M54.5

Low back pain

FY2027Chapter 13: Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue/M50–M54 Other dorsopathies

Non-billable headerNot valid on its own. Use one of the more specific codes under it.

M54.5 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code header for low back pain. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. The more specific codes under it are M54.50 Low back pain, unspecified; M54.51 Vertebrogenic low back pain and M54.59 Other low back pain. Its coding notes include 8 Excludes1 entries and 10 Excludes2 entries.

Excludes1

Not coded here. The listed conditions generally should not be reported together.

This code
  • intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region with discogenic back pain only (M51.360)
  • intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region with discogenic back pain only (M51.370)
  • low back strain (S39.012)
  • lumbago due to intervertebral disc displacement (M51.2-)
  • lumbago with sciatica (M54.4-)
Inherited from M54 Dorsalgia
  • psychogenic dorsalgia (F45.41)
Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)
Inherited from M50–M54 Other dorsopathies
  • current injury - see injury of spine by body region
  • discitis NOS (M46.4-)

Excludes2

Not included here. Both codes may be reported if the patient has both conditions.

Also from chapter/block level (10 notes)
Inherited from Chapter 13 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
  • arthropathic psoriasis (L40.5-)
  • certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
  • certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
  • compartment syndrome (traumatic) (T79.A-)
  • complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
  • congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
  • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
  • injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
  • neoplasms (C00-D49)
  • symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

Notes

Also from chapter/block level (1 note)
Inherited from Chapter 13 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
  • Use an external cause code following the code for the musculoskeletal condition, if applicable, to identify the cause of the musculoskeletal condition

More specific codes under M54.5 3