The lumbar region of the human spine is a location that is very susceptible to injury and trauma. A majority of the population experience back pain at some time during their life, and although in most cases the pain subsides after a time of rest, there is an enormous need for treatment of this malady. The various types of treatment for lumbar disc herniations include a more conservative method of rest, physical therapy, and anti-inflammatory or non-steroidal drugs. A more extreme condition would require surgery to try to alleviate the symptoms. The older, more traditional surgery is a posterior laminotomy, however, newer less invasive microscopic and endoscopic surgeries been implemented to increase success and recovery time as well. Although most of these operations are performed on the posterior, anterior surgeries are also performed, depending upon the nature of the injury. While these surgeries partially remove disc material affecting the spinal cord, another type of surgery is used to remove the disc entirely and replace it with prosthetics. Still, there are alternative treatments including chiropractic care, acupuncture, and physical therapy that are increasing in popularity. Due to the sensitivity and vulnerability of the spinal cord, the diagnosis and treatments have a moderate risk of failure, and force a patient to explore numerous options to relieve pain. IntroductionThe vertebral column is composed of seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral, and four coccygeal vertebrae. The lumbar vertebrae are numbered from one through five starting with the highest vertebrae, and preceded by the letter L. (i.e. the lowest vertebral body will be represented as L-5) Between the vertebrae of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions are invertebral discs that serve as shock absorbers that allow the everyday movements of the spine. Discs themselves are represen...
