Lumbar Degenerative
A 40-year-old man presents with 4 weeks of right leg pain radiating from the buttock down the posterior thigh and lateral calf to the dorsum of the foot. He has numbness on the top of the foot and weakness of great toe dorsiflexion. The pain is worse with sitting and forward flexion. Straight leg raise is positive at 30 degrees. MRI shows a posterolateral disc herniation at L4-5. Regarding lumbar disc herniation:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
In the lumbar spine, the nerve root exits below its numbered vertebra and above the disc of the same...
L5 radiculopathy presents with weakness of great toe dorsiflexion (EHL), ankle dorsiflexion (tibiali...
The nerve root exits above its numbered vertebra in the lumbar spine; L4-5 posterolateral disc compr...
Conservative treatment is successful in 80-90% of patients within 6-12 weeks; indications for urgent...
Surgical options include microdiscectomy (most common, 90-95% success for leg pain), endoscopic disc...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option