Spinal conditions
Let's help you to understand all the medical jargon........
Below you'll find the most common spinal conditions that Mr Jensen deals with what the
medical terminology actually means.
Cauda Equina Syndrome
A serious condition where the bundle of nerves at the very bottom of the spinal cord gets squeezed or damaged often by something like a slipped disc, severe spinal narrowing, a tumour, infection or a serious back injury. Common warning signs include severe pains, weakness or numbness in one or both legs, numbness around the genitals or buttocks area and trouble starting or controlling urination or bowel movements.
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cervical myleopathy
A condition where the spinal cord in your neck gets squeezed or compressed often caused by wear and tear changes with age (arthritis of the spine), bulging or slipped discs, thickened ligaments, bone spurs or a narrow spinal canal. Typical symptoms can include clumsy or weak hands, poor balance or unsteady walking, weakness or stiffness in the arms or legs, numbness or tingling in the hands or arms, neck pain.
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cervical radiculopathy
A condition commonly called a 'pinched nerve in the neck.' Common causes include a slipped disc in the neck, arthritis or bone spurs, narrowing of the spaces where nerves exit the spine and wear and tear changes with age. Typical symptoms can include shooting or burning pain down the arm, numbness, tingling or weakness in the arm or fingers, or pain that worsens with certain neck movements.
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Coccydynia
Means pain in the tailbone area which is usually most noticeable when sitting or when moving from sitting to standing. Common causes include falling backwards onto your bottom, long periods of sitting on hard surfaces, childbirth, repetitive strain (like cycling or rowing.) Typical symptoms are aching or sharp pain right at the tailbone, tenderness when you press on the area, discomfort when leaning back while seated. Most cases improve with simple treatments like pressure-relieving cushions, posture changes, activity adjustment anti-inflammatory medication and pelvic-floor exercises.​
Degenerative Disc Disease
A condition where the cushion-like discs between the bones of your spine wear down over time. This condition is commonly part of normal aging and it is possible to have the condition with no pain at all. It can happen in the neck or the lower back. Common symptoms are back or neck pain that comes and goes, pain that worsens with sitting, bending, or lifting, stiffness or reduced flexibility, sometimes pain spreading into the arms or legs if nearby nerves get irritated
Facet Joint Arthropathy
Means wear and tear arthritis in the small joints at the back of the spine. Common causes include normal aging and wear, repetitive strain on the back or neck, degenerative disc changes (less cushioning puts more stress on the joints) or previous injury. Typical symptoms can include localised neck or back pain, stiffness, especially after resting, pain that worsens with twisting or leaning backwards, pain that improves when changing position or leaning forward.
Lumbar Radiculopathy
A condition commonly called a 'pinched nerve in the lower back.' Common causes include a slipped disc in the lower back, arthritis or bone spurs, narrowing of the spaces where nerves exit the spine, wear and tear changes with age. Typical symptoms can include shooting pain from the lower back down the leg (often called sciatica), burning or electric-like pain in the leg, numbness or tingling in the leg or foot, weakness in part of the leg or foot. Symptoms usually affect one leg more than the other and may worsen with sitting, bending, coughing, or straining.
Sciatica
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A term used to describe pain that travels from the lower back down through the buttock and into the leg. Common causes include a slipped disc in the lower back, narrowing of the spine, bone spurs from arthritis, pressure from tight muscles. Typical symptoms are sharp, shooting, or burning pain down one leg, tingling or 'pins and needles' in the leg or foot, numbness in part of the leg, sometimes leg weakness, pain that is worse when sitting or bending.
Bulging / Prolapsed / Slipped Disc
These conditions refers to a problem with one of the soft cushions between the bones of your spine. They all generally cause nerve irritation but have slightly different explanations:
Bulging disc — the disc pushes outward but outer layer is mostly intact
Prolapsed / herniated disc — the inner material pushes out through a tear in the outer layer
Slipped disc — common non-medical term for either of the above
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Typical symptoms (if a nerve is irritated) are back or neck pain, shooting pain into an arm or leg, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness in the arm or leg. Some bulging discs cause no symptoms at all and are only found on scans.
spinal fractures
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This condition means that one of the bones in your spine has cracked or broken. Common causes include trauma such as a fall, car accident or major impact. Also sports injuries, weakened bones from osteoporosis and less commonly, tumours or infections can weaken the bone. Types of spinal fractures vary, but common symptoms are sudden back or neck pain, pain that gets worse with movement, tenderness over one spot on the spine, reduced height or a stooped posture (with some compression fractures), in severe cases, numbness, weakness, or paralysis if nerves are affected.
spinal stenosis
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Means that the spaces inside your spine have become too narrow. Your spine has a central tunnel (the spinal canal) where nerves travel from your brain down to the rest of your body. When that tunnel tightens, it can put pressure on those nerves. Most commonly it develops slowly with age due to wear and tear of the spine, arthritis, bulging discs, thickened ligaments or bone overgrowth. Depending on where the narrowing happens, the most common symptoms of spinal stenosis are back or neck pain, numbness or tingling, weakness in arms or legs, leg pain or heaviness when walking (often better when sitting or bending forward.) Walking distance is typically reduced compared to normal.
Spondylolisthesis
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Is when one bone in your spine slips forward over the bone below it. Common reasons for this happening include age related wear and tear, a small stress fracture in part of the bone, arthritis, repetitive strain from sports or physical work or being born with a thinner or weaker part of the bone. It most commonly occurs in the lower back and symptoms are typically lower back pain, tight hamstrings, leg pain, tingling, or numbness, weakness in the legs or pain that worsens with standing or walking​​.​
