Symptomatic lumbar spinal arachnoiditis: fact or fallacy?

It is generally accepted that chronic adhesive lumbar arachnoiditis is a cause of symptoms, notably back pain and/or pain (of almost any type, not necessarily 'anatomical') in the lower limbs, although there is no clearly defined clinical pattern which is clearly associated with this syndrome. There is no doubt that arachnoiditis occurs as a pathological and radiological entity due to a number of causes. In the view of the present authors, the nexus between the pathology and radiology on the one hand, and the patients' symptoms on the other hand, has not been demonstrated with any degree of scientific rigor. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.