Management of Specific Pain Syndromes

Chronic Back Pain

  • Lower back pain (LBP) is very common, in the USA and globally.  The lifetime prevalence in the US is by some estimate 65-80%, and a substantial 10-40% of patients develop symptoms lasting for greater than six weeks. 
  • Risk factors for lower back pain are varied:  male gender, current smoking, obesity, poor general health, physically demanding lifestyle, depression, anxiety, and other psychological stressors.  
  • There is also a prevalence of back pain in high-income countries relative to middle- or low-income countries.
  • Common etiologies are myofascial pain, facet-mediated pain, discogenic pain, lumbar spinal stenosis, and lumbar radiculopathy

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