The Relative Responsiveness of 3 Different Types of Clinical Outcome Measures on Chiropractic Patients with Low Back Pain

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to compare the responsiveness/sensitivity of 3 fundamentally different types of outcome measures in low back pain.MethodThis 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.ResultsThe 3 outcome measures differed significantly in their ability to register clinical improvement, with the retrospective global assessment of improvement being the most responsive.ConclusionMore research is needed in this area, and caution must be taken in choosing outcome measures for randomized clinical trials on low back pain.