Lumbar disc disease characterized by symptomatic disc herniation or typical sciatica is a major challenge for health care. Its prevalence was studied as part of the Mini-Finland Health Survey in a sample of over 7000 Finnish adults. A diagnosis of lumbar disc syndrome based on medical history, symptoms, and standardized physical examination was made for 5.1% of the men and for 3.7% of the women...

OBJECTIVE To characterize the importance of the vertical angle of the sacral curvature (VASC) in lumbar disc herniations. METHODS Morphological data derived from lumbar sagittal MRI imaging. The statistical significance of the findings are discussed. The angles of 60 female patients with lumbar disc herniations (LDH) were compared with the 34 female patients without LDH. RESULTS 128 of the ...

Although the first reported surgery for lumbar disc herniation was published many years ago, there still remains little agreement for the most effective treatment protocol for symptomatic cases. Many patients with extruded lumbar disc herniation require surgical intervention due to radiculopathy of lower extremities but some neurological symptoms of intervertebral disc herniation may frequently...

PURPOSE To compare lumbar disc degeneration at 9-year follow-up in patients with chronic low back pain who had instrumented lumbar fusion or no fusion. MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY The main outcomes were disc height and sagittal alignment measured by Distortion Compensated Roentgen Analysis (DCRA). Secondary outcome included the Oswestry Disability Index and VAS back pain. RESULTS Forty-eight p...

STUDY DESIGN A population-based radiographic study with longitudinal follow-up. OBJECTIVE To develop a quantitative index for lumbar disc space narrowing (DSN) evaluation in elderly subjects; to determine how DSN in the elderly is influenced by osteoporosis and gender. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA There is paucity of research on quantitative classification of lumbar DSN based on disc areal mo...

What was once a simple lumbar disc herniation treated with laminotomy and partial discectomy, with typically excellent results (25, 46), has evolved into a surprisingly complex clinical problem with a dazzling array of therapeutic alternatives. Much of this, of course, is based on clinical studies emphasizing the heterogeneity of disc disorders. Advances in biomechanics research focusing on the...

Spontaneous regression of herniated lumbar discs was reported occasionally. The mechanisms proposed for regression of disc herniation are still incomplete. This paper describes and discusses a case of spontaneous regression of herniated lumbar discs with a new disc protrusion in the adjacent level. A 41-year-old man was admitted with radiating pain and numbness in the left lower extremity with ...

INTRODUCTION: The intervertebral disc (IVD) is fibro-cartilaginous structures, composed of two major regions; the outer ring, called annulus fibrosus and the inner part, called the nucleus pulposus. These different tissues including cellular components maintain the metabolism of IVD and play an important role in mechanical function of spine. IVD is well known to degenerate by age, however the c...