Low back pain differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hadeel Maksoud M.D.[2]

Overview

Diagnosing the cause of back pain can be difficult, because many diseases can cause this symptom. Most frequently the cause is benign and/or self-limiting, but more serious causes may require urgent intervention. Acute back pain is a severe, persistent back pain of sudden onset that is likely to require surgical intervention to treat its cause. The following table summarizes differential diagnosis for back pain.

Differential Diagnosis of Back Pain

Classification of pain in the back based on etiology	Diease	Clinical Manifestation		Diagnosis		Comments
		Symptoms	Signs	Lab findings	Imaging
Vascular
Neurological
Bone
Non-spinal infections
Tumors
Muscle-related
Miscellaneous