Intervertebral disc degeneration clinical features

Intervertebral disc degeneration and associated low back pain are major causes of suffering and disability.

Pain that is worse when sitting. While seated, the lower back discs have three times more load on them than when standing.

Pain that gets worse when bending, lifting, or twisting.

Feeling better while walking or even running than while sitting or standing for long periods of time.

Feeling better changing positions often or lying down.

Periods of severe pain come and go. These last from a few days to a few months before getting better. They can range from nagging pain to disabling pain.

Pain can affect the low back, buttocks, thighs, or the neck, depending on where the affected disc is, radiating to the arms and hands.

Numbness and tingling in the extremities.

Weakness in the leg muscles or foot drop is a possible sign of damage to the nerve root.

The inflammatory index can be useful for neurosurgeons to understand and grade pain in intervertebral disc degeneration ¹⁾.