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The bothersomeness of sciatica: patients’ self-report of paresthesia, weakness and leg pain

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Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate how patients with sciatica due to disc herniation rate the bothersomeness of paresthesia and weakness as compared to leg pain, and how these symptoms are associated with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 411 patients with clinical signs of radiculopathy. Items from the Sciatica Bothersomeness Index (0 = none to 6 = extremely) were used to establish values for paresthesia, weakness and leg pain. Associations with socio-demographic and clinical variables were analyzed by multiple linear regression. Mean scores (SD) were 4.5 (1.5) for leg pain, 3.4 (1.8) for paresthesia and 2.6 (2.0) for weakness. Women reported higher levels of bothersomeness for all three symptoms with mean scores approximately 10% higher than men. In the multivariate models, more severe symptoms were associated with lower physical function and higher emotional distress. Muscular paresis explained 19% of the variability in self-reported weakness, sensory findings explained 10% of the variability in paresthesia, and straight leg raising test explained 9% of the variability in leg pain. In addition to leg pain, paresthesia and weakness should be assessed when measuring symptom severity in sciatica.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Eli Molde Hagen, Dag Soldal, Knut Morten Huneide, Anett Bjørnødegård and Bjarte Justnæs for their help with the data collection and Leiv Sandvik for statistical advice.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Østfold Hospital Trust, Fredrikstad, Norway

    Lars Grøvle & Anne Julsrud Haugen

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Anne Keller

  3. Section of Occupational Health and Social Insurance Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of General Practice and Community Health, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Bård Natvig

  4. Section for Back Surgery and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Department, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Jens Ivar Brox

  5. Unifob Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Jens Ivar Brox

  6. FORMI (Communication Unit for Musculoskeletal Disorders), Division for Neuroscience and Musculoskeletal Medicine, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Margreth Grotle

  7. National Resource Centre for Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Bård Natvig & Margreth Grotle

  8. Revmatologisk avdeling, Sykehuset Østfold, 1603, Fredrikstad, Norway

    Lars Grøvle

Authors
  1. Lars Grøvle
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  2. Anne Julsrud Haugen
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  3. Anne Keller
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  4. Bård Natvig
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  5. Jens Ivar Brox
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  6. Margreth Grotle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lars Grøvle.

Additional information

The study protocol was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Oslo (11 October 2004) and The Ombudsman for Privacy in Research at the Norwegian Social Science Data Services (2 March 2005).

Appendix: The Sciatica Bothersomeness Index

Appendix: The Sciatica Bothersomeness Index

On a 0–6 point scale, please rate the following symptoms according to how bothersome they were in the past week.

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Grøvle, L., Haugen, A.J., Keller, A. et al. The bothersomeness of sciatica: patients’ self-report of paresthesia, weakness and leg pain. Eur Spine J 19, 263–269 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-009-1042-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-009-1042-5

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