Abstract
Low back pain is an extremely common symptom. Approximately 80% of the general population experience a memorable episode of back pain in their lives. The patients suffering from chronic low back pain have a poor prognosis, with only 20~40% of them improve with multiple treatment trials. Chronic low back pain has various underlying causes, and about 40% are discogenic. The vast majority of patients are treated successfully with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy. However, the number of the minority of patients who fail to respond to these conservative measures is still substantial. When conservative managements fail after a period of months, surgical treatment options should be considered.
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