title: [Low back degeneration and radiology].
abstract: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common conditions, and at the same time one of the most complex nosological entities. The lifetime prevalence is approximately 80%, and radiological features of lumbar degeneration are almost universal in adults. The individual risk factors for LBP and significant relationships between radiological findings and subjective symptoms have both been notoriously difficult to identify. The lack of consensus on clinical criteria and radiological definitions has hampered the undertaking of properly executed epidemiological studies. The natural history of LBP is cyclic: exacerbations relieved by asymptomatic periods. New imaging modalities, including the combination of MR imaging and multiplanar 3-D CT scans, have broadened our awareness of possible pain-generating degenerative processes of the lumbar spine other than disc degeneration.
authors.affiliation: H:S Hvidovre Hospital, Ortopaedkirurgisk Afdeling. sjac@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: Kasper Kjaerulf
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Gosvig
authors.forename: Stig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonne-Holm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012307:Risk Factors; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed