Abstract:
This study is proposed for the purpose of determining if a relationship exists between the functional disability of chronic low back pain (IBP) to depression. In the investigation a random sample of 40-50 clients from area back clinics, at Blodgett Memorial Medical
Center and Butterworth Hospital will be selected. The clients who have had IBP over six months and are willing to participate will be asked to take two self-administered uestionnaires, a modified Dartmouth Pain Questionnaire (DPQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The modified DPQ includes two parts relating to the client's self perception and activity level prior to the IBP event. Also, the client will take the
entire DPQ that will assess the present disability. The self-administered BDI which measures the degree of depressive symptoms will be given. The results will be divided into two categories; those clients with great discrepancy in functional disability before and after the IBP event and those with a small discrepancy in functional disability. The BDI scores will be compared to each of these categories to determine if a relatioinship exists.
