Lumbar Radiculopathy

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Definition/Description

Lumbar radiculopathy occurs in the lower back and causes pain in de lower back and hip radiating down the back of the thigh into the leg. It is caused by damage to the lower spine which causes compression of the nerve roots which exit the spine. The compression can lead to tingling, radiating pain, numbness, paraesthesia and occasional shooting pains. Radiculopathy can occur in any part of the spine, but it is most common in the lower back (lumbar radiculopathy) and in the neck (cervical radiculopathy). It is less commonly found in the middle portion of the spine (thoracic radiculopathy). (1; LOE 1B)
Radiculopathy is not the same as “radicular pain” or “nerve root pain”. Radiculopathy and radicular pain commonly occur toghether, but radiculopathy can occur in the absence of pain and radicular pain can occur in the absence of radiculopathy. (2; LOE 5)
Radiculopathy can be defined as the whole complex of symptoms that can rise from nerve root pathology, including anaesthesia, paresthesia, hypoesthesia, motor loss and pain.
Radicular pain and nerve root pain can be defined as specifically apply of a single symptom (pain) that can arise from one or more spinal nerve roots. (3; LOE 3B) Lumbar radiculopathy is a disorder of the spinal nerve root from L1 to S1.
A variety of conditions can lead to compression of the nerve roots, which means that there are several different approaches to the treatment and management of lumbar radiculopathy.

Epidemiology /Etiology

Lumbar radiculopathy is a disease that commonly arises with significant socioeconomical consequences. The discal origin of a lumbar radiculopathy incidence is around 2%. Out of a 12.9% incidence of low back complaints within working population, 11% is due to lumbar radiculopathy. (9, LOE:5)
The prevalence of lumbosacral radiculopathy has been situated from 9.9% to 25%. (10, LOE:3A)
Risk factors for radiculopathy are activities that place an excessive or repetitive load on the spine. Patients involved in heavy labour or contact sports are more prone to develop radiculopathy than those with a more sedentary lifestyle.  

Radiculopathy is caused by compression or irritation of the nerves with resultant pain, weakness, and/or sensor impairment in the affected nerve root, may be from direct trauma or from chemical irritation to the affected nerve root (10, LOE:3A ). This can be due to mechanical compression of the nerve by a disk herniation, a bone spur (osteophytes) from osteoarthritis, or from thickening of surrounding ligaments. As people age, their spines are subject to increasing degeneration which can cause herniated discs and similar problems, leading to lumbar radiculopathy.
Other less common causes of mechanical compression of the nerves is from a tumour or infection. Either of these can reduce the amount of space in the spinal canal and compress the exiting nerve. Scoliosis can cause the nerves on one side of the spine to become compressed by the abnormal curve of the spine.

Characteristics/Clinical Presentation

Symptoms of lumbar radiculopathy

The most important symptoms of lumbar radiculopathy are pain in the lower back (one or more lumbar or sacral dermatomes (15, LOE: 1A)) combined with unilateral radiating leg pain (traveling below the knee (15, LOE: 1C, 16, LOE: 2B)) that follows a dermatomal pattern (11, LOE: 1A) and related disabilities. It can be accompanied by objective findings of nerve root entrapment such as sensory deficits (11, LOE: 1A), reflex changes or muscle weakness (14, LOE: 2B). The clinical presentation of lumbar radiculopathy will vary depending on the cause of the radiculopathy and which nerve roots are being affected. The description of nature and localization of the pain is very important. Pain drawings are often used for this purpose. The most patients describe the lumbar pain as sharp, dull, piercing, throbbing, stabbing, shooting or burning.(15, LOE: 1C). Patients also report radicular pain in one leg, combined with one or more positive neurological signs (paresis, sensory loss, or loss of) reflexes that indicate a nerve root irritation or neurological loss of function. Neurological signs must be present such as weakness, numbness, or reflexive changes. (17, LOE: 3B). Typical for sciatica are the higher levels of leg pain and more often reported below the knee pain and leg pain worse than back pain (14, LOE: 2B).
While it is common for patients with radiculopathy to have nerve root pain, the term "radiculopathy" refers to the whole complex of symptoms that can arise from nerve root pathology, including paresthesia, hypoesthesia, anesthesia, motor loss and pain (18, LOE: 2B).
Other indicators for sciatica are:

• Unilateral pain radiating to foot or toes (11, LOE: 1A)
• Numbness and paraesthesia in the same distribution (11, LOE: 1A)
• Paravertebral pressure above the nerve root causes pain in the periphery.
• Failure of the sensible dermatome. Because of the overlap of the dermatomes there will never be a total loss of touch by an injury of one nerve root. (localised neurology—that is, limited to one nerve root) (11, LOE: 1A)

Based on a Electrophysiological evaluation in lumbosacral radiculopathy (50, LOE: 3B) , there are also some specific symptoms for.
Abnormal electrophysiological findings were recorded in 82% of the patients(n=97) showing that electrophysiologic changes. Hypoesthesia was seen mostly in L5 root distribution (21%); 22.8% of patients had paresthesia in L5, and 14% in S1 dermatome. In the population, 27% had reduced or absent Achilles reflex, and 20% and 14% had L5 and S1 myotomal weakness, respectively; 48% had positive straight leg raising test.

There is a study who claims that nerve root pain should not be expected to follow along a specific dermatome. (17, LOE: 2B). The purpose of this study is to describe of the distribution of pain in patients with lumbar radiculopathy. They conclude that there is a non-dermatomal pattern of pain. (17, LOE: 2B). The exception of this is S1 radicular pain, in which the pain does commonly follow the S1 dermatome. (17, LOE: 2B).

File:Dermatomes.jpg

Clinical presentation for radiculopathy from each lumbar nerve root: 

Nerve Root	Dermatomal area	Myotomal area	Reflexive changes
L1	Inguinal region	Hip flexors
L2	Anterior mid-thigh	Hip flexors
L3	Distal anterior thigh	Hip flexors and knee extensors	Diminished or absent patellar reflex
L4	Medial lower leg/foot	Knee extensors and ankle dorsiflexors	Diminished or absent patellar reflex
L5	Lateral leg/foot	Hallux extension and ankle plantar flexors	Diminished or absent achilles reflex
S1	Lateral side of foot	Ankle plantar flexors and evertors	Diminished or absent achilles reflex

Causes of lumbar radiculopathy

In about 90% of the cases with lumbar radicular pain, the pain is caused by a herniated disc with nerve root compression, but lumbar stenoses and (less often) tumours are also possible causes. (11, LOE: 1A). Sometimes it may be caused by underlying disease (infections) rather than disc herniation. Imaging is indicated for this cases. (11, LOE: 1A). Other important causes for lumbar radiculopathy are lateral recess stenosis and radiculitis. (12, LOE: 1A). In patients under 50 years, a herniated disc is the most frequent cause. After the age of 50, radicular pain is often caused by degenerative changes in the spine (stenosis of the foramen intervertebrale). (13, LOE: 5).

The most common causes of lumbar radiculopathy:

• A prolapsed disk (11, LOE:1A), (14, LOE: 2B)
• Stenosis (either of the central canal or the foramen)
• Impinging or irritating a nerve root(s). (14, LOE: 2B)
  

Examination

A complete physical and neurologic examination can reveal defects at specific levels.

Motor, sensory and reflex function should be assessed to determine the affected nerve root level. (27, LOE: 5) Specific movements and positions that reproduce the symptoms should be investigated during the examination to help determine the source of the pain and the affected nerve root level.

Clinical evaluation of lumbosacral radiculopathy begins with:

Medical history (type, location and duration of symptoms, presence of subjective weakness and dysesthesia, current therapy, dermatomal radiation, absence of work) and physical examination: dermatomal sensory loss, myotomal weakness, straight leg raise(28, LOE: 5)(21, LOE: 4), Crossed Straight Leg Raise Test, Femoral Nerve Stretch Test and reflexes.

Straight Leg Raise Test (Lasègue test):
The best known clinical test is the straight-leg raising test(19, LOE:1C).

The supine SLR is more sensitive than the seated SLR when it comes to the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy ([*] LOE: 3A). A pooled sensitivity for straightleg raising test was 0. 91 (95% CI 0.82-0.94), a pooled specificity 0.26 (95% CI 0.16-0.38)(29, LOE:1A). The test is based on stretching of the nerves in the spine(30, LOE:1A)

The patient lies supine and raises the leg on the involved side, with an extended knee. If pain is produced at 40 degrees of hip flexion or less, the test is positive. Symptoms can be sharpened by adding ankle dorsiflexion to the straight-leg raise. Even if the test is negative, useful information can be gained if symptoms are produced past 40 degrees of hip flexion, assuming that hamstring length is equal.

Crossed Straight Leg Raise Test (Crossed Lasègue test):
A test for the containment and exclusion of lumbar radiculopathy. For the cross straight leg raising test a pooled sensitivity was 0.29 (95% CI 0.24-0.34), pooled specificity was 0.88 (95% CI 0.86-0.90)(29, LOE: 1A). The test is based on stretching of the nerves in the spine. (30, LOE:1A)

The patient lies supine and raises the leg on the uninvolved side with the knee extended. If pain is provoked down the involved leg, the test is positive for radiculopathy and indicates that there is likely a large space-occupying lesion (herniated nucleus pulposus). This test is useful for ruling in radiculopathy, as it is highly specific for it.

Femoral Nerve Stretch Test:
For the Femoral Nerve Stretch Test, the patient lies prone with the knee passivley flexed to the thigh. The test is positive if the patient experiences anterior thigh pain. This test causes a downward and slightly lateral movement of the femoral nerve, its nerve root and the intradural rootlet. (31, LOE: 4)

Specific vertebral level
To diagnose an L4 radiculopathy the clinician placed emphasis on the femoral nerve stretch test, the straight leg raise test, the knee reflex, sensory loss in the L4 dermatome and the muscle power for the ankle dorsiflexion.
To diagnose an L5 radiculopathy, the clinician focused on the straight leg raise test, sensory loss in the L5 dermatome, and the muscle power for the hip abduction, ankle dorsiflexion, ankle eversion, and the big toe extension.
For an S1 radiculopathy the clinician emphasized the straight leg raise test, the ankle reflex, sensory loss in the S1 dermatome, and the muscle power for hip extension, knee flexion, ankle plantarflexion, and ankle eversion.(1, LOE: 1B)

Significant predictors of radiological nerve root compression (one of the most common causes of radiculopathy) are:

• Dermatomal radiation
• More pain on coughing, sneezing or straining
• Positive straight leg raise (SLR) and finger-floor distance
• Ongoing denervation on EMG (21, LOE: 4) (32, LOE:5)
  
  

Diagnostic Procedures

Clinical evaluation:

• X-rays: to identify the presence of a trauma or osteoarthritis and early signs of a tumor or an infection
• EMG: useful in detecting radiculopathies but they have limited utility in the diagnosis.
• MRI: used to see if disc herniation and nerve root compression are present in patients with clinical suspicion of lumbosacral radiculopathy. (20, LOE: 3A)
  
  In patients with clinical suspicion of lumbosacral radiculopathy and normal MRI findings, EMG may help in diagnosing nerve root involvement in patients with otherwise unexplained leg pain. (21, LOE:4)
  

Medical Management

Lumbar radicular syndrome can be treated in a conservative or a surgical way. The international consesus says that in the first 6-8 weeks, conservative treatment is indicated. (33, LOE 2C). Surgery should be offered only if complaints remain present for at least 6 weeks after a conservative treatment. (34, LOE: 1B). A chirurgical intervention for sciatica is called a discectomy and focuses on removal of disc herniation and eventually a part of the disc. (11, LOE: 1A)

The conservative treatment is primarily aimed at pain reduction and includes the use of analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(35,LOE: 1A), muscle relaxants and oral steroids (prednisone) (11,LOE 1A). But also other conservative treatments, such as traction, manipulation, ultrasound, hot packs, acupuncture (36, LOE:1A), or corsets have been widely discussed. Also the value of bed rest was examined in patients with sciatica; results suggest that advice for bed rest is not as effective as advice to stay active for people with low-back pain. (37, LOE: 1A). By research the majority of radiculopathy patients respond well to this conservative treatment, and symptoms often improve within six weeks to three months.

In a study with 532 patients to evaluate the effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or Cox-2 inhibitors, we can conclude that the drugs have a significant effect on acute radicular pain compared with placebo. (35, LOE:1A). But other studies say that there are no positive effects on lumbar radicular pain. (38, LOE: 1A)

There are several studies that have investigated the effect of acupuncture in people with acute lumbar radicular pain. Acupuncture would have a positive effect on the pain intensity, and pain threshold.). (36, LOE:1A)

Among patients with acute lumbar radiculopathy, oral steroids (prednisone) will relieve them from pain and improve function. (39, LOE 1B).

When we compare the surgical (50%) vs nonoperative (50%) treatment for lumbar radicular pain in a study with 501 patients, we can conclude that patients in both the surgery and the nonoperative treatment groups improved substantially over a 2-year period.(40, LOE: 1B) However, in the group who received the conservative treatment (active physical therapy, education/counseling with home exercise instruction, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), 30% of the patients underwent the surgery at the end of the study.(40, LOE:1B)

In an study entitled ‘Effectiveness of conservative treatments for the lumbosacral radicular syndrome: a systematic review’ (12, LOE:1A), 30 trials were included to evaluate the effects of injections, traction, physical therapy and manipulation as treatment for the lumbosacral radicular syndrome. They have come to the following conclusions:

• At short term there is no evidence in favour of traction when compared to sham (fake) traction or other conservative treatments. (38, LOE:1A)
• At short term there is no evidence in favour of physical therapy compared to inactive treatment (bedrest), other conservative treatments or surgery. (41, LOE: 1B)
• At short term there is no evidence in favour of manipulation compared to other conservative treatments or chemonucleolysis. (42, LOE:1B)
  
  

Physical Therapy Management

The more treatable condition of lumbar radiculopathy, however, arises when extruded disc material contacts, or exerts pressure, on the thecal sac or lumbar nerve roots.

The literature support both conservative management and surgical intervention as viable options for the treatment of radiculopathy caused by lumbar disc herniation. Surgical intervention may result in faster relief of symptoms and earlier return to function, although long-term results appear to be similar regardless of type of management. The ultimate decision regarding type of treatment should be bases on a surgeon-patient discussion, in light of proper surgical indications, duration of symptoms, and patient wishes.

Physical therapy can include mild stretching and pain relief modalities, such as ultrasound, whirlpool, ice and heat pack therapy, electrical stimulation, and/or massage  ,active stabilisation, lasertherapy, conditioning exercise and ergonomic program ,
Positional distraction: It can isolate the spinal level to maximally open the effected neuroforamen. The combination of lateral flexion (away from the targeted neuroforamen), lumbar flexion (flexed hips to induce forward bending at targeted segment) and lumbar rotation (patient’s bottom arm is pulled upward) can maximally open a targeted neuroforamen. The intervention is effective when the patient report relief of leg pain shortly after placement in the position. It can be performed in the clinic and at home.

Recent Related Research (from Pubmed)

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