Lumbar Herniated Disc CausesLumbar herniated disc causes include intervertebral bulges which occur due to normal or accelerated spinal degeneration and herniated discs which are enacted by traumatic injury. Many herniations also fall into the idiopathic category, with no clear explanation provided for why they might have occurred.
Normal spinal aging consists of
disc desiccation
and spinal arthritis, among other expressions. These conditions are normal, expected and universal in the human species and start in our first 2-3 decades of life. You certainly do not have to be old to suffer mild to moderate (or even advanced) spinal degeneration. Most people have noticeable to moderate degenerative changes in their spines by the age of 30 and a great number demonstrate these exact same changes much younger.The degenerative processes in the spine facilitate herniations, which explains why bulging discs are so common. Many discs will herniate slowly as we age and others will be more prone to spontaneous herniation if they are exposed to sudden significant force.
Spontaneous traumatic injury presents the greatest chances for symptomatic herniations. Any injury is likely to hurt and concentrated force which is great enough to herniate a disc is likely to elicit pain in the surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and other tissues, as well. The disc itself will not feel pain, since it does not have nerve endings. Even symptomatic
injured discs
will typically calm down and resolve without any special care within 2 to 8 weeks on average. For long term disc pain conditions, the accident or traumatic event may have started the pain, but the symptoms are likely to be continued through an
ischemia
process rather than an unresponsive injury. Remember… the body’s most basic skill is healing…
Lumbar Herniated Disc Causes / AdviceHerniated discs in the lower back are the most common of all disc pathologies. These events are so common that they affect more people than not… Many lumbar herniations exist for many months, years or decades and are never discovered since they do not create pain. However, if the person gets in an accident, imaging will reveal the disc which is then blamed on the traumatic event. This is often ludicrous, since degenerative changes in the surrounding vertebrae will clearly show that the herniation may be old. If you are suffering from a lumbar herniated disc, do not be surprised that it is there. These spinal abnormalities are par for the course in life and take the unfair blame for enacting symptoms far more than they actually do. Misdiagnosis is rampant in the back pain community and there is no single scapegoat used more often than the bulging lumbar disc… A good rule of thumb states that structural disc issues usually respond well to treatment, while misdiagnosed discs typically result in many failed attempts and chronic pain.Lumbar Herniated Disc Causes to Herniated Disc 5/25/10 Revised 7/16/11 |
Sensei Adam Rostocki
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