What is lumbar degenerative changes and what are the symptoms?

Lumbar spine health has always been a concern for people, because the lumbar spine is the largest physical supporting part of the human body. People without a lumbar spine cannot stand and move. If the lumbar spine is under high pressure for a long time without rest, it is easy to develop lesions. For example, lumbar degenerative changes are a more serious complication that can cause great harm to patients. So, what are lumbar degenerative changes and what are the symptoms?

1. Low back pain and decreased lumbar support function:

This type of symptoms is mostly caused by degeneration of the intervertebral disc, wear and hyperplasia of the lumbar facet joints, lumbar scoliosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, etc., and is characterized by worsening after standing fatigue and relief after bed rest.

2. Lower limb pain and numbness, intermittent claudication:

This type of symptom is mainly related to intervertebral disc herniation, osteophyte hyperplasia or spinal canal stenosis compressing the nerves and affecting the nerve blood supply. The leg pain caused by typical lumbar disease is often manifested as sciatica, that is, pain starting from the waist or buttocks, radiating from the back of the thigh and the outside of the calf to the foot. The main symptom of intermittent claudication is that after walking a certain distance (usually as the disease worsens, the walking distance gradually shortens), the lower limbs experience soreness, numbness, swelling and pain, as if filled with lead, making it difficult to walk. At this time, the symptoms can be relieved after bending over, sitting down or squatting to rest for a while, but they will worsen again after starting to walk.

3. Urinary and sexual dysfunction:

This type of symptoms may manifest as weak defecation and urination, incomplete defecation, urinary retention, decreased sexual sensitivity, impotence, abnormal erection, etc. Male urinary problems are sometimes difficult to distinguish from prostate hyperplasia. Some scholars believe that male urinary problems caused by lumbar spine diseases are often mild or severe, while the severity of urinary symptoms caused by prostate diseases is relatively constant.