Two-Point Discrimination Test in the Treatment of Right-handed Females with Lumbosacral Radiculopathy

Non-somatic causes of pain may aggravate painful complaints and complicate the conservative management of diseases such as lumbo-sacral disk root disease. The two-point discrimination test has been used for assessment of diseases, which change patients' skin sensation. This study aims to find out how applicable is two-point discrimination test in the conservative treatment of lumbo-sacral disk diseases. Twenty right-handed females suffering from unilateral lumbo-sacral disk disease were admitted for a conservative treatment from 2006 to 2009. The treatment consisted of a week bed rest, physiotherapy, and medication. They were subjected to straight leg raising tests, and their pains were evaluated using visual analog scale. The values of two-point discrimination test were obtained bilaterally for L(4), L(5) and S(1 )dermatomes. Changes between the involved and intact lower limbs as well as values of two-point discrimination test before and after the treatment were also compared. In addition, the correlation between the outcome of two-point discrimination, straight leg raising tests, or pain scores were evaluated. There was a significant (P<0.001) difference between the changes in the values of two-point discrimination test, pain scales, or straight leg raising tests in the involved and intact limbs before and after the treatment. However, correlation among variables did not reach statistical significance (P<0.94, r=0.017). The results indicated that although two-point discrimination test is a feasible and objective tool to evaluate patients' improvements during the conservative management of lumbo-sacral disk diseases, there were no strong correlations between two-point discrimination test and straight leg raising tests, or pain scale.