Low back pain is a common problem, and the resulting disability frequently contains nonorganic, psychological and social elements that are difficult for the busy clinician to assess.

The nonorganic physical signs are distinguishable from the standard clinical signs of physical pathology. The patients with multiple nonorganic physical signs tend to show no organic pathology in computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

It is suggested that the nonorganic physical signs can be used as a simple clinical screening method to help identify patients who need detailed psychosocial assessments in order to determine their cause of low back pain.