Possible causes of back pain Flashcards
What is meant by chronic back pain?
Pain lasting >3 months
What is pain in the neck known as?
Cervical pain
What is pain in the middle back known as?
Thoracic pain
What is pain in the lower back known as?
Lumbar pain
What is pain in the tailbone known as?
Coccydynia
What are the most common causes of back pain?
Degeneration, such as muscular sprains, disc disease and spinal stenosis
What are some vascular causes of back pain?
Aortic dissection
Spinal sub-arachnoid haemorrhage
What are some inflammatory causes of back pain?
Ankylosing spondylitis
Rheumatoid arthritis
What are some metabolic causes of back pain?
Crystal deposition diseases:
- Gout
- Pseudogout
- Hydroxyappetite crystal deposition
- Pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition
What are some examples of diseases of neighbouring viscera that can cause back pain?
Aortic aneurysm
Pancreatic disease
Urological disease
Describe the pain felt in a neoplasm causing back pain
Severe
Unrelenting
May occur at night and be unrelieved by rest
What are some common descriptions of inflammatory back pain?
Prolonged severe pain and stiffness worse in mornings
What are some red flag symptoms in back pain that suggests it is not just degenerative?
Neurological deficit
History of cancer
Systemic features (e.g. fever, chills, night sweats, weight loss)
Pain at rest or at night
Age <16 or >50
What is an acute foot drop?
This is an emergency symptom in which an aetiology leads to weak ankle dorsiflexion or “foot drop”
What investigations should be done in cases of acute foot drop?
MRI of the lumbar spine, checking for spinal cord damage, compression and lesions
