Use of maximum voluntary effort grip strength testing to identify symptom magnification syndrome in persons with low back pain

Issue title: Feature Section: The PM&R Awareness Initiative

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Matheson, Leonard N.^{a; *} | Bohr, Paula C.^a | Hart, Dennis L.^b

Affiliations: [a] Washington University School of Medicine, Program in Occupational Therapy, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA | [b] Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes Inc., Great Falls, VA, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 314 2861605; fax: + 1 314 2861601; e-mail: ergomath@ot-link.wustl.edu.

Abstract: This study investigated the concurrent validity of a method developed to evaluate the presence of symptom magnification syndrome in a sample of patients receiving workers' compensation benefits due to reported chronic low back pain. A validation study involving maximum voluntary effort (MVE) testing of 165 subjects who also received a functional capacity evaluation is described. Various applications of the MVE data were utilized. This study demonstrates that most methods were not significant predictors of the symptom magnification syndrome and that even the best of these methods frequently led to misclassification.

Keywords: Symptom magnification syndrome, Functional capacity evaluation, Low back pain, Performance test, Maximum voluntary effort, Workers' compensation

DOI: 10.3233/BMR-1998-10304

Journal: Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 125-135, 1998