Introduction
A herniated disc is a sudden onset of a “disease” that occurs when the core of an intervertebral disc, which is located between the individual vertebrae of the spine, releases from its anchorage and begins to press on the spinal cord. This causes a sudden onset of pain and, depending on where the core presses on the spinal cord, can also lead to motor and sensory disorders in the arms or legs – depending on the height at which the core meets the spinal cord. Lumbago, also known as lumbago, is also a suddenly occurring “disease”.
It usually affects the lumbar spine and is caused by a blockage of the vertebrae or a pulled muscle. The pain can also radiate upwards into the chest area. As a rule, the affected person is unable to move at first and adopts a relieving posture to relieve the back.
What is the difference between a herniated disc and lumbago?
- The biggest difference between a herniated disc and lumbago is the damaged structure: While in lumbago the problem is cramped muscles or blocked vertebrae, which mediate the pain via intact nerves, the problem in herniated discs is irritated nerves. Through their irritation, they convey the feeling that one also has pain in the leg, without a pain-causing wound or the like being detectable on the leg itself. – Furthermore, the two injuries differ in the way the pain spreads: While the pain in lumbago is clearly localised in the back and can also occur on both sides, the pain in a herniated disc usually radiates only on one side, usually along a line.
Within this line there can also be a disturbed sensitivity. – The two diseases also differ in their treatment: While the herniated disc usually has to be treated surgically in order to bring the exited nucleus of the intervertebral disc back to its original location, conservative methods are usually sufficient for treatment of lumbago. Starting with protection and warmth, through physiotherapy to loosen blockages, to the injection of painkillers and muscle relaxants, this therapy differs significantly. – Furthermore, the behavior after the acute event is completely different: While you should be careful to move as little as possible until the operation in the case of a herniated disc, movement helps especially in the case of lumbago to loosen the cramped muscles and to escape the usually accustomed relieving posture again.
These symptoms indicate a slipped disc
Typical signs of a herniated disc are, in addition to the sudden onset of pain, the connection with motor and sensory deficits. In concrete terms, this means that an arm or leg can no longer be moved as easily as one was used to. In extreme cases it can even lead to a complete paralysis of an arm or leg.
However, the decisive criterion for a herniated disc is that this failure occurs only on one side. If both sides were equally affected, in over 99% of cases it is not a stroke. Furthermore, certain areas of the body – but again only on one side – are affected by sensory disturbances.
These disorders run along the so-called dermatome lines. On the basis of these lines, the doctor can also draw conclusions about the height of the spinal cord at which the herniated disc must have occurred, since each dermatome line corresponds to a nerve exit from the spinal cord. Furthermore, each of these exiting nerves can be assigned to certain muscles, which they mainly control.
For example, the nerves from the spinal cord segment L4 mainly innervate the large thigh muscle that is responsible for stretching the leg – the muscle quadriceps femoris. In the event of a herniated disc in the corresponding area, the reflexes that check the characteristic muscles are weakened or sometimes no longer present. In the concrete example this would mean that a blow under the patella would no longer cause a reflex leg extension. In this sense, reflexes on the arms or other reflexes on the legs can also be tested. – Recognizing a slipped disc – These are the symptoms
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