[Back pain: a phenomenon of age? : Degenerative alterations of the spine are normal with increasing age. But how is this "normal" in old age defined, does it compulsorily lead to more complaints and a relevant impairment of the quality of life?].

Background: Under the assumption that a certain degree of degeneration is normal in old age, the changes that significantly lead to discomfort should be identified. Care should be taken to ensure that the geriatric patient receives adequate treatment and can quickly return to a normal pain-free life.

Material And Methods: A prospective study was performed on symptomatic outpatients who came for a magnetic resonance (MR) examination of the spine.