Symptoms of damage to the intervertebral disc of the cervical spine | Intervertebral disc

Symptoms of damage to the intervertebral disc of the cervical spine

Most damage to intervertebral discs remains asymptomatic for a long time or even never becomes noticeable. Only when the outer fibrous ring is worn to such an extent that the gelatinous core of the intervertebral disc bulges out and presses on nerve structures will this become noticeable to the patient. The exact symptoms that occur here depend primarily on the height of the spine at which the herniated disc occurred and how severely the nerve root is affected by the bulging of the disc.

Thus, herniated discs of the cervical spine (cervical spine) become noticeable mainly through complaints of the arm and shoulder region. It is important to know that slight nerve damage only causes sensory disturbances such as tingling and numbness, while more severe damage results in muscle weakness. As far as the cervical spine is concerned, herniated discs are most frequently found between the 5th and 6th and the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae.

The spinal nerves that emerge at this height supply the thumb and thumb-side forearm, as well as the index, middle and ring fingers and parts of the palm and back of the hand. If sensory disturbances occur in these regions, this indicates a herniated disc in the said spinal segment. Muscle weakness in a higher degree of herniated disc can affect various muscles, such as the triceps brachii muscle.

Symptoms of damage to the intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine

Also in the case of a herniated disc of the lumbar spine, the following applies: most damage to intervertebral discs does not cause discomfort and is therefore diagnosed only as a random finding or not at all. However, correspondingly severe damage to intervertebral discs inevitably leads to the outer fibrous ring no longer being able to stabilize the gelatinous core against the load to which the spinal column is subjected. The gelatinous core then bulges out and exerts pressure on the adjacent spinal nerves or even the spinal cord itself.

If this is the case, depending on the height of the herniated disc in the spine, or depending on which spinal nerve is damaged, specific symptoms may occur. The spinal nerves, which are located at the level of the lumbar spine, are mainly responsible for the motor and sensitive supply of the legs. Slight herniated discs at this height of the spine initially cause sensory disturbances such as tingling or numbness, especially in the front and side legs.

More severe herniated discs also lead to impairment of the motor nerve fibres located deeper in the nerve cord, so that weakness of the leg muscles now also occurs. By far the most herniated discs occur between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae (herniated disc L4/L5) and between the 5th lumbar and 1st coccyx vertebrae (herniated disc L5/S1). In addition to the skin of the lateral leg, the spinal nerves leaving here supply the quadriceps femoris muscle, the large thigh muscle, among others.

A correspondingly severe herniated disc can therefore lead to problems when walking and to a weakening of the patellar tendon reflex. Besides other nerves, these spinal nerves are also involved in the formation of the sciatic nerve. A pain condition caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve is called sciatica.