Vicki Sims, P.T.

Alan Lippitt, M. D.

David Mesnick, P.T.

Introduction

Lower back pain (LBP) is a 50 billion-dollar per year growth industry in our society (Graves et al, 1990).  The frequency of back pain is such that in the United States alone there are seven million people off work because of it at any one time.  In fact, the most common cause of occupational disability is, indeed, lower back pain (McKenzie, 1981).

While there has been considerable research directed toward identifying the etiology of LBP, only syndromes that are associated with neurologic compression of the nerve roots are well understood by clinicians.  It has been estimated that a precise diagnosis is unknown in 80-90% of patients with LBP (Richardson and Inglarsh, 1994). Read More