A curious cause of recurrent lower back pain
An elderly man with a simple complaint of back pain turns out to be full of surprises
Bill is an 86-year-old retired carpenter and aged care resident with mild dementia who requests his GP attend to review his low back pain.
With this flare-up, he initially described paroxysms of sharp severe bilateral low back pain one week ago. There was no clear trigger or precipitant.
An initial trial of simple analgesia for presumed osteoarthritis has not provided any relief.
He denies nocturnal symptoms or associated fevers, unintentional weight loss or neurological symptoms. However, some episodes are associated with increased urinary frequency.
