Lower Back Pain — What to Ask, What to Press, What to Order

A 48-year-old man walks into your OPD with lower back pain radiating to the posterior thigh. Is it a disc? Spondylosis? Something dangerous? This 12-page clinical framework teaches you the exact questions, examination steps, and investigations that separate mechanical pain from radiculopathy from a red flag emergency — in a single OPD visit.

What you will learn: The 30-second red flag screen for Cauda Equina, spinal TB, and metastatic disease. Pain characterisation — how to distinguish disc pain from spondylotic pain from inflammatory pain using the patient’s own words. The systematic physical examination — observation, palpation, range of motion, and nerve stretch tests. The SLR test explained properly — what a positive test actually means. The Piriformis test — an underdiagnosed mimicker of sciatica. The tiered differential diagnosis from most probable to must-not-miss. The investigation protocol — what to order for every patient and what to order only when indicated. The lumbar spondylosis recognition guide with five red flags