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Herniated Disk: Symptoms
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The symptoms of "slipped" or herniated disk flare up are pain, numbness and/or tingling, and weakness
in the legs. Herniated disk may also cause bladder and bowel dysfunction. Symptoms can be local, e.g. pain
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and back spasm at
the level of the ruptured disk. But they often spread down one or both legs.
A herniated lumbar disk generates a stabbing pain that may
shoot down your leg from the level of the herniated disk, or occasionally from the level of your buttocks.
This pain is called sciatica, or radiculopathy, and is caused when the pulpy nucleus of the
disk presses on the sciatic nerve roots.
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Symptoms of a Herniated Disk:-
Disk
Lev'l |
Weakness |
Altered Reflex |
Sensory Loss |
Pain
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L3-L4 |
quadriceps, tibialis ant'rior |
knee jerk |
medial knee and shin |
anterior thigh |
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L4-L5 |
extension of big toe |
none |
big toe |
back of thigh, later'l calf |
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L5-S1 |
gastr'cnemius ankle plantar
flexion |
Achilles |
lateral foot and heel |
back of thigh and calf |
Note: Twitching is not a symptom of lumbar disk herniation.
(Scroll right: lumbar herniated disk, cause of pain at base of spine,
alternative treatments, herniated disk symptoms,
herniated disk surgery versus exercises, bavk >>>>)
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Side Picture of Lumbar Disk
Transverse Picture of Lumbar Herniated Disk
Note the Herniated Nucleus pulposes.
Frequency of diagnosis of herniated disk:- L5-S1 48% of the time, L4-5 42% of the time,
L3-4 about 5%. 90% of herniated disks cause pain at the base of the spine.
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Lumbar Herniated Disk: Surgery, & Alternative Treatments by Use of Exercises.
The aim of lumbar disk surgery is to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots.
Laminectomy is removal of part of the lamina.
Discectomy is removal of the nucleus of the herniated disc (see pictures, left).
The Cause of Lumbar Disk Herniation:
A "Lesion"? - or a Faulty Movement Pattern?
Ask a medico for the cause of your sciatica. He'll give you a
lesion based diagnosis e.g: "L4-L5 lumbar spine injury with numbness in leg -
caused by a herniated disk flare up".
Doctors give lesion based diagnoses. It's the way they've been trained.
Lesion based diagnosis is fine if surgery is indicated -
otherwise the surgeon wouldn't know where to operate!
But 90% of disk herniations do not require surgery. In these cases,
lesion based diagnosis need only rule out infection, cancer or fracture:
It's not necessary to know that pain is
due to a "herniated disk at L4-L5".
The ultimate cause of a herniated disk? -
Faulty patterns of posture-movement, & muscle recruitment!
E.g. part of the posture-movement diagnosis for the example of l4-l5 herniated disk
symptoms is hyper-mobility at the L4-L5 lumbar spine cf. the hip joints: L4-L5
moves first when the hip joints should move first. Correct this movement pattern, & your slipped disk
& pinched nerve will
cease to flare up ! Click here to find out about the exercises that will stabilize your
herniated disk flare up!
The Back Maintenance Manual: Herniated Disk Alternative Treatments
(ruptured, slipped, herniated disk symptoms, herniated disk exercises, herniated disk surgery,)
© Bruce Thomson, EasyVigour Project
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