Low back pain is an extremely common complaint. It is the second most common ailment in humans. It ranks third among all diseases in people aged 45 to 65 years. Eighty out of every hundred people in the society complain of low back pain at some point in their life. In studies conducted in the United States; The annual incidence of low back pain has been reported to be 2-5%, point prevalence 15-25%, lifetime prevalence 50% (14-80).
Many risk factors for low back pain have been listed. In many studies, previous low back pain has been shown as the most closely related factor. The severity of previous low back pain becomes important. Another important factor is age. The frequency is maximum in the 5th and 6th decades. Again, many occupational and psychological factors related to low back pain have been defined. Factors such as obesity, smoking and vibration are among the factors that have been shown to increase low back pain.
Low back pain can occur in a wide variety of pathologies, and there is no accepted classification method today. The most commonly used classification methods are classifications made according to the duration of the pain and the tissue from which it originates. According to the duration of pain; divided into acute, subacute and chronic. According to the place where the pain originates, it can be differentiated as spinal and extra-spinal pain.
Extraspinal low back pain
- Visceral organ origin
vascular (aortic aneurysm, thrombophlebitis)
urogenital (stone, tumor, infection)
gastrointestinal system (pancreas, colon diseases, peptic ulcer)
locomotor (pelvis, hip fractures, tumors) - Nervous system origin
central nervous system involvement
lumbosacral plexus involvement (tumor, radiation, immunological disorder, focal toxic forms)
Peripheral nerve involvement (Diabetes, entrapment neuropathies
Spinal Caused Low Back Pain
1. Non-mechanical low back pain
neoplastic diseases
inflammatory diseases (spondyloarthropathies, Behçet hst, FMF, Whipple hst, Forestier etc.)
infective diseases (osteomyelitis, discitis, pyogenic sacroileitis etc.)
metabolic diseases (osteoporosis, osteoma azimuth, hyperparathyroidism etc.)
2. Mechanical low back pain
· specific ones (intervertebral disc disease, spinal stenosis, failed low back pain syndrome, spondylolisthesis, traumatic low back pain, asymmetric transitional vertebrae, coccydynia, myofascial pains )
· non-specific ones
As it is understood from the classification, not all low back pains are of spinal origin. The specific pathophysiological and pathoanatomical relationship cannot be clarified in most of the spinal-origin pains perceived in the lumbar region.
