Observational studyBMC musculoskeletal disorders2015
Characteristics of patients with low back and leg pain seeking treatment in primary care: baseline results from the ATLAS cohort study.
Observational study in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Are combined conservative interventions effective in reducing pain, disability and/or global rating of pain in people with sciatica with known neuropathic pain mechanisms?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for sciatica: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Stratified versus usual care for the management of primary care patients with sciatica: the SCOPiC RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Compressing the lumbar nerve root changes the frequency-associated cerebral amplitude of fluctuations in patients with low back/leg pain.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Trial
- The clinical and cost-effectiveness of stratified care for patients with sciatica: the SCOPiC randomised controlled trial protocol (ISRCTN75449581).BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Trial
- Validity and accuracy of a machine learning predictive model in the exploitation of patient-related outcomes in spine surgery.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Article
- The Observable Movement Quality scale for patients with low back pain (OMQ-LBP): validity and reliability in a primary care setting of physical therapy.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Article
- Low-back related leg pain: is the nerve guilty? How to differentiate the underlying pain mechanism.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2023Article
- Definitions of Chronic Low Back Pain From a Scoping Review, and Analyses of Narratives and Self-Reported Health of Adults With Low Back Pain.The journal of pain · 2023Article
- Potential novel therapeutic strategies for neuropathic pain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2023Review
- Thoracic Schwannoma as an Unusual Cause of Sciatic Pain in the Chiropractic Office: A Case Report.The American journal of case reports · 2022Article
- Ischial osteochondroma as an unusual source of pregnancy-related sciatic pain: a case report.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2022Article
- Article
- Aberrant functional connectivity and temporal variability of the dynamic pain connectome in patients with low back related leg pain.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Presence of back pain prior total knee arthroplasty and its effects on short-term patient-reported outcome measures.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2022Article
- Low Back Pain Versus Back-Related Leg Pain: How Do Patient Expectations and Outcomes of Lumbar Spine Surgery Compare?HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery · 2022Article
- Digital Rehabilitation for Acute Low Back Pain: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPatients with back pain radiating to the leg(s) report worse symptoms and poorer recovery than those with back pain alone. Robust evidence regarding their epidemiological profile is lacking from primary care, the setting where most of these patients will present and be managed. Our objective was to describe the characteristics of patients with back and leg pain, including sciatica, seeking treatment in primary care.
methodsAdults visiting their general practitioner with back and leg pain, of any duration and severity, were invited to participate. Participants completed questionnaires, underwent clinical assessments and received MRI scans. Characteristics of the sample are described, and differences between patients diagnosed with referred leg pain and those with sciatica are analysed.
resultsSix hundred nine patients participated; 62.6 % were female, mean (SD) age 50.2 (13.9). 67.5 % reported pain below the knee, 60.7 % were in paid employment with 39.7 % reporting time off work. Mean disability (RMDQ) was 12.7 (5.7) and mean pain intensity was 5.6 (2.2) and 5.2 (2.4) for back and leg respectively. Mean sciatica bothersomeness index (SBI) was 14.9 (5.1). Three quarters (74.2 %) were clinically diagnosed as having sciatica. In the sciatica group, leg pain intensity, neuropathic pain, pain below the knee, leg pain worse than back pain, SBI and positive MRI findings were significantly higher as compared to patients with referred leg pain.
conclusionsThis primary care cohort reported high levels of disability and pain. This is the first epidemiological study of unselected primary care patients seeking healthcare for back and leg pain. Follow-up of this cohort will investigate the prognostic value of their baseline characteristics. This new information will contribute to our understanding of the characteristics and clinical features of this population, and will underpin future research aimed at defining prognostic subgroups to enable better targeting of health care provision.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.