Skip to main content

Table 1 Characteristics of the female chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients and female healthy controls (HC)

From: Enhanced sensitivity to punctate painful stimuli in female patients with chronic low back pain

No.

Age (years)

Duration of pain (month)

VASQST

NRS4average

NRS4max

BDI

RDQ

Reported medications (as needed)

1

52

360

5.8

4

8

11

15

No medication at all

2

54

168

5.1

5

7

12

6

Diclofenac (5-10/month)

3

49

120

1.0

2

2

2

2

Ibuprofen (2-3/month)

4

52

88

3.0

3

3

9

5

Diclofenac (0-8/month)

5

49

240

2.2

5

8

4

5

Ibuprofen (0-1/month)

6

54

108

4.6

3

6

6

3

Diclofenac (2-3/month)

7

50

> 60

3.5

5

7

11

5

Flupirtin (1-10/month)

8

56

> 60

3.5

4

7

9

6

No medication at all

9

56

> 60

1.1

4

7

11

2

Diclofenac (0-10/month)

10

44

> 60

1.0

1

1

7

2

Ibuprofen (0-3/month)

11

55

147

3.6

3

5

4

5

No medication at all

12

54

> 60

3.1

5

6

7

3

Ibuprofen (0-10/month)

13

48

> 60

3.8

2

4

2

6

No medication at all

14

56

> 60

1.0

2

3

11

1

No medication at all

CLBP (mean ± SD)

52.1 ± 3.7

> 60**

3.0 ± 1.7**

3.4 ± 1.4**

5.3 ± 2.3**

7.6 ± 3.5**

4.7 ± 3.4**

 

HC (mean ± SD)

51.9 ± 4.9

0.0 ± 0.0

0.0 ± 0.0

0.0 ± 0.0

0.0 ± 0.0

1.8 ± 1.5

0.1 ± 0.5

 
  1. VASQST, 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS): current pain intensity before Quantitative sensory testing (QST); NRS 4average, numerical rating scale (NRS) pain intensity rating in response: “How would you rate your average pain over the last four weeks?”; NRS 4max, numerical rating scale (NRS) pain intensity rating in response: “How would you rate your highest pain intensity experienced within the last four weeks?” VAS/NRS left anchor with 0 = “no pain” and right anchor with 100/10 = “pain as bad as you can imagine”; BDI – Beck Depression Inventory [28]; RDQ – Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire [63–65]. Reported medications: Mean use of medication; however, all CLBP patients were without any analgesic medication for at least 48 hours before the examination. All participants were employed. Significant difference between CLBP and HC: ** - P < 0.001.