Table 1 Comparison of key characteristics for patients clinically diagnosed with or without sciatica. All figures are frequencies (percentages) unless stated otherwise as mean (SD)
Characteristics | Clinically defined sciatica n = 93 | Referred pain n = 26 | |
|---|---|---|---|
MRI + ve (n = 44) | MRI –ve (n = 49) | ||
Socio-demographics | |||
Age (years), mean (SD) | 55.2 (11.7) | 50.3 (14.7) | 49.5 (11.1) |
Female gender, N (%) | 24 (55) | 32 (65) | 17 (65) |
BMI, mean (SD) | 30.8 (6.3) | 29.5 (6.2) | 32.5 (8.2) |
Current smoker, N (%) | 17 (39) | 14 (28) | 9 (34) |
Pain | |||
RMDQ disability score (0–23), mean (SD) | 12.5 (5.1) | 11.8 (6.0) | 11.8 (6.8) |
Back pain intensity NRS, mean (SD) | 6.6 (2.3) | 6.7 (2.2) | 6.9 (2.3) |
Leg pain intensity, NRS, mean (SD) | 6.4 (2.4) | 6.1 (2.4) | 7.0 (2.4) |
Pain below knee, N (%) | 30 (71) | 28 (61) | 21 (84) |
Leg pain is worse, N (%) | 21 (49) | 22 (45) | 16 (61) |
Duration of current symptomsa | |||
Back pain | |||
Back pain< 6 weeks, N (%) | 15 (36) | 14 (29) | 7 (27) |
Back pain 6–12 weeks, N (%) | 12 (29) | 8 (17) | 7 (27) |
Back pain > 3 months, N (%) | 15 (36) | 26 (54) | 12 (46) |
Leg pain | |||
Leg pain< 6 weeks, N (%) | 17 (40) | 15 (33) | 8 (32) |
Leg pain 6–12 weeks, N (%) | 15 (36) | 9 (20) | 8 (32) |
Leg pain> 3 months, N (%) | 10 (24) | 22 (48) | 9 (36) |