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 con-sisted 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 L4, L5 and S1 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