Symposium on arthritis in older persons. Section III. Osteoarthritis and back pain. Examination of the back in the geriatric patient.

Older people often complain of back pain, but it usually is not a major complaint except in the presence of serious disease such as malignancy, compression fractures from osteoporosis, or disc-space infections. When back pain is a serious symptom in the elderly patient, the physician should look beyond the obvious evidences of degenerative joint disease for these other more serious conditions. Satisfactory examination of the back does not require an undue amount of time. It is important that it be done systematically. Simple, rapid, and adequate procedures are described.