The value of pain drawings in the care of neck and back pain

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports and pain questionnaires of 100 patients with complaints of lower back or neck pain were reviewed. Prior to physician examination, each patient had completed a questionnaire which included pain drawings and a rating on a pain scale. The information given on the drawings and questionnaires was compared to the MRI reports. The levels of agreement between them were analyzed. The results show that the pain questionnaire with drawing is a useful tool in the evaluation of patients when the diagnoses of herniated nucleus pulposis (HNP) or spinal stenosis are in question. The levels of agreement between the pain drawings and the MRI findings were stronger for the cervical spine than for the lumbar spine and also stronger for the presence of HNP than for central canal spinal stenosis. Particularly useful was the negative predictive power for ruling out cervical and lumbar pathology.