Epidural steroid injections in the management of low-back pain with radiculopathy: an update of their efficacy and safety.

Introduction: Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) have been widely used for over 50 years in the treatment of low-back pain with radiculopathy. Most interventional pain physicians strongly believe in their efficacy and safety. Recent Cochrane systematic reviews have disclosed controversial results and have questioned the effectiveness of ESIs.

Camptocormia: the bent spine syndrome, an update.

Camptocormia, also referred to as bent spine syndrome (BSS) is defined as an abnormal flexion of the trunk, appearing in standing position, increasing during walking and abating in supine position. BSS was initially considered, especially in wartime, as a psychogenic disorder. It is now recognized that in addition to psychiatric syndromes, many cases of reducible BSS have a somatic origin related to a number of musculo-skeletal or neurological disorders.

Natural history of the aging spine.

The unrelenting changes associated with aging progressively affects all structures of the spinal units. The degenerative process starts early during the first decade of life at the disc level. Discal degeneration is associated with biochemical changes followed by macroscopic alterations including tears and fissures, which may lead to discal herniation, the main cause of radiculopathy in the young adult.

The natural history of lumbar degenerative spinal stenosis.

The purpose of this review is to present current information on the natural course of lumbar spinal stenosis. As the population becomes older this condition is encountered more frequently. The diagnosis accuracy has improved and the number of cases detected is increasing intemationally.

The natural history of lumbar disc herniation and radiculopathy.

The majority of patients suffering from a radiculopathy caused by a herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) heal spontaneously without surgery or chemonucleolysis. The clinical course of the radiculopathy varies as well as the efficacy of conservative treatment. In some patients the symptoms decline after a week or two; in others the pain may continue for many months or years.