A system of classifying low-back disorders is presented that is suitable for use in epidemiologic screening. It is based on the patient`s description of symptoms and can be verified by simple clinical findings. The duration and onset of the disease is given as a prefix, and additional information is included as parenthetical data.

Key terms back; back pain; classification; epidemiology; low-back insufficiency; low-back pain; lumbago; pain; sciatica; short communication