[Practicability of a German version of the "Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire". A questionnaire to assess disability caused by back pain].

While caring for patients with chronic low back pain, a standardized measurement of pain and pain-related reduction of the quality of life is needed. Easy application and data collection are decisive for routine use. The Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire is an internationally widely used instrument, which was now scrutinized in 148 patients in two orthopedic hospitals. A higher pain disability was related to age, female gender, limitations experienced in social life, impact of pain, use of analgetics, low net income, and patients in Eastern Germany. The available German version of the questionnaire is suitable for daily use to measure the intensity of pain and pain-related disability in everyday life, including social impairment due to low back pain.