What are the symptoms of lumbar disc herniation?

As we all know, lumbar disc herniation is one of the most common lumbar diseases in clinical practice, which usually occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. However, with the rapid development of science and technology in modern society, the popularization of computers and the longer working hours of people, lumbar diseases have gradually become younger, and the number of people suffering from the disease has also increased year by year. Perhaps some people notice pain or discomfort in their waist but do not pay attention to it, thinking that it is just the result of working for a long time and that it will be fine after a rest; but they do not know that this may be a reminder from the body, and if they do not pay attention to it, it may cause more serious consequences, and in severe cases may even lead to paralysis. Therefore, early detection and early treatment will have better results. Then let’s take a look at the early symptoms of lumbar disc herniation!

1. Lower back pain

Low back pain is the first symptom that occurs in most patients with this disease, with an incidence rate of about 91%. A small number of patients only have leg pain but no back pain, so not every patient will experience back pain. Some patients first experience low back pain, then leg pain after a period of time. At the same time, the low back pain subsides or disappears on its own, and they only complain of leg pain when they come to the doctor. The pain is mostly stabbing, often accompanied by numbness and soreness.

2. Radiating pain in the lower limbs

Low back and leg pain is prone to occur after trauma, fatigue, and cold, each lasting about 2 to 3 weeks and then gradually relieved. The pain often eases if you rest in bed during an attack. People who engage in heavy physical labor, especially those who repeatedly bend over, are more likely to suffer from low back and leg pain. There are also people who lack exercise and have poor waist and back muscle strength. Even if they occasionally bend over to lift heavy objects or sprain their waist, it is easy to induce low back and leg pain. Any factors that increase abdominal pressure, such as coughing, straining during bowel movements, laughing, sneezing, lifting heavy objects, chronic coughing, etc., can easily induce low back and leg pain, or aggravate existing low back and leg pain.

3. Limited waist movement

The flexion and extension activities of the lumbar spine in patients with lumbar disc herniation are closely related to the degree of disc herniation. If the annulus fibrosus is not completely ruptured, the lumbar spine will take a flexed position and extension will be limited. The reason is that when the lumbar spine is flexed, the yellow ligaments between the vertebral plates become tense, increasing the volume of the spinal canal and the space behind the intervertebral disc. The corresponding increase in the tension of the posterior longitudinal ligament causes the protruding nucleus pulposus to be partially retracted, thereby alleviating the symptoms of nerve root compression.

4. Scoliosis

This is a postural compensatory deformity adopted by patients with lumbar disc herniation to relieve pain. The symptoms are that the lumbar spine bends to the left or right. When touching the spinous process in the middle of the back, it can be found that the spinous process is distorted. However, this is not a specific sign of lumbar disc herniation. About 50% of normal people also have distorted spinous processes. 5. Lameness: The lameness caused by lumbar disc herniation is mostly intermittent, that is, lower limb pain and weakness occur after walking a certain distance. The symptoms can be relieved after bending over or squatting to rest, and the patient can continue walking. As time goes by, the symptoms gradually worsen, and the standing time or walking distance before the above symptoms appear gradually shortens. The shorter the walking distance, the more serious the condition.

5. Feeling numb

Among patients with lumbar disc herniation, some do not experience pain in the lower limbs, but only numbness in the limbs. This is mostly caused by the intervertebral disc tissue compressing the proprioceptive and tactile fibers of the nerves. The outer thigh is a common area of ​​numbness, which may be felt as a burning sensation when clothing or pants come into contact with it, and can be aggravated by standing for long periods of time. The cause of sensory disturbance in the lateral thigh is usually due to annular fibrosis bulging or joint degeneration, not to a herniated disc.