Hello! I work as a doctor for 21 years. My name is George O. Sapego. This article will tell something useful about the problems with roots in the lumbosacral spine.
In the lumbar spine five vertebrae. Next comes the sacrum, which also consists of five vertebrae, but they are fused together. Spine ends a little tail - the coccyx.
In this area there are many large nerves that are called roots.
When some of the roots does not work, then there is movement or disturbance in the muscles, or violation of the sensitivity.
It happens that one and the same muscle is controlled from different roots. Therefore, the motion it can be preserved, even if you disable some spine.
With the sensitivity of the zones on the skin similar story. they often overlap. But not always. There is stand-alone sensitivity zone under the responsibility of only one root. In such areas can be determined what kind of spine injuries.
Most often suffer from compression of the roots of their herniated disk or bony outgrowths on the vertebrae. Another cause of damage to the spine may be an infection, inflammation, tumor or blood vessel disease.
With age in the vertebrae appear growths that are most often hurt themselves without roots. Therefore, older people necessarily aggressively seek out the damaged roots. These growths (called osteophytes) appear in places where ligaments attach or anywhere near the vertebrae gets smaller shock-absorbing tissue. Osteophytes not allow the vertebrae to be slipshod. This is essentially a protective response of the spine.
The spinal cord ends at the level of the twelfth thoracic - first lumbar vertebrae. Further down there is already a bundle of nerves. It turns out that the same spinal spine can pinch at different levels there somewhere below.
Spine is not necessarily clamped immediately and completely. Sometimes it is only partial damage. From this, for example, will suffer only any one muscle of several possible, and it will be difficult to diagnose.
In the lumbosacral spine is constantly going on a lot of different movements, so there herniated discs occur most frequently.
In 95% of cases of damaged roots between the last two lumbar vertebrae (L4 - L5) or between the last lumbar and first sacral (L5 - S1).
It's all mechanical damage, but also there are many different diseases that eat away at the spine or cause its inflammation. Just root inflammation and is called a true sciatica. Sciatica - an inflammation of the spine. It is believed that most of the root shell can release substances that cause inflammation.
Problems with roots in the lower back are approximately 3 - 5% of adults.
How all this is manifested
The first lumbar
If a person has suffered spine L1, then the pain will be and numbness in the groin. Occasionally there is still a little weak when bending the hip. At the level of the first lumbar vertebra intervertebral hernia rarely, so the spine is compressed rare.
The second to fourth lumbar
These roots at the same time act on the thigh muscles, so their effect is very difficult to distinguish. They are at once so the group around and blame. Problems with this group usually occur in older people with spinal canal stenosis. In this case, there is usually a pain in the very back, which gives the front of the thigh, knee, and sometimes even lower. It will be weak in bending the hip, knee extension and hip abduction. It decreases the sensitivity on the front of the thigh skin. And this is exactly the case when the knee reflex disappears.
In addition to pain, sensory loss and muscle examination is still a lot of special procedures for the diagnosis. Without a doctor does not handle here. Therefore, ask your neurologist and tells him as much as possible. Here every detail is important.
It's all a tremendous issue. If you're wondering, the comment and decide what to publish on.
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