CORRELATION BETWEEN THE SYMPTOMATOLOGY OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW PAIN AND FINDINGS IN IMAGING EXAMINATIONS – INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

The article aimed to analyze the correlation between the symptomatology of patients with chronic low back pain and imaging findings. The research was conducted on the BVS, SciELO, PubMed, and CAPES Journal platforms, using the descriptors "Symptoms," "radiograph," and "chronic low back pain," combined with the Boolean operator AND. Studies published in the last five years in Portuguese or English, addressing the relationship between low back pain and imaging findings, were included. Technical documents, editorials, reviews, books, comments, and duplicate studies were excluded. Of the 1,252 articles initially found, nine were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study highlighted the importance of a detailed clinical history before requesting imaging tests, noting that routine use of these exams does not improve clinical outcomes and can lead to high costs, unnecessary exposure to radiation, and ineffective treatments. The research concluded that there is a lack of information on the topic and emphasized the need to promote further studies and to reconsider the excessive use of imaging exams for chronic low back pain.