How to investigate a patient with lumbar back pain with or without neurological symptoms

Katie A. Hoban; Himanshu Shekhar; Andreas K. Demetriades

doi:10.1016/j.mporth.2025.09.008

How to investigate a patient with lumbar back pain with or without neurological symptoms

Katie A. Hoban
, Himanshu Shekhar
, Andreas K. Demetriades

Postgraduate Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Lumbar back pain is responsible for a significant proportion of presentations to orthopaedic surgeons. Taking a succinct clinical history, performing a detailed examination and ordering appropriate investigations are crucial to diagnose the patient with lumbar back pain and guide subsequent management. This article aims to give an overview of the pathology, differential diagnoses, investigations and management strategies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	378-386
Number of pages	9
Journal	Orthopaedics and Trauma
Volume	39
Issue number	6
Early online date	23 Oct 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mporth.2025.09.008
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025

Keywords

Differential diagnosis
lumbar back pain
red flags

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

Access to Document

10.1016/j.mporth.2025.09.008

Cite this

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abstract = "Lumbar back pain is responsible for a significant proportion of presentations to orthopaedic surgeons. Taking a succinct clinical history, performing a detailed examination and ordering appropriate investigations are crucial to diagnose the patient with lumbar back pain and guide subsequent management. This article aims to give an overview of the pathology, differential diagnoses, investigations and management strategies.",

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AB - Lumbar back pain is responsible for a significant proportion of presentations to orthopaedic surgeons. Taking a succinct clinical history, performing a detailed examination and ordering appropriate investigations are crucial to diagnose the patient with lumbar back pain and guide subsequent management. This article aims to give an overview of the pathology, differential diagnoses, investigations and management strategies.

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KW - red flags

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How to investigate a patient with lumbar back pain with or without neurological symptoms

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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