not grossly affected, and the patient can usually be managed by conservative means. Based on our cohort, PM&R physicians are initially seeing patients when they are already well into “moderate” disability. Patients may respond better to conservative treatment modalities typically offered by PM&R physicians such as physical therapy, oral medications, and injection based therapy if they are seen and intervention occurs earlier in the disease process.
Level of Evidence: Level III
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Mansfied JT, Gruner MP, Gall N, Murtaugh BT, Maxwell M. Presenting Modified Oswestry Disability Indices: Assessing Degree of Low Back Pain Disability at the Initial Visit to a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Clinic [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/presenting-modified-oswestry-disability-indices-assessing-degree-of-low-back-pain-disability-at-the-initial-visit-to-a-physical-medicine-rehabilitation-clinic/. Accessed May 12, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/presenting-modified-oswestry-disability-indices-assessing-degree-of-low-back-pain-disability-at-the-initial-visit-to-a-physical-medicine-rehabilitation-clinic/