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Back Pain

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Synonyms

Backache; Dorsalgia; Lumbago

Definition

Pain located between the base of the neck and the gluteal folds that can also be associated with radiating pain in the lower extremities.

Description

Back pain is one of the most prevalent and costly conditions in the industrialized world. An estimated 80% of individuals will experience back pain at some point in their life. The vast majority of back pain episodes have an unknown etiology and are self-limiting. Approximately 80–90% of cases resolve within the first 6 weeks of onset. The relatively small percentage of individuals who develop chronic back pain (symptoms lasting longer than 3 months), however, account for the majority of the disability expenditures that are associated with this condition.

Criteria used to classify back pain are numerous and, in certain instances, divergent. For example, the classification of back pain has been based on the duration and location of symptoms, the underlying spinal pathology, the presence of...

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References and Readings

  • Airaksinen, O., Brox, J. I., Cedraschi, C., Hildebrandt, J., Klaber-Moffett, J., Kovacs, F., Mannion, A. F., Reis, S., Staal, J. B., Ursin, H., Zanoli, G. (2006, March 1). Chapter 4: European guidelines for the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain. European spine journal: Official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 15(Suppl 2): S192–S300.

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  • The New Zealand Acute Low Back Pain Guide. Prepared by the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and endorsed by the New Zealand Guidelines group; available online at www.acc.co.nz

  • Waddell, G. (2004). The back pain revolution (2nd ed.). London: Churchill Livingstone.

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Correspondence to Timothy H. Wideman .

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Wideman, T.H., Sullivan, M.J. (2013). Back Pain. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1092

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1092

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

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