What is lumbar radiculopathy?
Radiculopathy is a spinal nerve root condition caused by nerve compression, inflammation, or injury that can trigger back and leg pain. Radiculopathy can occur at any point along the spine from the neck along the middle back to the lower spine. When this injury is located in the lower part of the spine, it is called lumbar radiculopathy.
What is the difference between lumbar radiculopathy and sciatica?
“Lumbar radiculopathy” and “sciatica” are terms that are often used interchangeably to describe the compression or inflammation of a spinal nerve in the lower back.
- Radiculopathy is the medical term for the actual nerve dysfunction caused by compression.
- Sciatica refers to the lower back or leg pain that results from lumbar radiculopathy.
What causes lumbar radiculopathy?
Lumbar radiculopathy can have several different causes. They include:
- Herniated discs
- Degenerative disc disease
- Spinal stenosis
- Nerve root injury
- Scar tissue from previous spinal surgeries
What are the symptoms of lumbar radiculopathy?
When there is pressure or compression of spinal nerves, over time the increased pressure can damage the nerve and irritate or damage peripheral nerves beyond the spinal chord. Symptoms accompanying a pinched spinal nerve include the following:
- Uncomfortable tingling sensations. This tingling is similar to the prickling feeling you experience when your foot falls asleep, except that prickling caused by a pinched nerve is persistent; it doesn’t shake out in a few minutes.
- The discomfort caused by a pinched nerve is often described as “sharp” and “electrical.”
- Muscle weakness. This symptom may occur in severe cases where a nerve controlling a muscle has been irritated.
How is lumbar radiculopathy diagnosed?
To diagnose lumbar radiculopathy, your physician will review your health history and perform a physical examination. Your doctor may also recommend diagnostic imaging, such as an X-ray or MRI, to assist in diagnosis.
How is lumbar radiculopathy treated nonsurgically?
Summit Orthopedics is home to the area’s top spine specialists for lumbar radiculopathy treatment. When lumbar radiculopathy is diagnosed, conservative, nonsurgical treatment is usually the first step. Ninety percent of people with lumbar radiculopathy recover without needing surgery.
Nonsurgical treatment options include:
What are the surgical treatment options for lumbar radiculopathy?
If there is no improvement after approximately six weeks, surgery to decompress the nerve may be considered. In rare cases when a patient is experiencing severe leg pain and progressive muscle weakness, surgery may be considered sooner.
Common surgical options to relieve lumbar radiculopathy include:
- Microdiscectomy
- Laminectomy
- Lumbar spinal fusion
Microdiscectomy
The most common surgery for herniated discs is called a “microdiscectomy.” In this surgery, a one- to two-inch incision is made in your spine on the side of the herniation. The surgeon then finds the herniation and removes the herniated piece. The surgery usually lasts about one to two hours.
Laminectomy
The goal of laminectomy is to relieve the pressure on the spinal nerves that is causing your symptoms.
How laminectomy works
- Your orthopedic surgeon will make an incision near the center of your spine
- Through this incision, any bone spurs and damaged disc material are removed
- Then, the incision is closed with sutures
- As you heal in the weeks following surgery, the muscles and ligaments of the back will fill in the space where the lamina used to be
Spinal fusion surgery
Spinal fusion is a rare treatment for radiculopathy. It is used to treat spinal segments that are unstable or collapsed.
During this surgery, a vertebral bone is attached, or “fused,” to an adjacent vertebral bone so that they grow together into one long bone. A fusion will reduce freedom of movement in the spine by making the fused vertebral bones immobile, but that immobility stops the spinal instability that was causing the pain.
How spine fusion works:
- Your orthopedic surgeon will make an incision near the center of your spine
- Through this incision, any bone spurs and damaged disc material are removed
- During surgery, a bone graft is added to the spine segment being fused
- Screws are often used to hold the bones together
- Your body grows new bony tissue over the bone graft between the two vertebral segments, fusing them together
- When the fused bones heal, the fusion prevents movement at the joint
More resources on fusion surgery:
- Check out information on Minimally Invasive Spine Fusions versus Spinal Fusion Surgery
Summit Orthopedics offers comprehensive spine expertise
Summit Orthopedics’ Spine Care program is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for the comprehensive expertise of our patient-centered care. Our back specialists diagnose spine problems and design custom treatment plans built on a conservative, nonsurgical approach. Most patients find relief through treatments including guided injections, specialized physical therapy, biofeedback, exercise, activity modification, and medication. When conservative care does not relieve symptoms, our highly skilled surgeons offer proven, evidence-based surgical options. Together with you, we will determine the right course of action.
Start your journey to a healthy spine. Find your spine expert, request an appointment online, or call us at (651) 968-5201 to schedule a spine consultation.
Summit has convenient locations across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We have state-of-the-art centers for comprehensive orthopedic care in Eagan, MN, Plymouth, MN, Vadnais Heights, MN, and Woodbury, MN, as well as additional community clinics throughout the metro and southern Minnesota.
Spine related resources
- View Summit’s Spine animated condition and treatment video library
- Check out additional information on Summit’s approach to spine care
- See Summit’s treatment optionsfor neck, back, and spine care
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