[Backache following spinal anesthesia--a neglected problem?]

In a prospective clinical study we followed up 697 patients operated upon under spinal anaesthesia to determine the incidence of, and the factors predisposing to, post-spinal backache. The incidence of post-spinal backache, which occurs in approximately one in seven patients (13.1%) is comparable to that of post-spinal headache. This often neglected additional cause of post-spinal morbidity can be reduced by the use of atraumatic techniques and with small-gauge spinal needles for performing lumbar puncture.