title: Low back pain.
abstract: The main causes of low back pain are intervertebral disc and facet joint dysfunction and spondylosis. It is important to differentiate between the pain of inflammation (worse at rest, relieved by activity) and that of mechanical dysfunction (worse on activity, relieved by rest). The key to diagnosis is understanding the daily patterns of back pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Box Hill Hospital, Monash University, Melbourne.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murtagh
mesh_terms: D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans