The first and most important sources of information to understand the causes of back pain are the clinical history and physical examination. The other tests, radiological, functional-analytic or only have value if its results correspond with the physical examination. And as some others are painful and involve certain risks, should only be recurrrir them if the results of the examination or physical examination to determine their suitability.
When your back hurts, most important is:
* Determine if this is a pain because of back problem itself (ie a “mechanical spine pathology“) or a general disease that is unfolding in the back (eg, infection, tumor or condition metabolically as osteoporosis). For more than 95% of cases pain is due to a mechanical condition of the spine.
* Determine if there are signs that a nerve is being compressed and what is the specific cause of pain, in order to implement the most appropriate treatment, with the urgency it requires.
To that end, it is essential to conduct a detailed clinical history and meticulous physical examination. Only if the results indicate, any diagnostic test can be ordered more. It may be: radiation-for example, radiography or magnetic resonance imaging, analytic as a blood-or function-as an electromyogram. These tests are described below, but first we must insist that the most important sources of information are:
1. The patient’s medical history, inquiring about their background, how did the pain, its location and characteristics, the factors that trigger or aggravate, etc.
2. A meticulous physical examination, which studies the positions and movements that trigger the pain sensation, reflexes and strength, the existence of signs of nerve root compression, etc..
Besides the history and physical examination, diagnostic tests used to determine the cause of back pain are:
* The radiological tests such as radiography or magnetic resonance imaging
* The neuropsychological tests such as electromyography or evoked potentials
* Blood tests
* Other diagnostic tests used less frequently and, although they may have utility in individual patients, usually only used experimentally.
Tags: Causes of back pain, General disease, physical examination
