Lumbar disc herniation

As a disc in the back, degenerates, the inner portion of the disc can herniate or extrude back into the spinal canal and irritate a nerve root. This condition is called a disc herniation (or a herniated disc). Other common lay terms to describe the condition include slipped disc, bulging disc, pinched nerve, ruptured disc, or prolapsed disc. Look up Back in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The human back is the large posterior area of the body rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. ... A hernia is a protrusion of a tissue, structure, or part of an organ through the muscular tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained (definition from MeSH). ... The spinal canal is the space in vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes. ... Nerves (yellow) Nerves redirects here. ... A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or tissue out of the body cavity in which it normally lies. ... The laymans expression slipped disc (medical term: prolapsed or herniated intervertebral disc) is a condition in which, due to a tear in the outer fibrous ring (annulus), the central part (nucleus pulposus) of the intervertebral disc gets extruded, often into the spinal canal. ...

Symptoms

When a lumbar disc herniates, pain can radiate all the way along the sciatic nerve, which runs along the back of the leg and into the foot, and these symptoms are commonly referred to as sciatica. In addition to pain, a herniated disc may cause symptoms of numbness or tingling in the leg and/or foot. Depending on where the disc herniates (and therefore which nerve root is affected), pain or other symptoms may be felt in different parts of the back of the leg and/or in the foot. Typically, symptoms are experienced only on one side of the body. Sciatica is a pain in the leg due to irritation of the sciatic nerve. ... Pain is an unpleasant sensation which may be associated with actual or potential tissue damage and which may have physical and emotional components. ...

Treatments for a lumbar herniated disc

In most cases, pain from a herniated disc will get better within about six weeks. There are a variety of non-surgical care alternatives to treat the pain, including:

1. Physical therapy
2. Osteopathic/chiropractic manipulations
3. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
4. Oral steroids (e.g. prednisone or methyprednisolone)
5. An epidural (cortisone) injection

If the pain is severe and continues after six weeks, a microdiscectomy surgery may be recommended as an option to alleviate the pain from the herniated disc. A microdiscectomy helps decresase or eliminate pressure on the nerve root to give the nerve a better chance to heal. Physical therapy (also known as physiotherapy) is an allied health profession concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and disability through physical means. ... Chiropractic, or chiropractic care, is a complementary and alternative medicine health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug which is usually taken orally and can be used for a large number of different conditions. ... The epidural space is a part of the human spine inside the spinal canal separated from the spinal cord and its surrounding cerebrospinal fluid by the dura mater. ... Structure of cortisone. ...

References

• (1) Lumbar disc herniation
• (2) Lumbar herniated disc.

External links

• Lumbar herniated disc animation
• Herniated lumbar discs