see also back pain differential diagnosis.
Low-back pain may be referred from sources other than the lumbar vertebrae, such as the hip or the sacroiliac joint. Twenty to 25% of patients with low-back pain have some positive findings on provocative testing of the hip joint 1)
Hip osteoarthritis can be tested with flexion, abduction, and rotation, such as the Faber test. Trochanteric bursitis is another common extraspinal source of back pain: a 20% rate of greater trochanteric pain syndrome has been reported in patients referred for low-back pain 2)
1)
Prather H, Cheng A, Steger-May K, Maheshwari V, Van
Dillen L: Hip and lumbar spine physical examination
findings in people presenting with low back pain, with or
without lower extremity pain. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther
47:163–172, 2017
2)
Tortolani PJ, Carbone JJ, Quartararo LG: Greater trochanteric
pain syndrome in patients referred to orthopedic spine
specialists. Spine J 2:251–254, 2002