Bertolotti's syndrome: A commonly missed cause of back pain in young patients.

Malays Fam Physician

Fazir Mohamad MD(UKM) Ms Ortho (UKM) Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Email:

Published: April 2016

Bertolotti's syndrome must be considered as a differential diagnosis for lower back pain in young people. Treatment, whether conservative or operative, is still debatable. In this paper, we report a case of a 20-year-old girl presenting with lower back pain for 8 years. We administered injection with local anaesthetic and steroid injections within the pseudo-articulation; however, the pain was relieved for 3 weeks. Surgical excision of the pseudo-articulation successfully treated her back pain and the sciatica.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4826583PMC

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Bertolotti's syndrome, also known as lumbosacral transitional vertebrae, is a relatively rare spinal condition characterized by an anatomical variation in the lower spine. Conservative approaches such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications and lifestyle modifications may be recommended for mild cases. In more severe cases or when conservative measures fail to provide relief, injections such as may be considered to alleviate pain.

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