Physiology and Medications of the Lumbar Disc Disease

Lumbar Disc unsoundness, as the name implies, is a disease attacking the lumbar range of the spinal newspaper column that is characterized by general pain, flunk, and numbness in any section of the lumbar areafive segments in the lower extremities of the spinal column and the disc connecting them or the intervertebral disc. Lumbar Disc Disease is often used interchangeably with the following associated medical terms sciatica, lumbosacral radiculopathy (or simply radiculopathy), LBP (Lower arse Pain), (LRS)lumbosacral radicular syndrome, and herniated disc.Technically speaking though LRS or radiculopathy would be descriptive of the more specific leg pain or the sciatica. Physiology of the disease involves the rupture, herniated, or bulged condition of the intervertebral disc caused by disc com muddleion through dehydration in the affected discoid area and accompanied by bulging out of burden pulposus and degeneration of the annulus fibrosis. Further disc degeneration can lead to herniated condition whereby the nucleus pulposus ruptures from the outer ring region and effecting weight or press on the sensitive sides sublocated between disc spaces or the lumbar epidural spaces.Due to the weight or the press, the affected person experiences pain in the aforementioned region. The impingement on the nerve roots or the sinuvertebral nerves caused neurological symptoms in the regions that are supplied by the affected nerves. Disc herniation ordinarily attacks between the fifth and the fourth lumbar bodies (L4-5) and the fifth lumbar body and the immediate sacral region (L5-S1). Size of the disc herniation is irrelevant to the clumsiness of the symptoms of the radiculopathy.Inflammation from the disc hernia may also have resulted from increased activity of the phospholipase A2, nitric oxide, prostaglandin E, leukotriene B4 and thromboxane B2 in the disc region as caused by the hernia initiating sensitive and inflammatory responses. Such disease is a common ailm ent in the elderly or the aging individuals. It occurs on four per cent of the US macrocosm with ages from 40 to 60 for both male and female gender.Specific symptoms of the disease are dependent on the lumbar disc press on the specific nerve ends and may include any or a combination of the following (1) intermittent or continuous back pain, (2) back muscle spasm, (3) sciatica, (4) muscle weakness/numbness in the lower extremities, (5) decreased joint reflexes, and (6) possible bladder malfunction. Symptoms may persist for more than a month. The disease is diagnosed through medical tale examination, physical examination, x-ray diffraction, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT) scanning, Discography, Myelogram and Electrodiagnosis (e.g. Needle electromyography). Neurological and musculoskeletal systems possible dysfunctions are observed well to detect sensory or motor deficits. As of recent, lumbar disc disease treatment would include conservative therapy (non- operative) physical therapy (e. g. L5 reflex assessment), stress step-down programs, lumbosacral back support, weight management and medications for alleviating the painful symptomsand operative therapy or the surgery or removal of the affected lumbar region, otherwise known as lumbar disketomy.In a study for the assessing the efficacy of surgery for lumbar disc disease conducted by Weinstein and colleagues in 2006, it was found out that both operative and non-operative therapy for set the disease demonstrated substantial improvement in their conditions, however, the authors, did not indicate which therapy is more effective downplaying it to statistical insignificance. Bibliography Herniated Nucleus Pulposus (Slipped Disk) (2006). Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http//health. nytimes. com/health/guides/disease/herniated-nucleus-pulposus-slipped-disk/overview. htmlLumbar Disc Disease (Herniated Disc). Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http//www. ohsu. edu/health/health-topics/topic . cfm? id =8838. Malanga, G. (2007) Lumbosacral Radiculopathy. Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http//www. emedicine. com/SPORTS/topic66. htm Weinstein, J. et al. (2006). Surgical vs Nonoperative Treatment for Lumbar Disk Herniation. JAMA,. 2006, 2962441-2450. Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http//jama. ama-assn. org/cgi/content/full/296/20/2441 What You Need to Know About Sciatica. (2007) Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http//www. spine-health. com/topics/cd/d_sciatica/sciatica. html