Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the responsiveness/sensitivity of 3 fundamentally different types of outcome measures in low back pain.
Method: This study is a longitudinal evaluation of outcome measures. Thirty-one private chiropractic practices in Denmark participated in this study. The outcome measures chosen for this study are the serial measurements using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, the patient's prospective global assessment on a visual analog scale, and the patient's retrospective global assessment of improvement on a visual analog scale.
Results: The 3 outcome measures differed significantly in their ability to register clinical improvement, with the retrospective global assessment of improvement being the most responsive.
Conclusion: More research is needed in this area, and caution must be taken in choosing outcome measures for randomized clinical trials on low back pain.