Low back pain
- Low back pain is very common
- LBP can generally take on one of two major forms
- Lumbago (mechanical low back pain)
- Sciatica (neurological low back pain)
- LBP can occur in a healthy spine, often due to stretching or microscopic tears of muscles or ligaments
- Lumbago
- = mechanical low back pain
- (Some sources, like this year’s lecture, reserve the term “lumbago” for idiopathic LBP)
- Can have many causes
- Mechanical disorders
- Congenital malformations
- Lumbar instability
- Degenerative diseases
- Can be acute or chronic
- Lasts less than 1 month – acute
- Lasts more than 6 months – chronic
- Clinical features
- Low back pain
- Decreased lumbar lordosis
- Antalgic gait
- Paravertebral muscle spasm
- Restricted lumbar movements
- No neurological signs (radiation, paraesthesia, etc.)
- Treatment
- Analgesia
- For acute lumbago – rest
- For chronic lumbago – mobilization
- Surgery is almost never indicated