Source Of Back Pain Research Articles

Avascular Necrosis of the Lumbar Spine

Back pain is ubiquitous. Commonly, the etiology of the back pain remains elusive despite many costly tests. We report a patient with back pain who was found to have avascular necrosis (AVN) of the lumbar spine on the magnetic resonance imaging study despite normal x-rays. AVN, although common in the peripheral skeleton, is not widely recognized in the spine until it is evident on plain radiographs. AVN as a source of back pain should be considered in patients with appropriate risk factors, even with normal radiographs.

The pars defect as a pain source. A histologic study.

Tissue from the pars defects of six adult patients with symptomatic spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis was obtained at surgery. A histologic study was conducted to identify and characterize neural elements in this tissue. To determine if nociceptive nerve endings were present within the pars defect of patients with symptomatic spondylolysis. The origin of back pain in patients with spondylolysis remains uncertain. The defect in the pars interarticularis has been implicated as a possible pain source. The soft tissue from the pars defect was obtained at surgery. A modified gold chloride stain was used to prepare the tissue for histologic examination. Tissue blocks were sectioned and studied under light microscopy. Neural elements were found in all specimens examined. Free nerve endings believed to have nociceptive function were identified in all specimens. The density of neural elements varied between specimens. The finding of neural elements, including free nerve endings within the pars defect tissue, suggests that the pars defect may be a source of back pain in some patients with symptomatic spondylolysis.

Back pain in Grand Prix drivers: A ‘found’ experiment

The ‘found’ experiment uses a natural change in conditions to investigate the possible effects of those conditions. In this case, the natural change was reduction in stiffness of Grand Prix suspensions between 1982 and 1983. The effects of this change on back pain in drivers were investigated and it was found that both the incidence and severity of back pain decreased significantly. Of the various possible sources of back pain, only the ride changed over the same period. This suggests that mechanical shock and vibration are a significant cause of driving related back pain.