Herniation of the lumbar disc in children and adolescents

Of the hundreds of papers written on intervertebral lumbar disc herniation, very few have reported protruding lumbar intervertebral discs in children. Although surgical treatment of this problem in children has been well documented, we found no report of conservative treatment. This study concerns 23 patients under the age of 19 years who were treated for herniated lumbar intervertebral discs at the Alfred I. duPont Institute between 1963 and 1978. Thirteen patients were treated surgically and 10 were treated conservatively. The most common complaint in our patients was low back pain. We have found that, in the absence of neurological deficit, herniated lumbar discs in children and adolescents can be safely treated conservatively.