Surgery | Common Surgical Conditions | Trauma and Orthopaedics: Back Pain

Trauma and Orthopaedics: Back Pain
Session Overview
Description
This session will review common causes of back pain and the relevant investigations required to make a diagnosis. We will also review the management of common conditions.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the anatomy of the spinal column and spinal cord
• Identify the critical conditions which cause back pain
• Explain what treatment and support is available for patients with different causes of back pain

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should have basic knowledge of:

• Spine anatomy
• Anatomy of a spinal nerve root

Back pain is a common presenting complaint to primary and secondary care, and it can be encountered in all fields of medicine and surgery. As well as the spine being the cause of pain, other conditions can also manifest with back pain. The history and clinical examination are imperative in making the correct diagnosis, which will form the foundation of your clinical assessment. MRI is the radiological investigation of choice.

It is important to be aware of the yellow and red flags which will assist in diagnosis and management.

This session provides an introduction to the key facts about different causes of back pain. It presents an overview of common critical conditions and describes the treatment. It will not cover causes of back pain which are not spine related.