Presentation A 72-year-old woman is referred by her general practitioner (GP). She complains of sudden onset of back pain while playing with her grandchild 6 weeks ago and although her pain is now much better with analgesia, her symptoms have not resolved completely. She denies any history of direct trauma. Her pain is centered on her thoracic spine with stabbing exacerbations on certain movements, limiting her mobility. She does not complain of any numbness, tingling or pins and needles.
She is able to walk and move all four limbs independently with no complaints of bowel or bladder disturbance. She has had no weight loss, change in bowel habit or any stigmata of infection. Her past medical history includes bowel cancer 3 years ago treated with a right hemicolectomy. She has been healthy since then. Examination She had a computed tomography (CT) scan performed 1 week ago as part of her…
