Herniated Disc or Another Type of Back Pain? Here's How to Tell

When we say that low back pain is common, we’re making a massive understatement. The reality is that the prevalence of low back pain is growing around the world — as of right now, the issue affects 619 million people, and this number is expected to increase to 843 million by 2050.

While herniated discs can lay claim to a fair percentage of the overall low back pain problem, it’s certainly not the only culprit.

Since the first step to finding relief for your back pain starts with the correct diagnosis, the experienced team at SOAR Spine and Orthopedics wants to provide some preliminary information to help guide you. Here, we review some key symptoms of different types of back pain, including the singular side effects of herniated discs.

The anatomy of your back

To understand why there are so many paths to low back pain, we take a first look at the structures involved.

At the heart of your back is your spine, which includes 33 vertebrae separated by 25 intervertebral discs. Your spine also contains facet joints at each vertebral segment.

Surrounding your spine is a network of soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments, and tendons that provide critical support.

Roads to back pain

Now let's briefly review some of the more common causes of low back pain, including:

• Herniated discs
• Sciatica
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spondylolisthesis 
• Scoliosis 
• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Facet joint arthritis
• Muscle strains and spasms 
• Trauma — falls and accidents

There are more, but this list should give you a better idea about the breadth and scope of the many potential roads to low back pain.

Differentiating types of back pain

Now, let’s get into some very general rules of thumb when it comes to low back pain. Please note that you shouldn’t view this as a way to diagnose your back pain, but rather give you a direction to explore.

The most common type of low back pain is a strain, which pulls or stresses muscles and soft tissues in your lower back. When this happens, you likely feel very sore with damaged muscles, and this discomfort can flare with specific movements.

In the same category are spasms, and most people typically have a focal point in the lower back for the spasm — an area of intense pain and tenderness.

Nerve-related back pain, on the other hand, follows a different pattern. Your spine is at a ground zero baseline for your peripheral nervous system, and you have 31 pairs of nerve roots that exit your spine. Whenever something interferes with or compresses any of these nerve fibers, you can have low back pain, as well as pain that radiates along the length of the nerve. 

Some examples of this issue include:

Herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and sciatica

Under normal circumstances, your discs should fit neatly along your spinal column. When a piece of the disc escapes this space, it can press up against nerve roots, which is what occurs with herniated discs that lead to sciatica. 

A herniated disc is a damaged or worn-down disc that bulges out of the spinal column, and when this happens in your lumbar spine, the disc often compresses your sciatic nerve. As a result, you can develop sciatica, which has a lifetime prevalence of 10 to 40% of people.

With sciatica, you can feel shooting pain down one side of your lower body, starting in your lower back and down into your buttocks and leg. In addition to pain, you might also experience numbness, tingling, and weakness in your leg.

Lumbar spinal stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a degenerative condition in which nerves in your spinal canal are crowded and compressed by degenerative conditions, such as thick ligaments. As a result, you can experience local symptoms, as well as symptoms that travel down into your lower limbs (on one side).

One of the hallmarks of lumbar spinal stenosis is low back pain when you’re standing straight, which is relieved when you lean forward.

Now that you have a better idea about low back pain, it’s time for you to visit us so that we can positively identify what’s behind your pain.

To get the ball rolling, contact us today online or by phone to make a consultation appointment at one of our offices in Santa Clara or Redwood City, California.