ArticleCureus2025
Complex Lower Back Pain: A Case Report.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Lower back pain is a common primary care symptom with musculoskeletal, neurological, neoplastic, infectious, or inflammatory causes. It remains the leading cause of years lived with disability, and it is linked to modifiable factors such as occupational exposure, smoking, and high body mass index (BMI), highlighting the need for preventive, lifestyle-focused strategies. To illustrate these challenges, a 60-year-old man is presented with a 20-year history of type 2 diabetes and a background of alcohol use disorder and suboptimal therapeutic compliance, resulting in poor glycemic control. He presented with low back pain radiating to both lower limbs, with a five-day evolution, exhibiting a mechanical pattern, without identifiable relieving or aggravating factors, which progressively progressed to tetraparesis. Following a comprehensive, multisystem evaluation conducted by both the primary care physician and hospital specialists, the etiology was determined to be multifactorial. Cervical spondylotic compressive myelopathy was confirmed through cervical MRI, leading to the indication for surgical intervention. The mixed sensorimotor polyneuropathy with axonal predominance was diagnosed via electromyography and nerve conduction studies, consistent with combined diabetic and toxic etiologies. The patient achieved partial symptom remission; however, significant limitations in activities of daily living persisted, ultimately requiring disability retirement, with substantial psychological and social impact. Grounded in the principles of family medicine, this case illustrates the crucial role of the general practitioner: guiding the evaluation of a common symptom through individualised care; obtaining a medical history that raised diagnostic suspicion; and managing a complex patient with a holistic approach that included physiotherapy, optimisation of diabetes control, medication review, and mental health support. The general practitioner also addressed cardiovascular risk factors to delay or prevent disease progression and promoted sustained healthy lifestyle changes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.