Spine Conditions that Cause Pain

An Overview of Back Pain

More than 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives, so it's no surprise that this affliction is a prime cause of doctor's visits. For people younger than 45, lower back pain is the most common cause of disability, with more than $100 billion spent each year for surgical treatment to remedy this issue.

Herniated Disc

Herniated disc is most commonly caused by natural degeneration due to age. In this spine condition, the thick, fibrous outer wall of a spinal disc ruptures, allowing the jelly-like center to leak out into the spinal canal. In the lumbar region of the spine, a herniated disc can cause pain and other symptoms in the lower back, buttocks, legs, and into the feet.

Bulging Disc

A bulging disc is a spine condition in which an intervertebral disc extends beyond its normal parameters and begins to push into the spinal canal. This condition is also known as a slipped or ruptured disc. Oftentimes, this condition is caused by degeneration due to age. If this degeneration becomes too severe, the disc can herniate.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Over time, the spinal discs begin to lose water and protein, making the cartilage that forms their structure weaker and more brittle. This weakness leads to a gradual process known as degenerative disc disease.

Spinal Arthritis

Arthritis of the spine is a term used to describe a wide range of conditions that cause pain, swelling, tenderness, and stiff joints. More than 50 million Americans are affected by some form of this spine condition, and some experts speculate that by 2020 this number will increase to 60%. As of now, more than 90% of Americans over 55 are affected by it.

Arthritis affects approximately 90% of people over the age of 55 in the United States. It is estimated that by the year 2020, over 60 million people will suffer from this often-disabling problem.

Neck and Back Bone Spurs

Often referred to as osteophytes, bone spurs form due to a protective mechanism of the body. These bony growths are not spurs in the sense that they are pointed, but rather they are simply bony growths on the normal bone structure. When these growths protrude into the spinal canal or onto a nearby nerve root, they can cause pain and many more symptoms.

Pinched Nerve

When a nerve is compressed, it is unable to send electrical impulses to the brain or muscles that it controls. This impairment results in pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, and more symptoms in the arms, torso, buttocks, legs, and feet, depending on the location of the pinched nerve.

Foraminal Stenosis - Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar

Each vertebra in the spinal column has two small canals, one on either side, which are known as the foramen. Nerve roots extending from the spinal cord pass through these openings to reach the rest of the body. When these spaces narrow, it is known as foraminal stenosis. The narrowing may be caused by a number of spine conditions, such as bone spurs, herniated disc tissue, bulging disc, or thickened ligaments protruding into the area. If the stenosis becomes severe enough, pressure can be put on the nerve roots passing through this area, resulting in pain, tingling, numbness, and more symptoms.

Spinal Stenosis

Similar to foraminal stenosis, spinal stenosis is also a narrowing in the spine; however, in this case, it is the actual spinal column that narrows, rather than the foramen. Whether caused by a bone or disc material, spinal stenosis can cause pain and weakness as well as other symptoms. The majority of the time, this stenosis occurs in the lumbar region of the spine and affects the sciatic nerve, so symptoms manifest themselves in the lower back, leg, and into the feet.

Facet Disease

Facet joints are the structures that join vertebrae to each other and allow for smooth movement back and forth. As with the rest of the body's joints, facet joints are lined with cartilage, which allows for this gliding motion. However, if this cartilage degenerates, bone begins to rub against bone, and conditions such as bone spurs can result. This degeneration is known as facet disease.

Sciatica

Sciatica is a spine condition in which the sciatic nerve that runs down the buttocks and into the legs becomes compressed, or pinched. This pressure can be caused by a bone spur, bulging disc, herniated disc, swollen ligament, or another condition. Many times, people who refer to sciatica are speaking of symptoms resulting from the nerve being pinched rather than there being a problem with the nerve itself.

For more information on spine conditions, or to submit your MRI or CT scan for review by a Laser Spine Institute physician, contact us today.