Lumbar Disc Disease

What is Lumbar Disc Disease?

Lumbar Disc Disease refers to the medical condition in which a compromised disc causes low back pain. It could be due to simple wear and tear or may be traumatic cause. However, it usually happens due to low energy injury to the disc that progresses slowly over a period of time. It is a very common problem that usually starts in people between 30-50 years as they have some degree of disc space degeneration. One may not experience any symptoms then but as patient reaches 60, he starts facing the problem.

What are the causes of Lumbar Disc Disease?

The two major causes of Lumbar Disc Disease are:

• Inflammation
• Abnormal micro-motion instability

What are the symptoms of Lumbar Disc Disease?

Various symptoms of Lumbar Disc Disease may include:

• Persistent pain in the lower back that lasts longer than 6 weeks. It gets worse with sitting or bending forward
• Pain radiating to one or both lower limbs.
• Chronic pain that restricts motion
• Pain gets better while lying down with a pillow under knees or lying in reclining position Walking/running makes you feel better than prolonged sitting or standing

How can Lumbar Disc Disease be treated?

In majority of the cases, Lumbar Disc Disease is treated by using conservative care that includes inflammation and pain control medications, exercise and physiotherapy. If patient doesn’t get relief from these methods for more than 6 weeks then surgery may be considered.