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…
The interventional procedures available to help diagnose and treat low back pain are numerous and expanding. With a growing population that is living longer, the incidence of low back pain…
Low back pain with radiating pain to the hip, buttock, or limb is the most common reason for electrodiagnostics referral. Electrodiagnostics is used to assess for lumbosacral radiculopathy potentially underlying…
Careful consideration of functional lumbosacral anatomy reveals the capacity for pain generation in the disc, zygapophysial joint, sacroiliac joint, and surrounding ligaments. However, the methods used to definitively implicate a…
Myofascial pain syndrome is a common nonarticular local musculoskeletal pain syndrome caused by myofascial trigger points located at muscle, fascia, or tendinous insertions, affecting up to 95% of people with…
In this article, the epidemiology of back pain and the use of a variety of treatments for back pain in the United States are reviewed. The dilemma faced by medical…
Despite its classic clinical presentation, and even when confirmed by compatible imaging findings of a herniated disc, the radiculopathy diagnosis provides only limited assistance for making decisions about treatment. The…
Epidural steroid injection (ESI) has been used to treat cervical radiculopathy for several decades. Generally, available studies demonstrate favorable results, although definitive evidence of efficacy is lacking. ESIs are not…
