Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disorder. Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are a significant cause of back pain. Pain after VCF can be attributed to incomplete healing and progressive…
Discography is a purely diagnostic interventional procedure performed to confirm or refute the hypothesis that a specific lumbar disc is the predominant source of a patient’s low back pain. In…
Radiofrequency (RF) neurotomy is an interventional procedure used to alleviate certain types of low back pain. RF energy is used to thermally coagulate the specific nerves that transmit pain signals….
The sacroiliac joint and the lumbar zygapophysial joints are both known pain generators with demonstrated pain-referral patterns. They are both amenable to image-guided intraarticular injection of corticosteroids, a procedure that…
Epidural steroid injection (ESI) has been used as a treatment for low back pain for over 50 years. In the last 10 to 15 years, there has been a significant…
The commonly performed spinal procedures, such as epidural injections, spinal nerve blocks, zygapophysial joint (z-joint) interventions, and discography, are reported to be safe. However, diagnostic and therapeutic spinal interventions can…
Analgesic medications are commonly used for low back pain (LBP). Evidence on the efficacy of pharmacologic therapy for LBP comes from clinical trials that have many limitations, including short-term studies…
The determination of whether a patient should pursue an active or passive treatment program is often made by medical practitioners. Knowledge about all forms of treatment, including complementary and alternative…
Imaging is an integral part of the clinical examination of the patient with back pain; it is, however, often used excessively and without consideration of the underlying literature. The primary…
Psychosocial factors are at least as important as biomedical factors in the onset, maintenance, and treatment of chronic low back pain. This article reviews some of the common psychosocial factors…
