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IJE Advance Access originally published online on January 31, 2008
International Journal of Epidemiology 2008 37(1):74-76; doi:10.1093/ije/dym269
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Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association © The Author 2008; all rights reserved.

Commentary: When East meets West—comments on ‘back pain as a communicable disease’

Stephan Reichenbach1,* and Jeffrey N. Katz2

1Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Unit, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
2Brigham and Women's; Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Corresponding author. E-mail: rbach@ispm.unibe.ch

Accepted 10 December 2007

The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below.

With the lifetime prevalence approaching 100%, virtually all of us have at some point been affected by low back pain (LBP). Although recovery from a LBP episode is generally rapid, the risk of recurrence within 6 months has been reported to be as high as 40%.1 LBP is the leading cause of work disability in many countries. The search for a specific diagnosis is often frustrating; in 80–90% of cases it is not possible to give a precise pathoanatomical diagnosis despite advanced imaging studies.2 This has . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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