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Soft tissue determinants of low back pain

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Abstract

Low back pain is one of the complaints most commonly seen in the clinical setting. Correctly or incorrectly, these patients are often given the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, disk herniation, or some other label. It is important to recognize the soft tissue causes of low back pain and understand how they can be most appropriately diagnosed and managed. Nonligamentous disorders of the low back region may occur in isolation or in combination with underlying discogenic, ligamentous, and facet-mediated causes of pain. Therefore, in order to fully evaluate and treat a patient with low back pain, it is necessary to consider and address these soft tissue conditions. This paper reviews soft tissue causes of low back pain and discusses how they are most appropriately diagnosed and managed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spaulding-Wellesley Rehabilitation Center, 65 Walnut Street, 02481, Wellesley, MA, USA

    Joanne Borg-Stein MD

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  1. Joanne Borg-Stein MD
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  2. Allen N. Wilkins MD
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Correspondence to Joanne Borg-Stein MD.

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Borg-Stein, J., Wilkins, A.N. Soft tissue determinants of low back pain. Current Science Inc 10, 339–344 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-006-0057-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-006-0057-4

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