Prognostic indicators for acute low-back pain.

Chart review was conducted on a 6-month sample of patients with low-back to identify outcome indicators in acute low-back pain. Two hundred seven episodes were identified. Extracted material included the age, sex, past history, time to presentation, occupation, suggested precipitating event of injury, and estimated difficulty of job tasks. Symptoms and findings presentation were also recorded. All cases were work-related, and the outcome indicator was time loss from work. Analysis of variance showed significant associations in time loss from work with factors including the occupation, age, job difficulty, past history, symptoms, examination, and diagnosis on presentation.