3The Supremacy of the Clinical Evaluation Roberto Chapa Sosa and Neil N. Patel ■ Introduction A comprehensive clinical history and physical examination is imperative to enable physicians to thoroughly and…

15Patients with Multiple Surgeries Claudio Lamartina and Carlotta Martini ■ Introduction A growing issue among spine surgeons is the management of the increasing number of symptomatic spine patients who have…

14Back Pain and Sagittal Alignment Pedro Berjano ■ Introduction Every degenerative case is a deformity case too. In the past, degenerative conditions in the lumbosacral spine were attributed to nerve…

4Imaging in Back Pain Alberto Zerbi ■ Introduction Aging, trauma, infections, tumors, and degenerative diseases can all cause low back pain (LBP). Hip arthritis, sacroiliac joint pathologies, and visceral pathologies…

7Neurologic Back Pain: Myopathies, Neuromuscular Disease, Parkinson, and Dystonia Asdrubal Falavigna and Carlo Domênico Marrone ■ Introduction The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)1 defines pain as a…

6Biology, Mechanics, and Genetics of the Disk: State of the Art Mauro Alini, Sibylle Grad, Hans-Joachim Wilke, Fabio Galbusera, and Alessandra Colombini ■ Introduction The human spine has a challenging…

8Back Pain in Children and Adolescents Katherine M. Schroeder, Erica E. Gonzalez, and John P. Dormans ■ Introduction Historically, back pain in children and adolescents was considered rare and often…

16Chronic Back Pain, Failed Surgery, and What to Do When All Options Are Exhausted Lawrence G. Lenke ■ Introduction Despite the recognition of spine surgery as a unique discipline combining…

5Myth and Reality of Sacroiliac Joint Pathology Kristen E. Jones and David W. Polly, Jr. ■ Introduction Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction is a significant source of disability that is an…

2Decision Making and Flag Systems Gustavo Zanoli ■ Introduction Back pain has become a standard indication for a broad group of conditions in the biomedical literature, as if it were…