My spine hurts a lot, I wanted to ask – what is a hernia on my spine.
What tests should I do to find out what is causing my pain. Is x-ray sufficient?
The spine is made of vertebrae and intervertebral discs called discs. The disc is made up of a gelatinous pulp nucleus in the center and a fibrous ring on the outside. The intervertebral disc has a shock-absorbing function and allows the spine to move.
As a result of repeated overloads or violent trauma, the fibrous ring may be damaged, which is unable to keep the nucleus pulposus within its limits and it may dislocate (bulge). This creates a hernia that can compress the nearby nerve root. As a result of such pressure, the patient is exposed to severe pain, muscle weakness and sensation.
X-ray image is not a detailed examination. In the image, we can see only the bony parts of the spine (without the intervertebral discs). X-ray can only analyze whether there are changes in the height of the disc. The best test that shows the condition of our disks is Magnetic Resonance. It allows to assess whether there are hernias of the intervertebral disc in the spine, how large the changes are and to what extent they put pressure on the nerve structures.
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