Low back pain among patients attending rheumatology clinic in the South West Nigeria

Background : Back pain is among the common musculoskeletal complaints for patients seeking medical care. Back pain encompasses a spectrum of conditions, those with acute and short duration, to life-long disorders. Generally, causes of back pain include osteoarthritis (spondylosis), disc degeneration, osteoporotic fracture, and non-specific low back pain. Objective : To determine the pattern of low back pain among the people living in the South West Nigeria. Design : Prospective study. Methods : All the patients that presented with low back pain either with or without neuro-vascular complaints were enlisted in the study. The study was carried out over three years (January 2010-December 2012). Inclusion criterion was non-traumatic back pain. Exclusion criteria included traumatic back pain, malignancy related back pain, and inflammatory back pain. Results : Seventy three patients were seen over three years constituting 21.7% of total rheumatology cases seen over this period. There were 45 (61.6%) males, and 26 (38.4%) females with a male: female ratio of 1.6:1. Age range was 18 to 72 years, with means of 28 years. Males were generally affected with back pain more than females. Males in their active years were more affected. Non-specific back pain was the leading cause of back pain among the patients studied. Conclusion : The finding of non-specific low back pain as the leading cause of low back pain in this study agrees with earlier literatures on the same issue. Keywords : Low back pain, Musculoskeletal complaint, Hospital patients, Nigeria