Peer-Reviewed Literature Synthesis

Low Back Pain Biomarker Atlas

Molecular alterations reported in Low Back Pain compared to healthy controls, from peer-reviewed literature.

US DALYs5.98MWHO GHE 2021 · all ages
Global DALYs90.46MWHO GHE 2021 · worldwide
US mortality1,573 deaths/yrWHO GHE 2021
Global mortality6,796 deaths/yrWHO GHE 2021 · worldwide
NIH funding$80MFY2025 · RCDC estimate
Funding levelSeverely Underfunded
Spontaneous remission~90% of acute LBP episodes resolve within 6 weeks regardless of treatment; chronic LBP (>3 months) shows only 30-40%…
Best-intervention remissionCognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) + graded exercise: 50-70% sustained improvement at 1 year in chronic LBP; Pain…
Gap sizeLarge for psychologically-informed approaches vs current opioid/surgical dominant model
Primary barrierpractice
Full remission profile →

Literature Overview

Biomarkers below are included only where peer-reviewed literature explicitly reports the marker's direction in Low Back Pain patients relative to a named comparison population — not inferred.

7
Curated markers
3
Categories

Searchable Alterations Database

Comparison populations are quoted as reported in the source literature (e.g. healthy controls, disease-matched patients).

Marker / TestDirectionCategoryvs. ComparisonClinical ContextKey Reference

Key References

Peer-Reviewed Literature

Lotfi et al. 2007

DOI: 10.1007/s10067-007-0603-4 →
Peer-Reviewed Literature

Diz et al. 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2017.03.005 →
Peer-Reviewed Literature

Lim et al. 2020

DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000810 →
Peer-Reviewed Literature

Injeyan et al. 2025

DOI: 10.1177/11772719251355038 →
Peer-Reviewed Literature

Kang et al. 1996

DOI: 10.1097/00007632-199602010-00003 →
Peer-Reviewed Literature

Huang et al. 2021

DOI: 10.1111/joa.13321 →
Disclaimer: Educational synthesis of peer-reviewed literature only — not medical advice. Markers are drawn from published disease-vs-comparison-population studies; inclusion here does not imply diagnostic or clinical validation. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for interpretation.

Individual Low Back Pain biomarker pages

Each Low Back Pain marker has its own page with direction, comparison group, symptoms, test details, citation and FAQ. Browse all marker pages.

Inflammatory

Neurological

Other

Cite this page

Reusing these data? Please cite the tracker so others can find the source.

Open Source Medicine Foundation. (2026). Low Back Pain Biomarkers: 7 Blood Tests & Lab Markers. Research Tracker. https://research.opensourcemed.info/low-back-pain-biomarkers.html (accessed )

Weekly post-viral research digest

New peer-reviewed studies and trial activity across Long COVID, ME/CFS, PACVS, Lyme and Gulf War Illness, every week. Free, no spam.

Subscribe on Substack   Browse the digest archive · RSS