Back Pain - Differential Diagnosis

Primary Back Pathology:

 • Musculoligamentous injury (a.k.a. lumbosacral strain)

 • Spondylosis (i.e. degenerative arthritis of the spine)

 • Intervertebral disc herniation

 • Anatomic abnormalities: Scoliosis, Spondylolisthesis

 • Spinal stenosis

 • Compression fracture: Traumatic compression fracture, Spontaneous osteoporotic compression fracture, Pathologic fracture secondary to metastatic disease

Systemic Diseases with Back Manifestations:

 • Infection: Epidural abscess, Vertebral osteomyelitis / discitis

 • Metastases: Vertebrae (most common: lung, breast, prostate, renal, thyroid, and myeloma), Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (most common: lung, breast, melanoma, lymphoma, leukemia)

 • Inflammatory back pain: Axial spondyloarthritis (e.g. ankylosing spondylitis), Peripheral spondyloarthritis (e.g. psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, & enteropathic arthritis)

Referred Pain:

 • Aorta: Dissection, Aneurysm

 • Pancreas: Pancreatitis, Pancreatic pseudocyst / other peripancreatic fluid collection

 • Kidney: Pyelonephritis, Perinephric abscess, Nephrolithiasis

 • Retroperitoneal hemorrhage



- Dr. Eric Strong @DrEricStrong - Strong Medicine https://www.youtube.com/c/EricsMedicalLectures/



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