Lumbar myelopathy

Lumbar myelopathy refers to any condition of the spinal cord in the lumbar portion of the spine. The lumbar spine is the low back. In this section, we will exclusively talk about myelopathy due to a lumbar intervertebral disc disorder. However, some other examples of myelopathy may include:

• Carcinomatous myelopathy (cancer)
• Compressive myelopathy (masses, haemotomas, or stenosis)
• Radiation myelopathy (x-rays and radiation)

It should be noted that the spinal cord ends very high in the lumbar spine, in most cases in the middle of the first lumbar vertebra (L1) or at the L1-2 intervertebral disc. Therefore, if a disc herniation or protrusion is going to cause lumbar myelopathy by compressing the spinal cord, it can only typically happen at the L1-L2 intervertebral disc. This is rare, however for completeness we have included here. Herniations that occur at L2-L3 through to L5-S1 can cause radiculopathy (one nerve root compressed) or cauda equina syndrome (many nerve roots compressed).

Symptoms

Lumbar myelopathy from intervertebral compression behaves much like a low thoracic disc causing myelopathy. Back pain can be experienced, but in many cases, there is no low back pain. If it does it is likely to occur at the level of the disc problem. Compression of the spinal cord can affect muscle strength, sensation and the function of the bowel and bladder.

Treatment

Lumbar myelopathy is treatment and managed by medical doctors such as neurologist and neurosurgeons.

Other causes of low back pain

The following conditions are common causes of low back pain.

• Cauda equina syndrome
• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Bone Spurs
• Degenerative disc disease (DDD)
• Lumbar radiculopathy
• Lumbar facet joint pain
• Bulging Disc
• Herniated Disc
• Disc protrusion
• Discogenic pain
• Post laminectomy syndrome
• Coccydynia
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spondyloarthropathy
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Reiter’s syndrome
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Enteropathic arthritis
• Sciatica
• Sacroiliac disorders
• Foot drop
• Spinal neurofibroma
• Acute low pain
• Chronic low back pain
• Stiff low back
• Trigger points in the low back
• Red flags for low back pain
• Internal disc disruption
• Lumbar spondylosis
• Lumbar facet syndrome
• Lumbar foraminal stenosis
• Lumbar disc herniation
• Lumbar osteoarthritis
• Lumbar osteophytes