Low back pain (LBP) affects a large proportion of the population and is an increasingly costly problem in the western world. This review highlights some of the recent theories relating to LBP and the conflicting evidence which has been brought to light. Theories relating to the causes of LBP have included single and multiple factors such as abnormal physical findings, mechanical, psychosocial and economic factors. The two lowest lumbar segments are most often afflicted in LBP sufferers, but the diagnosis of LBP is otherwise uncertain in most cases due to insufficient knowledge relating to the validity of clinical tests, inconsistent terminology and unclear symptomatic patterns. Despite a lack of understanding of the exact anatomical cause of LBP, an abundance of therapeutic models exist, most of which are purely empirical, and few methods have been shown to be clinically useful. Similarly, insufficient knowledge of the causes of LBP makes primary, secondary and tertiary prevention difficult.
下背痛（LBP）影响着很大一部分人群，并且在西方世界正成为一个成本日益高昂的问题。本综述强调了一些与下背痛相关的最新理论以及已被揭示的相互矛盾的证据。与下背痛成因相关的理论包括单一因素和多种因素，如异常的体格检查结果、机械因素、心理社会因素和经济因素。下背痛患者中最常受累的是最低的两个腰椎节段，但在大多数情况下，由于对临床试验有效性的认识不足、术语不一致以及症状模式不明确，下背痛的诊断仍不确定。尽管对下背痛的确切解剖学原因缺乏了解，但存在大量的治疗模式，其中大多数纯粹是经验性的，而且很少有方法被证明在临床上有用。同样，对下背痛成因的了解不足使得一级、二级和三级预防都很困难。
