Pending litigation and rehabilitation outcome of chronic back pain.

The effects of pending litigation for compensation on treatment outcomes of patients with chronic low back pain, were assessed. The 81 patients with chronic low back pain who participated in a six-week behavioral treatment program organized around the theme of self-control, were differentiated according to whether there were unsettled legal claims for compensation. Scales from the MMPI and Health Index were administered before and after treatment. Three behavioral measures of physical mobility were obtained from representative subsamples in each group before and after treatment and at one and three months follow-up. Results indicated that after treatment, patients without litigation pending obtained significantly greater reductions on the Hypochondriasis and Hysteria scales of the MMPI and achieved relatively greater improvements on two behavior measures. Because patients with litigation pending also evidenced significant behavioral gains, the belief that these patients are at risk for treatment appears to be true only in relation to the patients without current litigation rather than in an absolute sense.