What is a small inferiorly migrating paracentral disc protusion at L5-S1?

Answer 1

DDD is the wearing down of the disks that are located between each of the vertebra in your back. this occurs when the fluid in the disks diminishes often due to old age or injury. The fluid helps to absorb shock and without it they rub together and cause the disks to wear away. Together it would mean the wearing down of the disks between the 5th lumbar vertabra to the 1st sacral vertabre with a small hernia in the central disk. this would be a total of six disks. Hope this helps

Answer 2

Looking down on a disc from above, [spine at the bottom], picture it as a clock... A FOCAL herniation would mean that an area --such as between 4 and 6 o'clock is herniated [bulging] out.... It the herniation is at the [approximate] 4-5 or 7-8 o'clock [lower back area] it is likely to be impinging [pushing on] a nerve as it is getting ready to exit the spinal canal just below... Lots of pain associated with this and possible nerve damage that will affect how the leg works... If at any other area [on the clock] nothing will happen... There isn't enough disc material to have an affect if the herniation occurs at the 6 o'clock position... In other words, the spinal nerves will not be involved... Surgery is not automatically considered where the nerves are involved as approximately 70% of people with a herniated disc heal without any residual problems... In other words the disc slowly retracts and then scars in place... Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Looking down on the involved levels (L5-S1), the top is toward your abdomen (NOON) and the back is toward the back (6 O'clock). I'll describe what happens, referring to times on the clock. Between each vertebra are thick disks: these comprise of a thick wall on the outside, filled with a thick gel. This acts as a "shock absorber". Nerves travel down the spinal canal as a thick cord of nerves. Each nerve arises at a point in the brain, and travels down the cord, exits at it's determined level and travels down the body to where it is designed to go/operate. Over the years these disks begin to wear out and flatten or possibly bulge out (like squashing a marshmallow). Sometimes, trauma --or bending or leaning with/without heavy lifting-- can cause a herniation in the side of this disk, and the resulting herniation can cause problems by pinching a nerve. If the herniation occurs at 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock, the herniation can pinch (trap) a nerve as it is preparing to leave the spinal cord and travel down the body, resulting in a severe burning pain and possibly muscle cramps if the nerve travels to the spasming muscle. If the herniation occurs at the NOON position, since no nerves are close by, there is no pain (actually, there can be pain, but it is not from nerves being pinched... there are pain fibers in the disk). If the herniation occurs at the 6 o'clock position no nerves will be trapped or pinched because there is a lot of space in the spinal canal where the spinal cord travels. Remember I said the nerve is a continuous fiber? Nerves operate exactly like electrical wiring in your house. They are covered with a protein called myelin that acts just like the plastic used on house wiring. We use wall switches to turn electricity on/off to light our houses. If you short across wiring anywhere between the positive wire (where the electricity runs) and the ground wire (the negative wire that completes the circuit) the light will go on. The same thing happens to nerves in the body. If you were to be able to isolate a nerve fiber running from your brain to your big toe, and stick it with a sharp pin anywhere between the brain and your toe, you would always feel the stick in your big toe! USUALLY (note the caps) a herniated disk will retract on its own, releasing pressure on the nerve, and the pain will disappear. this happens about 70% of the time. The disk will then scar in place, and you should not be bothered again. Occasionally a numb area (where the nerve went) will remain after healing.

Answer 4

Posterior left paracentral disc herniation at L5-s1 superimposed on concentric disc bulging. That's what I have

Answer 5

That is not a question, that is a statement followed by a question mark?