Spine problems
The lumbar and cervical spine are prone to strain because of its weight-bearing function and involvement in moving, twisting and bending. Lumbar muscle strain is caused when muscle fibers are abnormally stretched or torn. Lumbar sprain is caused when ligaments — the tough bands of tissue that hold bones together — are unusually stretched. Both of these can result from a sudden injury or from gradual overuse.
When the lumbar spine is strained or sprained, the soft tissues become inflamed. This inflammation causes pain and may cause muscle spasms. Even though lumbar strain or sprain can be very debilitating, neither usually requires neurosurgical attention.
Spinal pain can be caused by things more severe that might require surgical consideration. These usually involve spinal pain that radiates into arms, legs or around the rib cage from back toward the anterior chest.
Three types of muscles support the spine:
- Extensors (back muscles and gluteal muscles)
- Flexors (abdominal muscles and iliopsoas muscles)
- Oblique or rotators (side muscles)
Disk Prolapse
Intervertebral disc prolapses most commonly occur in the lumbar spine (lower back) and cervical spine (neck). Less commonly, they occur in the thoracic spine (mid-back region).
A PROLAPSED DISC CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS IN TWO WAYS:
- Direct pressure. The disc material that has ruptured into the spinal canal or intervertebral foramen can put pressure on the nerves (or spinal cord).
- Chemical irritation. Once ruptured, the core material of the disc can cause a chemical irritation of the nerve roots and result in inflammation of the nerves.
THE MAIN SYMPTOMS OF A PROLAPSED DISC INCLUDE:
- In severe cases, loss of control of bladder and/or bowels, numbness in the genital area, and impotence (in men)
- Numbness, pins and needles, or tingling in one or both arms or legs
- Pain behind the shoulder blade(s) or in the buttock(s)
- Pain running down one or both arms or legs
- The location of these symptoms depends upon which nerve(s) has been affected. In other words, the precise location of the
- symptoms helps determine your diagnosis.
- Weakness involving one or both arms or legs
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
The lumbar spine (lower back) consists of five vertebrae in the lower part of the spine, between the ribs and the pelvis. Lumbar spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal, compressing the nerves traveling through the lower back into the legs. While it may affect younger patients, due to developmental causes, it is more often a degenerative condition that affects people who are typically age 60 and older.
Narrowing of the spinal canal usually occurs slowly, over many years or decades. The disks become less spongy with aging, resulting in loss of disk height, and may cause bulging of the hardened disk into the spinal canal. Bone spurs may also occur and ligaments may thicken. All of these can contribute to narrowing of the central canal and may or may not produce symptoms. Symptoms may be due to inflammation, compression of the nerve(s) or both.
Such symptoms may include:
- Pain, weakness or numbness in the legs, calves or buttocks
- Cramping in the calves with walking, requiring frequent short rests to walk a distance
- Pain radiating into one or both thighs and legs, similar to the lay term “sciatica”
- In rare cases, loss of motor functioning of the legs, loss of normal bowel or bladder function
- Pain may improve with bending forward, sitting or lying down