Classification of Low Back Pain

Low back pain is one of the leading causes of health problems in the developed world. The yearly prevalence of low back pain varies from 5% to as high as 65%1-5 the lifetime prevalence can range up to 84% 2,4,5 and the monthly prevalence has been placed between 35% and 37%6. Low back pain has a high rate of disability associated with it, which has led to an escalation in the medical based costs as a result of low back pain2. Many people have their first episode of low back pain in their late teens or early twenties and these episodes frequently reoccur throughout adult life leading to a chronic condition7. It is these chronic conditions, with their resultant psychosocial components, that lead to the greatest medical based costs2. Therefore, it becomes imperative that correct diagnosis of low back pain be made as early as possible, with the best treatment applied, to prevent initial acute episodes from becoming a chronic reoccurrence.