Management of Low Back Pain

James R. Lehrich, MD

Published: 18 December 1996

Low back pain is extremely common and has major economic significance in industrial societies. It is reported to occur in 26% of the working population each year and occurs to a disabling degree in 2 to 8%. Eighty percent of the population have at least one episode of low back pain in their lifetimes. It is the fifth leading reason for medical office visits in the United States. Low-back injury compensation accounts for 33% of all workers' compensation costs (1/3 for medical treatment, 2/3 for indemnity). Seventy-five percent of compensation payments go to back patients, although they constitute only 3% of total compensation patients (Klein et al, 1984; Hart et al, 1995).

Low back pain occurs most frequently between the ages of twenty and forty and is more severe in older patients. There is no strong association based on sex, height, body weight, or physical fitness. High-risk occupations include miscellaneous labor, garbage collection, warehouse work, and nursing, all of which are usually associated with lifting, twisting, bending, and reaching.

Keywords: back pain, pain, lumbar spine, lumbar disks.