How the myBackPain assessment works — and why it is different
Ready to find out what’s most likely causing your back pain?
The assessment takes around 10 minutes and produces a personalised report based on your specific answers. Results in minutes.
This is not a symptom checker
Most online back pain tools ask a small number of general questions and suggest you see a professional. That is not unhelpful — but it is not assessment. It does not tell you what is most likely causing your pain, how serious it might be, what to do about it, or what to watch out for.
The myBackPain assessment works differently. It applies the same structured clinical reasoning framework that an experienced spinal care practitioner uses in a consultation — asking the right questions in the right order, weighing the answers against a comprehensive differential diagnosis, and producing a personalised report based on your specific presentation.
The assessment was developed by a practising osteopath with over a decade of clinical experience in spinal care, using the same reasoning framework used in specialist spinal assessment. It draws on the Osteospinal clinical reasoning system — a tool designed for use by trained practitioners — and translates it into patient-friendly language and outputs.
What makes it different from a GP appointment
A ten-minute GP appointment focuses on immediate management — whether to refer, whether to prescribe, whether to investigate. It rarely has time for the detailed clinical history that identifies the specific cause and drives targeted treatment. The myBackPain assessment is designed to do exactly that: take a full structured history and produce a differential diagnosis.
It does not replace your GP or practitioner. What it does is give you — and them — a structured clinical picture to work from. Patients who arrive at a consultation having completed the assessment have a clearer picture of their presentation, better questions to ask, and a structured starting point for discussion.
The seven domains the assessment covers
The assessment considers possible causes across seven clinical categories. Each category has a distinct pattern of symptoms, behaviours, and risk factors that the questions are designed to identify.
How the questions work
The assessment follows a branching question structure — your answers to earlier questions determine which later questions you are asked. This mirrors how an experienced practitioner thinks through a presentation: certain answers open up particular lines of enquiry while making others less relevant.
Where is your pain?
A body map identifies the primary location of your pain. This immediately narrows the differential — the causes of lower back pain differ significantly from those of upper back or sacral pain. The location also guides which subsequent questions are most relevant.
What is the character of the pain?
How the pain feels — aching, burning, sharp, electric, constant, intermittent — carries significant diagnostic weight. A burning, shooting pain below the knee suggests nerve root irritation. A deep constant ache at rest raises different concerns from a movement-related ache that settles with rest.
What makes it better or worse?
Aggravating and relieving factors are among the most diagnostically useful features of any back pain presentation. Pain worse with forward bending and sitting suggests disc involvement. Pain worse with leaning back and rotation suggests facet joints. Pain worse after rest and better with movement suggests inflammation.
Your history, lifestyle, and context
Medical history, medications, previous episodes, occupation, sleep, exercise, and psychological factors all contribute to the clinical picture. Conditions like diabetes, osteoporosis, and inflammatory arthritis change how back pain should be interpreted and managed.
Safety screening
Throughout the assessment, answers are screened against a set of red flag and amber flag criteria. Features that suggest serious underlying pathology — constant pain at rest, unexplained weight loss, bilateral leg weakness, bladder or bowel changes — trigger specific safety guidance in the report directing you to appropriate care.
How the report is structured
Your answers are scored across all categories simultaneously. The report reflects which patterns are most consistent with your specific presentation, structured into four outcome categories:
A plain-language explanation of each identified condition • What your specific symptom pattern means clinically • Self-management guidance relevant to your presentation • Safety information and red flag awareness • A practitioner summary for you to share with your GP or treating clinician • Links to the relevant condition pages for further reading
What the assessment does not do
It is important to be clear about the limits of any assessment tool, however well designed.
- It does not constitute a medical diagnosis — that requires clinical examination
- It does not replace examination findings, imaging, or blood tests where these are needed
- It does not account for every possible cause of back pain — particularly rare conditions
- It cannot detect conditions that require physical examination to identify, such as specific neurological deficits or postural findings
- It is not designed for children under 16
If you have just had a significant injury and are in severe pain, cannot stand or walk, or have any bladder or bowel symptoms alongside your back pain — please go to A&E or call 999 rather than completing this assessment. This tool is for structured assessment of back pain, not for acute emergencies.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to find out what’s causing your back pain?
The assessment considers over 80 possible causes and produces a personalised report in minutes. Safety screening included. Built by an experienced spinal care practitioner.