LSAT 105 – Section 2 – Question 23

LSAT 105 - Section 2 - Question 23

February 1999

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT105 S2 Q23
+LR
+Exp
Most strongly supported +MSS
Quantifier +Quant
A
1%
154
B
9%
159
C
18%
160
D
5%
160
E
67%
168
151
159
167
 +Harder 145.978 +SubsectionMedium

Chronic back pain is usually caused by a herniated or degenerated spinal disk. In most cases the disk will have been damaged years before chronic pain develops, and in fact an estimated one in five people over the age of 30 has a herniated or degenerated disk that shows no chronic symptoms. If chronic pain later develops in such a case, it is generally brought about by a deterioration of the abdominal and spinal muscles caused by insufficient exercise.

Summary
Chronic back pain is often caused by a damaged spinal disk. Usually, pain develops long after the damage occurs. To further this point, it is estimated that a significant number of people have a damaged disk but no chronic pain. For these people, pain usually develops due to muscle weakness caused by a lack of exercise.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
A lack of exercise can contribute to the onset of chronic back pain.
Exercise may play a role in preventing chronic back pain.
Many people have damaged disks, but do not experience chronic pain.
A damaged spinal disk does not necessarily mean one will experience chronic pain.

A
Four out of five people over the age of 30 can be sure they will never develop chronic back pain.
Unsupported. This is too strong to conclude this about the remaining 4/5. This group could develop chronic back pain from sources other than a damaged disk. They could also have a damaged disk that DOES show chronic symptoms.
B
People who exercise their abdominal and spinal muscles regularly are sure to be free from chronic back pain.
Unsupported. This only talks about chronic back pain caused by damaged disks - we can’t draw conclusions about all back pain. Additionally, we know that pain in certain cases is generally caused by weakened muscles - not all. We cannot be sure.
C
Patients rarely suffer even mild and fleeting back pain at the time that a spinal disk first becomes herniated or degenerated.
Unsupported. The stimulus discusses chronic pain symptoms. Chronic is prolonged - we cannot conclude from this about acute pain that may or may not occur at the time of injury.
D
Doctors can accurately predict which people who do not have chronic back pain will develop it in the future.
Unsupported. We know that not everyone that has a damaged disk will develop back pain. While a lack of exercise may play a role, there is no evidence to support a method for being able to accurately predict who will develop back pain.
E
There is a strategy that can be effective in delaying or preventing the onset of pain from a currently asymptomatic herniated or degenerated spinal disk.
Strongly supported. Exercise is a strategy can be effective for delaying or preventing the onset of pain by preventing the deterioration of the abdominal and spinal muscles in those with a damaged disk.

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LSAT PrepTest 105 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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