Articles: low-back-pain.
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This study reviews the results of circumferential fusion in patients with degenerative disc disease who are at high risk for achieving spinal fusion. The fusion rate was 100% and the satisfactory clinical outcome slightly more than 50% in a patient population known to have high risk factors for a poor outcome.
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The psychometric properties and clinical use of a battery of physical performance measures were tested on 44 patients with low back pain and 48 healthy, pain-free control subjects. ⋯ The results provide support for the use of these physical performance measures as a complement to patient self-report.
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Studies on selected populations lead to biased estimates of the prevalence of back pain and associated factors. In order to obtain a valid picture of the prevalence of back pain this review article focuses on epidemiological studies in the general population. These studies can be divided into general health surveys and surveys with specific reference to back pain. ⋯ Severe forms of back pain increase even in the higher age groups, especially in women. Beside this effect the reviewed articles show either no difference between men and women or only a slightly higher prevalence in women. The problems faced by epidemiological studies on back pain, resulting from different definitions of "the back", severity, chronicity and different methodology, are discussed in detail.
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Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol · Nov 1998
[Is early differentiation between psychogenic and somatogenic lumbago-ischialgia syndrome patients possible by anamnesis? Results of a screening study].
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most frequent causes for early retirement, hospital treatment and loss of days of work (Raspe u. Kohlmann 1993). Further differentiation and earlier diagnosis of psychogenic LBP could significantly reduce health costs. ⋯ We found that also 40% of patients with organic pain origin hat traumatic constellations in their childhood. The following factors differentiated best between the both groups and characterised the psychogenic group: Intensity of pain was judged to be significantly higher with the "visual analog scale": age of the patient less than 40 years; distraction does not alter the pain; preceding experiences with physicians had often been negative; pain leads to impairment of familiar contacts; conflicts with parents during childhood could not adequately discussed with them at that time. These seven aspects can very well be part of a clinical history taking in a general medical setting, so that patients with LBP can be differentiated more effectively.
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Although most acute conditions of the spine are benign and self-limited, the economic costs and disability resulting from these disorders have reached epidemic proportions in industrialized society. Recent scientific research to determine the causes of common spinal disorders, long attributed to structural abnormalities, have now implicated complex biochemical and neurophysiologic processes which may offer insights for future therapy interventions. This article reviews the functional and pathologic anatomy and correlates with current diagnostic and nonoperative management strategies for common mechanical spinal and radicular pain syndromes.