RT Book, Section
A1 Dixit, Rajiv K.
A2 Imboden, John B.
A2 Hellmann, David B.
A2 Stone, John H.
SR Print(0)
ID 57271104
T1 Chapter 10. Approach to the Patient with Low Back Pain
T2 CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Rheumatology, 3e
YR 2013
FD 2013
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-163805-0
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57271104
RD 2024/04/24
AB Most  patients  with  acute  low  back  pain  improve  spontaneously  within  4  weeks.Degenerative  change  in  the  lumbar  spine  is  the  most  commonly  identified  cause  of  low  back  pain.Diagnostic  testing  is  rarely  indicated  in  the  absence  of  significant  neurologic  involvement  or  suspicion  of  systemic  disease  unless  symptoms  persist  beyond  4  weeks.Imaging  abnormalities  must  be  interpreted  carefully  because  they  are  frequently  seen  in  asymptomatic  persons.Patients  with  neurologic  involvement  or  an  underlying  systemic  disease  (eg,  infections,  malignancies,  and  spondyloarthropathies)  may  need  urgent  or  specific  treatment,  including  surgery.Surgery  is  rarely  needed  for  patients  who  respond  to  analgesia,  education,  aerobic  conditioning,  and  physical  therapy.