| Age |
Age 50 or more, suspect the possibility of a vertebral tumour or spinal stenosis.
Age 70 or more, suspect the possibility of trauma. |
| Psychosocial |
Employment history, relationship to co-workers and supervisors, job satisfaction, compensation history, education level, may suggest a possibility of poor prognosis |
Pain
Characteristics |
Pain below the knee suggests the possibility of lumbosacral nerve root compromise.
Pain that worsens when supine, or at night suggests a possibility of tumour or infection. |
Key points in
patient history |
A car accident in a young person may suggest the possibility of fracture.
A fall in an elderly person may suggest an osteoporotic fracture.
Corticosteroid use may suggest a vertebral fracture.
IV drug use or recent UTI may suggest vertebral infection.
A patient with immune suppression may have vertebral infection.
A history of cancer may suggest a vertebral tumour.
Unintentional weight loss may suggest a vertebral tumour.
The presence of bladder dysfunction is suggestive of cauda equina.
Pseudoclaudication suggests spinal stenosis. |
|
Back to Cases
Back to Guidelines
|
Care Plan
