Lower Back Pain: Episodic/Focused SOAP Note NURSING ASSIGNMENTS SAMPLE Case Study Back pain: A 42-year-old male reports pain in his lower back for the past month. The pain sometimes radiates to his left leg.

Lower Back Pain: Episodic/Focused SOAP Note NURSING ASSIGNMENTS SAMPLE Case Study Back pain: A 42-year-old male reports pain in his lower back for the past month. The pain sometimes radiates to his left leg.

Differential Diagnoses:

Acute sciatic pain/Sciatica (primary diagnosis): Patients with sciatica commonly present with low back pain that radiates to the leg. The condition is usually considered for lower back pain that has persisted for less than two months (Stynes et al., 2018). Tingling and numbness occurs on the affected leg. Pain is worsened by walking, physical activity, and standing. A herniated disc is evidenced during radiographic tests.

Spinal disc stenosis: Lower back pain that radiates to the lower limbs is commonly reported by patients with spinal disc stenosis.  Walking and standing worsens the pain (Cameron, 2021).

Spondylolisthesis: The condition usually causes a slip of one vertebral body over one below due to degenerative changes. Patients usually present with a combination of low back pain, neurogenic claudication, and radiculopathy (Xiang et al., 2017).

Lumbosacral Radiculopathy: The condition occurs sue to the compression of nerve roots in the lower back. Common symptoms include low back pain that radiates into the lower extremities (Alexander & Varcello, 2019).

Osteomyelitis of the spine: Pain the lower back can occur due to infections of the spine and bones (Andrade & Soares, 2019).

References

Alexander, C.E., & Varacello, M. (2019). Lumbosacral radiculopathy. N