Radiculopathy nerve root compression Flashcards
1
Q
What is nerve root compression? 2
A
- Mechanical Compression of a nerve root
- Secondary to degenerative disc disease, OA, facet degeneration, spondylolisthesis, ligament hypertrophy from aging
2
Q
population
A
40-50 years old
3
Q
MOI 5
A
- lifting heavy objects improperly
- suffering from a minor trauma such as a car accident
- injury caused by tumor (which can compress nerve roots locally
- diabetes (which can effectively cause ischemia or lack of blood flow to nerves).
- secondary pathology
4
Q
symptoms 7
A
- Increased sensitivity to light touch
- weakness of muscles
- tingling or numbness
- Muscle reflexes
- Pain prolonged sitting
- Pain bending over due to compression of nerve root
- Lumbar radiculopathy that causes pain that radiates down a lower extremity is commonly referred to as sciatica
5
Q
tests 3
A
- dermatomes & myotomes
- Reflexes
- SLR
6
Q
imaging to confirm diagnosis 2
A
- MRI (determine soft tissue damage to the ligaments and discs and assess spinal cord injury)
- X-ray, EMG
7
Q
surgical approach 3
A
- spinal decompression surgery discectomy (removes the portion of disc that’s herniated out and is compressing a nerve), laminectomy (removes small portion of bone covering the nerve to allow it to have additional space)
- Spinal fusion (replacing the disc with bone and cages) injections corticosteroid
- Foraminotomy (enlargement of vertebral foramen)
8
Q
non-invasive approach 5
A
- NSAIDS
- spinal injections
- epidural injection
- acupuncture
- mobilisations
9
Q
conservative exercises
A
Mckenzie
10
Q
% of disc herniations reference
A
Ninety-five percent of disc herniations occur at the L4/5 or L5/S1 disc spaces
Randall Wright and Steven 2010
11
Q
acupuncture effect reference
A
Tarulli & Raynors study in 2007 found the effect of acupuncture in people with acute lumbar radicular pain found a positive effect on the pain intensity and pain threshold
