Taking the mystery out of low back pain: diagnostic strategy yields clues for initial treatment and referrals...this is the first in a special series of articles on evaluation and management of back pain

Taking the mystery out of low back pain: diagnostic strategy yields clues for initial treatment and referrals...this is the first in a special series of articles on evaluation and management of back pain

Weiner B K; McCulloch J A

Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine

2000

2000-08

Low back pain (LBP) is a significant public health problem that frequently restricts patient activity and boosts health care costs. LBP is also a vexing clinical problem. Although it is usually associated with specific work and social factors, in most cases the precise cause of pain cannot be determined. As a result, approaches to diagnosis and treatment are often ill-defined and inconsistent. A clear strategy for diagnosis of commonly seen LBP problems can lead to more effective initial treatment and referrals. This strategy places LBP problems in 1 of 4 general diagnostic categories: disk herniations, spinal canal stenosis, diskogenic LBP, or severe nonmechanical LBP Specific initial treatment and referral recommendations are made for each category.

Referral and Consultation; Intervertebral Disk Displacement; Low Back Pain – Therapy; Low Back Pain – Diagnosis; Low Back Pain – Epidemiology

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

450–466

8

17