Authors' recommendations: It is estimated that 80% of people have low back pain (LBP) at some time in their lives, and 5% to 10% develop chronic symptoms. The differential diagnosis is complex since etiologies include trauma, neurologic and degenerative disc disease, spondyloarthropathies, and other musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions. LBP may not always be accurately diagnosed by the reference standards, physical examination, and plain x-rays. Other commonly used imaging tests for diagnosis of LBP are myelography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI diagnoses some causes of LBP but may not be available in all facilities; is time-consuming; and cannot be used in patients with metal implants, pacemakers, or claustrophobia. The advantages of ultrasonography (US) are its portability, noninvasiveness, and availability; and it allows for an interactive and dynamic evaluation of musculoskeletal structures while avoiding the hazards of radiation exposure. In addition, there are no major contraindications associated with US for the majority of patients. These benefits of US have led to investigations of its utility for the diagnosis of LBP.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2013

URL for published report: The report may be purchased from: http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=16115

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: United States

Organisation Name: HAYES, Inc.

Contact Address: 157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218

Contact Name: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Contact Email: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Copyright: 2013 Winifred S. Hayes, Inc