Urinary symptoms in patients with low back pain

Chronic back pain is defined as back pain that lasts for more than 7-12 weeks. Other clinicians have defined it as pain that lasts longer than the expected period of healing, and acknowledge that chronic pain may not have well- defined underlying pathological causes. Patients with the symptom of low back pain may have urinary symptoms such as urinary incontinence, urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia, and urinary retention. In this review we looked at the evaluation and treatment of urinary problems in the patient presenting with chronic low back pain primarily focusing on the neurologic causes of low back pain. These symptoms impact a patient's quality of life and can be a cause of embarrassment, reclusive life style, and even depression. Most patients can be helped with an outpatient evaluation and treatment is available for nearly all those unfortunate patients who suffer from urinary symptoms and chronic low back pain.