1;Preface;5 2;Contents;6 3;Part I Basics;14 3.1;The Biology of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration;15 3.2;Low Back Pain: Where Does the Pain Come From?;23 3.3;The Role of Cytokines in the Degenerative Spine;28 3.4;Psychosocial Aspects of Low Back Pain;33 3.5;Instability and Low Back Pain;38 4;Part II Diagnosis;46 4.1;Dynamic MRI of the Spine;47 4.2;Assessment of Status of End Plate and Diffusion in Degenerative Disc Disease;54 4.3;The Role of Physician Extenders in a Low Back Pain Practice;63 5;Part III Conservative Treatment;68 5.1;Natural Evolution of Nonspecific Low- Back Pain;69 5.2;Prescribing Conservative Treatment for Low Back Pain;76 5.3;Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Low back Pain and Back Schools;82 5.4;The Place of Chiropractic Care in the Treatment of Low Back Pain;87 5.5;Efficacy of IDET and PIRFT for the Treatment of Discogenic Low Back Pain;97 5.6;Lumbar Orthoses to Prevent and Treat Low- Back Pain;103 6;Part IV Surgical Treatment: Fusion;109 6.1;Indication for Lumbar Spinal Fusion;110 6.2;Evidence for Efficacy of Pedicle- Based Systems;124 6.3;Low Back Pain Is Not an Indication for Stabilisation in Patients Operated for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis;127 6.4;Hybrid Construct for DDD in the Lumbar Spine: The Compromise Between Fusion and Nonfusion;131 6.5;The Management of Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis;136 6.6;Transpedicular-Transdiscal-Transcorporal ( TPDC)- Fixation;145 6.7;Facet Problems: A Surgical Indication?;153 6.8;Adjacent Level Disease: "Myth" or "Fact";157 6.9;Pelvic Girdle Pain: Indication for Surgery?;163 6.10;Blood Loss Management in Major Spine Surgery;167 7;Part V Surgical Treatment: Other Technologies;172 7.1;How Disc Replacement Fits in the Treatment Algorithm for Degenerative Disc Disease: Refining Indications for Disc Replacement;173 7.2;Clinical Factors that May Affect Outcome in Lumbar Total Disc Replacement. What Is the Evidence?;178 7.3;A Prospective Randomized Comparison of Two Lumbar Total Disk Replacements;187 7.4;Limitations of Lumbar Disk Arthroplasty;192 7.5;Is Posterior Dynamic Stabilization an Option to Avoid Adjacent Segment Decompensation?;199 7.6;Immediate Biomechanical Effects of Lumbar Posterior Dynamic Stabilisation;204 7.7;Overview of Pedicle Screw-Based Posterior Dynamic Stabilization Systems;212 7.8;Semirigid Fixation System for the Lumbar Spine;218 7.9;Nonrigid Stabilization of the Spine - Problems Observed: Screw Loosening/ Breakage/ Implant Failure/ Adjacent Segment Degeneration;223 7.10;Interspinous Implants: State of the Art and Research of Evidence;230 7.11;NuBac Disc Arthroplasty System: Rationale and Clinical Results;238 8;Part VI Outcomes;246 8.1;Outcome Assessment for Cost-Utility Evaluations: SF- 6D vs. EQ- 5D;247 8.2;Review of the Medical Evidence Regarding the Surgical Treatment of Low Back Pain;255 9;Index;266