Articles: back-pain.
-
The pathological entities commonly associated with lumbosacral pain are the intervertebral discs, facet joints or surrounding muscle. However, in the absence of diagnostic confirmation of the aforementioned structures, the diagnosis may become confusing and intractable. Sacroiliac fascial lipocele (SFL), namely, pannicular hernia, could be a neglected cause. ⋯ It is important to distinguish SFL some cases with lumbosacral back pain. Detailed physical examination, superficial ultrasonography and diagnostic nerve block are extremely valuable for acquiring a precise diagnosis. Overall, when considering the clinical outcome of such cases and the foregoing benefits, percutaneous endoscopic treatment could be an efficacious alternative treatment for SFL-related lumboscral back pain.
-
Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) results from a cascade of medical and surgical events that lead to or leave the patient with chronic back and radicular pain. This concept is extremely difficult to understand, both for the patient and for the therapist. The difficulty is related to the connotations of failure and blame directly associated with this term. The perception of the medical situation varies enormously according to the background and medical education of the clinician who manages this type of patient. Eight health system experts (2 pain physicians, 1 orthopaedic spine surgeon, 1 neuro spine surgeon, 1 functional neurosurgeon, 1 physiatrist, 1 psychologist and one health-economic expert) were asked to define and share their specialist point of view concerning the management of postoperative back and radicular pain. Ideally, it could be proposed that the patient would derive optimal benefit from systematic confrontation of these various points of view in order to propose the best treatment option at a given point in time to achieve the best possible care pathway. ⋯ The initial pejorative connotation of FBSS suggesting failure or blame must now be replaced to direct the patient and therapists towards a temporal concept focusing on the future rather than the past. In addition to the redefinition of an optimised care pathway, a consensus based on consultation would allow redefinition and renaming of this syndrome in order to ensure a more positive approach centered on the patient.
-
Observational Study
Pain location matters: the impact of leg pain on health care use, work disability and quality of life in patients with low back pain.
In low back pain (LBP) patients, those with radiating leg pain or sciatica have poorer pain and disability outcomes. Few studies have assessed the effect of leg pain on health care use and quality of life. ⋯ Patients with self-reported leg pain below the knee utilise more health care are more likely to be unemployed and have poorer quality of life than those with LBP only 12 months following primary care consultation. The presence of leg pain warrants early identification in primary care to explore if targeted interventions can reduce the impact and consequences of leg pain.
-
Recent data show that the thoracolumbar fascia can be a source of pain. However, the spinal neuronal mechanisms underlying pain from a pathologically altered fascia are unknown. The present study aimed at finding out how dorsal horn neurons react to input from a chronically inflamed thoracolumbar fascia. ⋯ One of the prominent findings was the appearance of new receptive fields in deep tissues of the hindlimb. Together with the expansion of the spinal target region of fascia afferents into the segment L3, the appearance of new receptive fields is a possible explanation for the spread of pain in patients with non-specific low back pain.