[Backache--causes, diagnosis and therapy].

Low back pain is considered to be a symptom of a variety of changes and disorders affecting the lumbar spine, the sacrococcyx and pelvis, but it may also be a symptom of disorders affecting the neighboring organs. If these points are taken into account and an accurate diagnostic evaluation including such modern procedures as scintigraphy, CT and MR imaging, low back pain can now--in contrast to 50 years ago--be analysed, and often treated with considerable success. In many cases, conservative treatment proves possible. In the presence of relevant morphological findings, however, various surgical procedures, developed in particular in recent years, offer new possibilities.