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Imaging of the Postoperative Spine: Discectomy and Herniectomy

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Spinal Imaging

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

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Abstract

Low-back pain (LBP) is a frequent complaint and a leading cause of disability in the general population. Epidemiological studies have identified many individual, psychosocial, and occupational risk factors for its onset, but the primary causative mechanisms of LBP remain largely undetermined. Psychological factors have an important role in the transition from acute to chronic pain and related disability (Manek and MacGregor 2005). Recent advances show that there is also a significant genetic effect on severe LBP, a condition which is responsible for a substantial loss in productivity. The total costs of LBP in the US exceed $100 billion per year (Katz 2006). Two-thirds of these costs are indirect, due to lost wages and reduced productivity. Each year, the less than 5% of the patients who have an episode of LBP account for 75% of the total costs (Jinkins 1997). Most episodes of LBP have a mechanical origin and are self-limiting, resolving within a few days or weeks (Borenstein 1996).

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Van Goethem, J.W.M., Salgado, R. (2007). Imaging of the Postoperative Spine: Discectomy and Herniectomy. In: Van Goethem, J.W.M., van den Hauwe, L., Parizel, P.M. (eds) Spinal Imaging. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68483-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68483-1_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-21344-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68483-1

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