Section 1—Pain Intensity
· I have no pain at the moment.
· The pain is very mild at the moment.
· The pain is moderate at the moment.
· The pain is fairly severe at the moment.
· The pain is very severe at the moment.
· The pain is the worst imaginable at the moment.
Section 2—Personal Care (washing‚ dressing‚ etc.)
· I can look after myself normally without causing extra pain.
· I can look after myself normally but it is very painful.
· It is painful to look after myself and I am slow and careful.
· I need some help but manage most of my personal care.
· I need help every day in most aspects of self care.
· I do not get dressed‚ wash with difficulty and stay in bed.
Section 3—Lifting
· I can lift heavy weights without extra pain.
· I can lift heavy weights but it gives extra pain.
· Pain prevents me from lifting heavy weights off the floor but I can manage if they are conveniently positioned‚ e.g. on a table.
· Pain prevents me from lifting heavy weights but I can manage light to medium weights if they are conveniently positioned.
· I can lift only very light weights.
· I cannot lift or carry anything at all.
Section 4—Walking
· Pain does not prevent me walking any distance.
· Pain prevents me walking more than 1 mile.
· Pain prevents me walking more than 1/4 mile.
· Pain prevents me walking more than 100 yards.
· I can only walk using a stick or crutches.
· I am in bed most of the time and have to crawl to the toilet.
Section 5—Sitting
· I can sit in any chair as long as I like.
· I can sit in my favorite chair as long as I like.
· Pain prevents me from sitting for more than 1 hour.
· Pain prevents me from sitting for more than 1/2 hour.
· Pain prevents me from sitting for more than 10 minutes.
· Pain prevents me from sitting at all.
Section 6—Standing
· I can stand as long as I want without extra pain.
· I can stand as long as I want but it gives me extra pain.
· Pain prevents me from standing for more than 1 hour.
· Pain prevents me from standing for more than 1/2 hour.
· Pain prevents me from standing for more than 10 minutes.
· Pain prevents me from standing at all.
Section 7—Sleeping
· My sleep is never disturbed by pain.
· My sleep is occasionally disturbed by pain.
· Because of pain I have less than 6 hours sleep.
· Because of pain I have less than 4 hours sleep.
· Because of pain I have less than 2 hours sleep.
· Pain prevents me from sleeping at all.
Section 8—Sex Life (if applicable)
· My sex life is normal and causes no extra pain.
· My sex life is normal but causes some extra pain.
· My sex life is nearly normal but is very painful.
· My sex life is severely restricted by pain.
· My sex life is nearly absent because of pain.
· Pain prevents any sex life at all.
Section 9—Social Life
· My social life is normal and causes me no extra pain.
· My social life is normal but increases the degree of pain.
· Pain has no significant effect on my social life apart from limiting my more energetic interests‚ e.g. sport‚ etc.
· Pain has restricted my social life and I do not go out as often.
· Pain has restricted social life to my home.
· I have no social life because of pain.
Section 10—Traveling
· I can travel anywhere without pain.
· I can travel anywhere but it gives extra pain.
· Pain is bad but I manage journeys over two hours.
· Pain restricts me to journeys of less than one hour.
· Pain restricts me to short necessary journeys under 30 minutes.
· Pain prevents me from traveling except to receive treatment.
· 0 to 20: Minimal disability
· 21–40: Moderate Disability
· 41–60: Severe Disability
· 61–80: Crippling back pain
· 81–100: These patients are either bed-bound or have an exaggeration of their symptoms.
Fairbank‚ J.C.T.‚ Couper‚ J.‚ Davies‚ J.B‚ O’Brien‚ J.P. (1980). The Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Physiotherapy‚ 66(8):271–273.
Baker‚ D.J.‚ Pynsent‚ P.B.‚ Fairbank‚ J.C.T. The Oswestry Disability Index revisited: its reliability‚ repeatability and validity‚ and a comparison with the St. Thomas’s Disability Index. In: Roland MO‚ Jenner JR‚ eds. Back pain: new approaches to rehabilitation and education. Manchester: Manchester University Press‚ 1989:174–186.
Fairbank‚ J.C.T.‚ Pynsent‚ P.B. (2000). The Oswestry Disability Index. Spine‚ 25(22):2940-2953.
Fritz‚ J.M.‚ Irrgang‚ J.J. (2001). A comparison of a modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale. Phys Ther‚ 81:776–788.
Torenbeek‚ M.‚ Caulfield‚ B.‚ Garrett‚ M.‚ et al. (2001). Current use of outcome measures for stroke and low back pain rehabilitation in five European countries: first results of the ACROSS project. Int J Rehabil Res‚ 24:95–101.
McDowell‚ Ian. (2006). Measuring Health: A Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires‚ Third Edition. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
