The significance of motor-point tenderness in patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusions.

The relationship between tender motor-points and physical signs was investigated in 48 patients with low back pain caused by intervertebral disc protrusions. There were 42 controls with no history of back pain. Motor-point tenderness was quantified on a four-point scale. All patients (except one) showed a variable degree of tenderness in the motor-points related to the relevant myotomes as determined by clinical examination. The greater the tenderness, the longer was the period of disability. The degree of tenderness seemed to have a prognostic value related to recovery from pain and the length of disability as judged by absence from work.