Failed back surgery syndrome - definition, epidemiology and demographics.

Failed back surgery syndrome is an unhelpful term that hides the true issues concerning the mechanism of pain and subsequent therapies that patients with chronic radicular neuropathic pain are exposed to. Patients with chronic radicular neuropathic pain who have had previous spinal surgery are numerous and comparable in prevalence and incidence to other pain associated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis but with higher annual costs. Better recognition of this patient group with the effective recognition and multi-disciplinary care aimed at achieving best patient and societal outcomes is required.