1 Before you use it
What it is
Five criteria said to identify low back pain patients likely to respond to manipulation: duration of symptoms under 16 days · no symptoms distal to the knee · a FABQ work subscale score under 19 · at least one hypomobile lumbar segment · at least one hip with more than 35° of internal rotation.
When to reach for it
As a teaching object more than a decision tool. A student who understands why a derivation rule needs validation before it changes practice has learned something that transfers to every rule on this list.
Patterns it serves · 2
2 Giving it
Scoring
Count how many of the five are present. Four or more is the commonly cited threshold.
What it doesn’t measure
It does not diagnose, and it does not tell you manipulation is indicated. It also requires a FABQ score, which most people skip — and then it isn't the rule any more.
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Teach this one with its history, because the history is the lesson. It was derived in one study and its subsequent validation has been mixed — a derivation study is a hypothesis, not a finding, and this rule is the standard example of why.
No verified accuracy or effect estimate is carried in our library and none is printed here.
What survives regardless: the two clinical items are genuinely useful reasoning prompts — how long has this been going on, and does it go below the knee?
Is the change real?
Student trap. Using four of the five criteria because the FABQ is a hassle. A prediction rule with an item removed is not that prediction rule.
Official source: apta.org. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
Did this page do its job?
CliniStudy is in beta. One tap is enough — it decides what gets fixed first.