Author: Ottenstein, MD
Affiliation: Hahnemann Univ. School of Medicine
Publication: Practical Pain Management
Introduction: At the dawn of the 21st century there are still a great many patients suffering from common lumbar pain syndromes. Fortunately, unlike just a few decades ago, we now have many treatments to help these patients. These treatments run the gamut from doing “nothing” (eg. bed rest or passive modalities only) to doing “every thing” (for example, open spinal surgery, discectomy, laminectomy, and/or interbody fusion).
Choosing an appropriate treatment for a particular patient, however, is a complex process. Unfortunately for all concerned, the exact diagnosis is rarely clear cut. Using only the anatomical information found on imaging studies such as MRI and CT, the physician typically has a very low probability of making the proper etiological diagnosis for lumbar pain.