[Everyone Has Low Back Pain: Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Disorders and Their Treatment Options]

Everyone Has Low Back Pain: Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Disorders and Their Treatment Options Abstract. Back pain is one of the most widespread diseases. Up to 84 % of people have low back pain at some point in their lives. Unspecific back pain is treated conservatively. As supportive measure, interventional pain therapy can be performed. Surgery for low back pain should be considered in selected cases only. However, accompanying neurological symptoms are frequent, such as radiation, i.e. sciatica. Typical etiologies are disc herniation or - increasingly frequent, and due to the aging population increasingly frequent - spinal canal stenosis. Surgery has a better prognosis in cases where conservative management failed. If severe neurological symptoms are present, surgery is indicated. Osteoporotic compression fractures cause acute back pain. The decision whether these patients should undergo kypho- or vertebroplasty should be based on guidelines.