Low back pain is aspecific in 90% of all cases. This means that no structural pathology can be detected as the source of back pain with the use of imaging techniques.
In 10% of the cases, low back pain has a specific cause with about 1% linked to serious pathology (see screening).
The other 9% are due to lumbosacral radicular syndrome, which is characterized by radicular pain in one leg with or without neurological symptoms.
Aspecific low back pain has a very favorable course:
– 90% of patients do not have to stay off work
– 75% of the remaining 10% are able to resume work within 4 weeks
A normal course is defined as an increase in activity and participation with the first 3 weeks after the acute onset of low back pain so that limitations are minimal or non-existent anymore.
In an abnormal course, the patient is not able to increase the level of activity and participation or it even decreases within the first 3 weeks.
| Study | |||||
| KNGF (2013) |
