Endgames
Spot Diagnosis
A woman with lower back pain
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j1117 (Published 16 March 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j1117
- Tobenna J Oputa, CT2 trauma and orthopaedics,
- Jamie A’Court, ST4 trauma and orthopaedics
- Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Oldham, UK
- Correspondence to T Oputa Tobi{at}doctors.org.uk
A 52 year old woman presented with a two day history of lower back pain that was radiating into her left leg with weakness in that leg. She had a history of chronic back pain. Neurological examination revealed reduced power in her left leg of 3/5, but was otherwise normal. Based on a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of her lumbosacral spine (fig 1⇓) what is the most likely cause of this woman’s back pain?
Fig 1 Mid-sagittal T2 weighted lumbosacral spine magnetic resonance imaging scan
Answer
Disc prolapse at …
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