The surgical treatment of low back pain
- PMID: 9894129
The surgical treatment of low back pain
Abstract
If nonoperative management fails to relieve a clearly identifiable and surgically treatable cause of lumbar pain, then surgery may be beneficial. Certain "red flags" indicate the need for urgent or emergent surgical intervention. Low back pain is associated with several degenerative conditions in the lumbar spine, including degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, degenerative scoliosis, facet joint syndrome, and disc herniation.