Pathomechanisms of Sciatica in Lumbar Disc Herniation. Ultrastructural Analysis of Periradicular Adhesive Tissue

Introduction: Sciatic pain is a frequent clinical problem. An important manifestation of the degenerative lumbar spine is pain radiating to the legs, also called sciatica. The straight-leg-raising (SLR) test is one of the most significant signs for making a clinical diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation [1]. Our previous study showed that intraradicular blood flow and electrophysiological values apparently disturbed during the SLR test in patients with disc herniation [2,3]. This study is to investigate the relationships between nerve root movement and the electrophysiological values during an intraoperative SLR test in vivo. And also, the mechanisms responsible for the adhesive nerve root were studied by examining herniated tissue collected at operation from patients with lumbar disc herniation.