Title: A Comparative Study of Conservative versus Operative Management of Lumbo-Sacral Intervertebral Disc Herniation

Authors: Dr Rohit Raj, Dr Ajay Kumar Mahto

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v10i12.09

Abstract

Introduction

Back pain, is still, one of the unrewarding problems to deal with in clinical medicine. Of the various forms of low back pain, only those syndromes associated with neurologic compression of the cauda equina or nerve roots, have reasonably well understood clinical presentation.

Nearly 80% of the population sustains an episode of low back pain (LBP) once during their lifetime[1]. LBP has high prevalence and significant contribution to disability. Within the vast differential of LBP, the most common source is intervertebral degeneration leading to degenerative disc disease and lumbar disc herniation [2]. Thus, an effective understanding of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), its origins, and how to appropriately treat LDH is of substantial importance.

Disc herniation is a greater threat in  younger individuals between the ages of 30 and 50 years, in whom the nucleus material has good  turgor,  in  contrast to older individuals in whom the nucleus is desiccated and fibrotic.

The intervertebral disc consists of an inner nucleus pulposus (NP) and an outer annulus fibrosus (AF). The central NP is a site of collagen secretion and contains numerous

proteoglycans (PG) 34. The NP is primarily composed of type II collagen. In contrast, the AF functions to maintain the NP within the center of the disc with low amount of PG and primarily concentric type I collagen fibers[3,5,6]. Several changes in the biology of the intervertebral disc are thought to contribute to LDH. These include reduced water retention in the NP [5,7,8], increased percent of type I collagen within the NP and inner AF[9], degradation of collagen and extracellular matrix (ECM) materials[10], and upregulation of systems of degradation such as apoptosis, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression, and  inflammatory pathways[11] 

References

  1. Andersson GB. Epidemiological features of chronic low-back pain. Lancet. 1999; 354(9178):581–585. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01312-4
  2. Martin BI, Deyo RA, Mirza SK, et al. Expenditures and health status among adults with back and neck problems.  JAMA. 2008;299(6):656. doi: 10.1001/jama.299.6.656. 
  3. Kadow T, Sowa G, Vo N, Kang JD. Molecular basis of intervertebral disc degeneration and herniations: what are the important translational questions? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473(6):1903–1912. doi: 10.1007/s11999-014-3774-8. 
  4. Kepler CK, Ponnappan RK, Tannoury CA, Risbud MV, Anderson DG. The molecular basis of intervertebral disc degeneration. Spine J. 2013;13(3):318–330. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2012.12.003. 
  5. Kalb S, Martirosyan NL, Kalani MYS, Broc GG, Theodore N. Genetics of the degenerated intervertebral disc. World Neurosurg. 2012;77(3–4):491–501. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2011.07.014. 
  6. Urban JPG, Roberts S. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Arthritis Res Ther. 2003;5(3) 10.1186/ar629.
  7. Brayda-Bruno M, Tibiletti M, Ito K, et al. Advances in the diagnosis of degenerated lumbar discs and their possible clinical application. Eur Spine J. 2014;23(SUPPL. 3):315–323. doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2960-9. 
  8. Colombier P, Clouet J, Hamel O, Lescaudron L, Guicheux J. The lumbar intervertebral disc: from embryonic development to degeneration. Jt Bone Spine. 2014;81(2):125–129. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2013.07.012. 
  9. Adams MA. Mechanical properties of aging soft tissues. 2015. Intervertebral disc tissues; pp. 7–35. ]
  10. Mayer JE, Iatridis JC, Chan D, Qureshi SA, Gottesman O, Hecht AC. Genetic polymorphisms associated with intervertebral disc degeneration. Spine J. 2013;13(3):299–317. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2013.01.041. 
  11. Martirosyan NL, Patel AA, Carotenuto A, et al. Genetic alterations in intervertebral disc disease. Front Surg. 2016;3 (Nov.):1–15. 
  12. Dullcrud R , Nakstad:CT changes after conservative treatment for lumbar disc herniations. Acta Radiol 35:415-419,1994.
  13. Cuckler JM, Bernini PB, Wiesel SW, : The wise use of epidural steroids in the treatment of lumbar radicular pain. J.Bone and Joint Surg.67(A):63-66,1985.
  14. Deyo :    Conservative        therapy  for low          back     pain-Distinguishing
  15. Choi K, Lee DC, Shim H, Shin S, Park C. A strategy of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy for migrated disc herniation. World Neurosurg. 2017; 99: 259–266. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2016.12.052.
  16. Bai J, Zhang W, Wang Y, et al. Application of transiliac approach to intervertebral endoscopic discectomy in L5/S1 intervertebral disc herniation. Eur J Med Res. 2017;22(14):4–13.
  17. Tonosu J, Oshima Y, Shiboi R, Hayashi A, Takano Y, Koga H. Consideration of proper operative route for interlaminar approach for percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy. J Spine Surg. 2016;2 (4):281–288. doi: 10.21037/jss.2016.11.05.
  18. Soman SM, Modi JV, Chokshi J. Feasibility of endoscopic discectomy by inter laminar approach at a high volume tertiary public hospital in a developing country. J Spine Surg. 2017;3(1):38–43. doi: 10.21037/jss.2017.03.10.
  19. Li Z, Hou S, Shang W, Song K, Zhao H. Modified percutaneous lumbar foraminoplasty and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy: instrument design, technique notes, and 5 years follow-up. Pain Physician. 2017;20:85–98.
  20. Tu Z, Li YW, Wang B, et al. Clinical outcome of full-endoscopic interlaminar discectomy for single-level lumbar disc herniation: a minimum of 5-year follow-up. Pain Physician. 2017;(3):425–430. 

Corresponding Author

Dr Rohit Raj

Junior Resident, Department of Orthopaedics, KMCH Katihar