Pseudoradicular and radicular low-back pain – A disease continuum rather than different entities? Rebuttal: Reply to the letter “Cheese and Chalk? Missing the real anatomy” by Breck McKay

Pseudoradicular and radicular low-back pain--a disease continuum rather than different entities? Answers from quantitative sensory testing.

To assess whether pseudoradicular low-back pain may be associated with subclinical sensory deficits in the distal extremity, we applied the quantitative sensory testing protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS) in 15 patients with pseudoradicular pain distribution. Sixteen age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects as well as 12 patients with radicular pain syndromes (L4-S1) were studied with the same protocol. Radicular pain was diagnosed using clinical criteria (pain radiation beyond the knee, motor-, sensory-, or reflex deficits, positive Lasegue's test). Z-score QST profiles revealed a selective loss of vibration detection, detection of v. Frey hair contac…

Pseudoradicular and radicular low-back pain – A disease continuum rather than different entities? Rebuttal: Reply to the letter by M. Schiltenwolf and M. Akbar