Painful Spine The Medical Diseases Often Ignored

This presentation highlights often-overlooked medical and metabolic causes of spine disease, emphasizing their importance for comprehensive pain management. Conditions such as myelopathy (cervical, thoracic, cauda equina), metabolic disorders (osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency, Paget’s disease), autoimmune diseases (ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis), and neoplasms (benign tumors, metastatic lesions) are reviewed. The talk also addresses infectious etiologies like osteomyelitis and epidural abscesses, as well as traumatic spinal cord syndromes. Key takeaways include early recognition of red flags (gait changes, reflex abnormalities, neurological deficits), prompt imaging, and multidisciplinary care. The goal: integrate awareness of these “ignored” conditions into routine evaluation to improve patient outcomes.