The patient is a 43-year-old man who works in a factory wher…
The patient is a 43-year-old man who works in a factory where he is responsible for operating a drill press and lifting heavy (25kg) cases of metal plates over his head several times throughout the day. He presents with a chief complaint of chronic low back pain that ranges from 3/10 at rest to 9/10 at the end of the day. He denies lower limb pain; he also denies lower limb numbness or muscle weakness. His symptoms began several years ago when he tried to stop a pallet of metal plates from falling off a truck. He felt a tearing sensation in his back and indicates that it has not been “right” since that time. He has had several periods of lost work time due to low back pain and has currently been out of work on a worker’s compensation claim for one month. This patient has had 2 lumbar magnetic resonance imaging examinations that revealed mildly degenerative, bulging disks at L4-5 and L5-S1. His previous physical therapy treatment has been centered on pain control approaches using moist heat and ultrasound. He indicates that he was instructed in the performance of sit-up exercises but stopped doing them after a couple of days because they increased his pain. He has avoided physical activity and exercise since that time. What components of the patient’s history suggest the presence of yellow flags?