Template:Low Back Pain DDX

Differential Diagnosis

Mechanical Low Back or Leg Pain (97%)

• Discogenic pain
• Internal disc disruption (subset of discogenic pain)
• Facet joint pain
• Sacroiliac joint or ligament pain
• Spinal stenosis
• Abnormal motion/instability
• Myofascial syndrome
• Cluneal nerve entrapment
• Osteoporotic compression fracture and other fractures
• Spondylolisthesis and spondylolysis
• Scoliosis
• Transitional vertebrae
• Presumed instability

Nonmechanical Spine Conditions (1%)

• Neoplasia (Multiple myeloma, metastatic carcinoma, lymphoma, leukaemia, spinal cord tumours, retroperitoneal tumours, primary vertebral tumours)
• Infection (Osteomyelitis, discitis, paraspinous abscess, epidural abscess, shingles)
• Inflammatory arthritis (Ankylosing spondylitis, reiter syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease)
• Scheuermann disease (osteochondrosis)
• Paget disease

Visceral Disease (2%)

• Pelvic organ involvement (Prostatitis, endometriosis, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease)
• Renal involvement (Nephrolithiasis, pyelonephritis, perinephric abscess)
• Aortic aneurysm
• Gastrointestinal involvement (Pancreatitis, cholecystitis, ulcer)