Lumbar disk disease. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment

Back pain is a very common disorder, and low back pain has many causes. The clinical features of a single identifiable cause of back pain, lumbar disk disease, are summarized in this article. The hallmark of disk disease is single nerve root involvement, which often produces back pain and usually causes even more intense leg pain. Physical findings include sensory loss in a specific nerve root dermatome, weakness and atrophy of the muscle supplied by that nerve root, and reflex changes appropriate to the specific nerve root. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by one or several corroborative tests, the most frequently used of which are computed tomography, myelography, and electrodiagnostic studies.