What are the symptoms of lumbar tumors

There are many types of lumbar tumors, both benign and malignant. No matter which type, the early symptom of lumbar tumor is lower back pain. Many patients do not take it too seriously at the beginning, thinking that they are tired or have a sprained waist. They cannot get the best early treatment time. Many people wait until the pain is unbearable or they are paralyzed before seeking medical treatment. At this time, it is often in the late stage or has already metastasized, which greatly increases the difficulty of treatment and the patient's suffering.

Chronic long-term low back pain with unclear diagnosis and symptoms that do not improve but instead become more severe after treatment should be taken seriously. Because the nature of lumbar tumors is different, the symptoms they present are also different.

(1) Benign lumbar tumors mainly include spinal hemangioma, osteoid osteoma, aneurysmal bone cyst and eosinophilic granuloma. This type of tumor may not cause any symptoms in the early stages or may only cause slight pain and discomfort in the lower back. As the tumor develops, local pressure increases and edema occurs, causing the low back pain to gradually worsen. There is tenderness and percussion pain at the tumor site. In some cases, the expansion of the tumor and compression changes of the vertebral body may lead to spinal canal stenosis, nerve root compression symptoms, and cauda equina irritation or compression symptoms. There may be abnormal sensation in the sacral region, and even paraplegia may occur.

(2) Lumbar vertebrae malignant tumors Primary malignant tumors of the lumbar spine are more common. Because it comes on violently and develops rapidly, the sudden increase in local pressure can cause unbearable severe pain, especially at night. The use of general analgesics cannot relieve the pain, and cauda equina symptoms or paraplegia may soon appear. For those with a higher degree of malignancy, systemic cachexia-like symptoms and signs will quickly appear. These tumors are mainly Ewing tumors and osteosarcomas.

(3) Blood metastasis, lymphatic metastasis and local spread of lumbar metastatic tumors are the main pathways for malignant tumors to metastasize to the lumbar spine. Metastatic tumors with osteolytic characteristics are more common in breast, lung, thyroid and kidney tumors. Osteogenic metastases mostly come from pancreatic, nasopharyngeal tumors and osteosarcoma.

Because tumor tissue grows quickly and violently, the intra-bone pressure suddenly increases and stimulates nerve endings, which can cause severe pain, especially at night. Often, even strong analgesics cannot relieve the pain. Severe pain occurs with the slightest movement of the waist. This is because the tumor is metastatic and, in addition to the primary lesion, is often accompanied by cachexia.

1. Pain: Pain is the earliest and most common symptom. The earliest symptom is chest or back pain or lumbar pain at the level of the lesion. It is mild in the early stages and is often easily ignored, leading to delayed treatment. Some patients even treat it as a lung problem and get it examined and treated while ignoring spinal lesions. As the disease progresses, symptomatic analgesic treatment is ineffective, symptoms become more severe, and sometimes "night pain" becomes more obvious.

2. Fatigue: When spinal metastases compress the spinal nerves, weakness in the limbs may occur. Weakness in the lower limbs when walking may lead to a "floating" feeling as if "walking on cotton." Sometimes, sudden fatigue or trauma may cause the tumor to progress and the symptoms may worsen dramatically.

3. Numbness: Nerve compression can also cause sensory abnormalities, including paresthesia and numbness in the limbs. Sometimes it is mistaken for cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, etc.

4. Paralysis: When the spinal nerves are completely crushed, loss of sensation and movement function below the tumor level may occur, leading to paralysis.