Management of a patient with lumbar segmental instability using a clinical predictor rule.

The diagnosis of low back pain is a common and costly condition in primary healthcare, which is often grouped into a homogeneous category. It has been suggested that the population of patients with low back pain are not a homogenous group and that they should be classified into subgroups. One subgroup identified in the literature is patients thought to have lumbar segmental instability. The patient in this case report is a 59-year-old female who presented with the four predictors of success demonstrated by Hicks et al. for implementing a lumbar stabilization program for a patient with lumbar segmental instability. With conservative treatment utilizing a lumbar stabilization program, the patient was able to regain strength, lumbar stability, and demonstrate functional improvement evidenced by an improvement in her Oswestry score. It is recommended that knowledge of current literature including clinical predictor rules can help to improve clinical decision making along with treatment of patients.