STUDY DESIGN Biomechanical in vitro study. OBJECTIVE To establish a reliable in vitro herniation model with human cadaver spines that enables evaluation of anular closure devices. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Biomechanically, it is desirable to close anulus defects after disc herniation to preserve as much nucleus as possible. Multiple anular closure options exist to prevent reherniation. A r...

BACKGROUND Literature recommends that refractory cases with lumbar disc herniation and appropriate indications are better to be treated surgically, but do all the patients throughout the world consent to the surgery with a same disability and pain threshold? We aim to elucidate the prevalence and severity of disabilities and pain in Iranian patients with lumbar disc herniation who have consente...

Intradural disc herniation is a very rare condition, and multiple intradural disc herniations have not been reported to date. The latter may be confused with intradural extramedullary (IDEM) spinal tumors. Here, we report a case of multiple intradural disc herniations masquerading as multiple IDEM tumors and review the relevant literature. We retrospectively reviewed the patient's medical chart...

PURPOSE To our knowledge, there is no published information on the efficacy of epidural steroid injections for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation in an athletic population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of epidural corticosteroid injection for treatment of lumbar disc herniation in a group of National Football League (NFL) players. METHODS We retrospectively revi...

OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical and radiological factors as predictors for successful outcomes in lumbar disc herniation (LDH) treatment. METHODS Two groups of patients with single level LDH (L4-5) requiring treatment were retrospectively studied. The surgery group (SG) included 34 patients, and 30 patients who initially refused the surgery were included in the nerve blocks group (NG). A vis...

Degeneration of the intervertebral disc from a combination of factors can result in herniation, particularly at the L4-5 and L5-S1 levels. The presence of pain, radiculopathy and other symptoms depends on the site and degree of herniation. A detailed history and careful physical examination, supplemented if necessary by magnetic resonance imaging, can differentiate a herniated lumbar disc from ...

INTRODUCTION In the large-scale case-control study EPILIFT, we investigated the dose-response relationship between lifestyle factors (weight, smoking amount, cumulative duration of different sports activities) and lumbar disc disease. METHODS In four German study regions (Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg, Halle/Saale, Regensburg), 564 male and female patients with lumbar disc herniation and 351 pa...

OBJECTIVE To prospectively assess the diagnostic and clinical value of a new technique (3-tesla magnetic resonance myelography, 3T MRM) as compared to computed tomographic discography (disco-CT) in patients with far lateral disc herniation. METHODS We evaluated 3T MRM and disco-CT of 25 patients, whom we suspected of suffering from far lateral disc herniation. Using an assessment scale, 4 obs...