Introduction:

In the literature there are studies that determine that 70 to 80 % of the adult population at least once in their life has presented nonspecific lumbar pain, generating an impact on the social security system due to its high involvement in treatment costs, disabilities and labor absenteeism. Due to their cyclical behavior, about 90 % of the diagnoses are classified as nonspecific. However, there are no evaluative instruments that allow differential diagnoses and identify structural and functional deficiencies. The objective is to design an instrument that identifies structural and functional deficiencies in segmental instabilities of the lumbar spine.

Materials and Methods:

This study was developed through five phases: literature review, a proposal of the examination tool, consensus of experts, pilot test and application to 17 workers in the general services sector.

Results:

The instrument had a subjective and an objective component. The results of the postero-anterior stability tests determined that 29 % of the workers presented functional and structural deficiencies; the prone stability test was positive in 18 % of the cases, although they were asymptomatic in the subjective component.

Conclusions:

In ergonomics, it is important to consider worker evaluations that integrate the assessment of functional and structural deficiencies for preventive purposes of musculoskeletal disorders and functional rehabilitation.

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