Low back pain accounts for a third of new emergency department imaging in the US

(American Roentgen Ray Society) The use of imaging for the initial evaluation of patients with low back pain in the emergency department (ED) continues to occur at a high rate -- one in three new emergency visits for low back pain in the United States -- according to the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). Imaging utilization varied significantly by geographic region, with patients in the southern US undergoing 10% more imaging than patients in the western US.