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Lumbar Disc Herniation

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Spine Surgery Basics

Abstract

When treating patients with low back pain, it is important to differentiate the nature of the pain as it may be complicated by radiculopathy, defined as pain radiating in the distribution of a single lumbar or sacral nerve root with or without motor or sensory changes. Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is the most common cause of radiculopathy in adults with an estimated annual incidence ranging from 1.6 % in the general population to 43 % in certain occupations. The symptoms of radiculopathy are due to the direct mechanical compression on a nerve root as well as the inflammatory mediators present when disc material enters the spinal canal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, University of Utah, 590 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    William Ryan Spiker M.D. & Brandon D. Lawrence M.D.

Authors
  1. William Ryan Spiker M.D.
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  2. Brandon D. Lawrence M.D.
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Correspondence to Brandon D. Lawrence M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado, Denver Dept. Orthopaedics, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Vikas V. Patel

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Neurosciences Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Alpesh Patel

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    James S. Harrop

  4. University of Colorado, Denver Dept. Orthopaedics, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Evalina Burger

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Spiker, W.R., Lawrence, B.D. (2014). Lumbar Disc Herniation. In: Patel, V., Patel, A., Harrop, J., Burger, E. (eds) Spine Surgery Basics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34126-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34126-7_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-34125-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-34126-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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