Managing Low Back Pain in Primary Care

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common pathologies for which patients present for consultation in primary medical practice. The objective of the study was to determine the number of patients with LBP who presented to the general practitioner 's (GP) office between October 2019 and March 2020, to determine risk factors, favoring factors and their correlation with clinical data obtained after performing the clinical examination, with paraclinical data obtained by imaging investigation. 347 patients, aged between 17 and 82 years, were included in the study, presenting a sex ratio of men: women of approximately 2: 1. The main pain symptoms of the patients were: localized pain in the lumbar spine, radicular pain, referred to the lower limbs, subjective sensitivity disorders felt in the lower limbs, distal motor deficit in the lower limbs, paravertebral muscle contractions and the feeling of instability in the low back. The main risk factors were smoking, the existence of a trauma to the lumbar spine, sedentary lifestyle, maintaining a prolonged fixed position and intense physical exercise, either occasionally or daily. Among the patients included in the study, a number of 93 patients required the granting of medical leave both by the attending GP and by other specialists. Regardless of the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the occurrence of LBP, therapeutic management should aim to stop pain symptoms and prevent recurrences.