WADDELL SIGN

Course overview

PROFESSOR GORDON WADDELL FIRST DESCRIBED A GROUP OF EIGHT CLINICAL PHYSICAL SIGNS IN 1980 KNOWN AS WADDELL SIGNS. AS AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, WADDELL INITIALLY DEVELOPED THESE SIGNS AS A METHOD TO IDENTIFY PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN WHO WERE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A POOR SURGICAL OUTCOME FROM LOWER BACK SURGERY. MORE RECENTLY, CLINICIANS HAVE UTILIZED WADDELL SIGNS TO DETECT PSYCHOGENIC, SOMETIMES INAPPROPRIATELY LABELED NON-ORGANIC, MANIFESTATIONS OF LOW BACK PAIN IN PATIENTS. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE FEATURES OF WADDEL SIGN, ITS CLINICAL RELEVANCE, AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN.