A herniated disk is mainly a type of injury of the spine or the backbone. A person mainly has a series of bones (vertebrae) in their spine. They mainly stretch from the base of their skull to their tailbone. Some of the important facts about lumbar disc herniation have been discussed in this article.
Different causes which mainly lead to lumbar disc herniation
Below are some of the important factors which mainly increase the risk for disc herniation:
- Some of the personal choices such as using tobacco, lack of regular exercise, as well as insufficient nutrition mainly contribute to poor disc health.
- With the aging process, some of the natural biochemical changes can cause discs to gradually dry out. This mainly affects the strength of the disc as well as flexibility. The aging process can make the intervertebral discs less flexible enough to absorb the shock from their movements, which is one of their main jobs.
- Sometimes the incorrect posture which is mainly combined with the habitual use of incorrect body mechanics mainly causes stress to the lumbar spine. This mainly affects its normal ability to carry the weight of the body.
People in the age group of 30 to 50 are most likely to get a herniated disk. The problem mainly affects men twice as often as women. Some of the other risk factors mainly include:
- If a person is sitting for a long time in a particular position.
- The person who is overweight.
- The person who mainly lifts heavy objects.
- This is also common with the repetitive bending or twisting motions for work, sports, or hobbies.
- The person who is in the habit of smoking.
The stages of lumbar disc herniation to know about
A herniation mainly develops suddenly or maybe gradually over a few weeks or months. There are mainly 4 stages to the herniated disc:
- Disc degeneration: Some of the chemical changes which are being associated with aging mainly causes discs to weaken. But there is no herniation.
- Prolapse: This form of the disc mainly changes with some slight intrusion into the spinal canal and/or the spinal nerves. This stage is otherwise known as the bulging disc or the protruding disc.
- Extrusion: In this stage, the gel-like nucleus pulposus can mainly break through the tire-like wall but the same remains within the disc.
- The sequestered disc: The nucleus pulposus mainly breaks through the annulus fibrosus. Then the same mainly goes outside the intervertebral disc.
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The process of diagnosing lumbar disc herniation
First, the doctor will do a complete examination of the patient. During that examination, the physician will assess the pain, muscle reflexes, sensation as well as muscle strength. The healthcare provider may also order some of the below tests such as:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): This is the most common as well as accurate test for the suspected herniated disk.
- X-rays: This test can help rule out some of the other causes of back or neck pain.
- Computed tomography or CT: This scan shows the bones of the spine. The herniated disks mainly can move into the space around the spinal cord as well as the nerves and can press on them.
- Myelogram: This process mainly involves an injection of dye into the spine using the X-ray guidance for a CT scan. This dye can mainly show the narrowing of the spinal canal as well as the location of the herniated disk.
- Electromyogram: This test mainly involves placing small needles into different muscles and evaluating the function of the nerves.
These are some of the important facts to know about lumbar disc herniation.