Like in other pathologies, your goal during examination should be to test the hypothesis that you have formed during patient history-taking.
According to the guideline, the examination entails the following points regarding the thoracic, lumbar and lumbosacral column, including the pelvis and the hip:
Range of Motion (ROM), resistance, end-feel, pain and possible radiation
Muscles: length, end-feel, elasticity, tenderness upon stretch and contraction, muscle tone, coordination and strength
Skin: Level of grasp, shift, pliability and end-feel
Performance of activities that were recorded in the PSC
Based on your findings, you should be able to link the impairments in body function to the restriction that your patient experiences in activities and participation.
If you suspect lumbosacral radicular syndrome, the guideline advises to perform the Straight Leg Raise Test (see later chapter) and the finger-to-floor distance (positive with a distance of 25cm during forward bending with straight knees).
If you could exclude the presence of any red flags during your screening, as well as lumbosacral radicular syndrome, you can assume that your patient falls into the category of aspecific low back pain.
Based on the whole diagnostic process, you should be able to place your patient into one of the following treatment profiles:
| Treatment Profile | Description |
| Profile 1 | Non-specific low back pain with a normal course |
| Profile 2 | Non-specific low back pain with an abnormal course but no dominance of psychosocial factors |
| Profile 3 | Non-specific low back pain with an abnormal course and dominance of psychosocial factors |
| Study | |||||
| KNGF (2013) |
