Why is there pain and numbness in lower limbs?
The prominent intervertebral disc compresses and stimulates the nearby sciatic nerve root, and the patient feels pain in one side of the waist, which radiates to the calf and foot through the hip and the back of the thigh, accompanied by numbness in the calf or foot. In severe cases, claudication occurs, and the symptoms are aggravated when coughing and defecating hard. This symptom is called sciatica.
Nerve root pain is mainly caused by chemical stimulation released by the rupture of fibrous ring, and numbness is caused by physical compression of nerve root. When both exist, pain is generally the main thing. When inflammation basically disappears or inflammation is not obvious, it is mainly manifested as numbness.
Can cause incontinence?
Some patients may suffer from urinary incontinence after long-term treatment of lumbar disc herniation! This is because the intervertebral disc of lumbar 4~5 or lumbar 5~ sacrum 1 is prominent. The process is large and central, which severely compresses the cauda equina nerve, numbs the perineum in the morning, and then loses control of urination and defecation. Such patients are often accompanied by different degrees of lower limb paralysis.
But don't panic! At present, the clinical treatment of disc herniation is mostly effective, and few patients have urinary incontinence. If there is, it is often sudden. In this case, surgery should be performed immediately to avoid irreversible damage caused by long-term compression.
Can cause paralysis.
The protruding intervertebral disc compresses the nerve roots, and if the compression is aggravated, nerve paralysis and muscle paralysis may occur. This situation is more common in the paralysis of tibialis anterior muscle, peroneal longus muscle, extensor hallucis longus muscle and extensor digitorum longus muscle caused by lumbar disc herniation and lumbar nerve paralysis, mainly manifested as foot drop, muscle weakness, partial paralysis of ankle joint and toe, and very few lower limbs are completely paralyzed.
Why is it always the lumbar intervertebral disc 4 and 5 that is injured?
Lumbar disc herniation can occur in any lumbar disc, but the lumbar disc 4 ~ 5 is the most common, which is mainly determined by the anatomical structure and biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar spine. Anatomically, the width of the lumbar posterior ligament gradually decreases from top to bottom, and the width of the lumbar 4 ~ 5 segment and the lumbar 5 ~ sacrum 1 segment is only half of that of the upper segment.
These two lumbar vertebrae bear 60% of the weight of the whole body, with the largest mobility, the easiest strain and degeneration, and the highest incidence of developmental variation, so the possibility of disc herniation is the greatest.
How to prevent lumbar disc herniation?
1, have a regular physical examination. If you find congenital deformity or sudden deformity of the spine, go to the hospital for examination in time, and pay attention to protecting your waist at work to prevent repeated injuries.
2. Improve working posture and correct bad working habits. When bending, the pressure on the lumbar intervertebral disc is more than twice that when standing normally, so the incidence of low back and leg pain of bending workers is higher than that of standing.
3, strengthen muscle exercise, strong back muscles can prevent waist soft tissue injury, abdominal muscle and intercostal muscle exercise can increase intra-abdominal pressure and thoracic pressure, which helps to reduce waist load.
4. Patients with low back and leg pain should be examined and treated as soon as possible, and exercise or rest under the guidance of a doctor, so as to facilitate early recovery.