NeuroSIPE – QDISC

NeuroSIPE – QDISC (Quantitative Diagnosis of Impaired of Spine Control)

27% of the Dutch adult population suffers from low-back pain (LBP) at any given time. The majority of LBP patients recovers fairly quickly without specific treatment. 60-75% are relapsing within one year. For 10% of the patients LBP becomes a chronic problem persisting even 1 year after the first visit to the general practitioner. With 1.7% of the gross national product (GNP) or in other words 4.1 billion euros is LBP the most costly health problems in the industrialized world. Most of LBP costs is due to chronic problems.

The problem is that in only 10% of the patients a specific diagnosis can be made. Therefore for most patients the primary cause remains unknown. The lacking diagnostic possibilities is leading to limited success of secondary prevention and treatment of chronic LBP.

The most common treatments focus on general prognostic factors for chronicity of LBP such as neuromuscular control, pain sensitization and pain related fear. Focusing on one treatment factor only is not successful for all patients. Therefore all aspects need to be considered together.

This NeuroSIPE – QDISC (Quantitative Diagnosis of Impaired of Spine Control) project ( http://www.neurosipe.nl/project.php?id=22) will therefore focus on developing a diagnostic application which will provide quantitative assessment of neuromuscular control of trunk muscles, as well as effects of pain sensitization and pain related fear. This will provide means to individualize treatment, as well as contributing more targeted treatment of patients with chronic LBP and prevent chronicity in patients with sub-acute LBP.

Promovendi:Drs. Mariette Griffioen


This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, which is part of the Netherland Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.