Lumbar Spine Injury Essay

As our population becomes more and more active throughout the years, the number of adults and adolescents who are regularly involved in physical activity, whether for recreational or competitive purposes, have increased substantially. The many different types of physical activities that the physically active people participate in are so numerous that many different types of conditions and injuries have become more acknowledged throughout the last few decades. One of these injuries that have become more common in physically active people, especially athletes, are lumbar spine injuries. There are various types of lumbar spine injuries. Bruising, overstretching, or tearing of the muscles that are around the spinal cord are very common but not
too serious when it comes to the effects they have on future participation of athletes in their respective sports or activities. However, there are some lumbar spine injuries that may become threatening to the athletes’ overall health and even their careers as competitive athletes. Examples of the more severe lumbar spine injuries include herniated disks, spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis, and minor fractures on the vertebrae. However, proper treatment and rehabilitation designed for these lumbar spine injuries can help the injured athletes with returning to the field. Herniated disks refer to the condition where there is a problem with the rubbery disk that helps reduces stress and friction between the vertebrae that make up the spine.
This problem is when the disk becomes weak or is exposed to stress and other factors that an opening or crack appears on the side of the disk. The jelly-like liquid within the herniated disk then leaks out of the disk and causes nerve irritation, leading to pain and numbness in the arms or legs depending on where the herniated disc occurred in the spine. Herniated disks usually occur during activities like weight training that put a lot of weight and pressure on the spine. Another common mechanism of how herniated disks occur is during a turning or pivotal movement. For some other athletes, herniated disks may occur due to the accumulation of many smaller injuries that eventually lead to this injury. Signs and symptoms of herniated discs vary depending on where on the spine the herniation occurred and how prone the athlete has become to the injury due to his or her history and past injuries that may have affected the vertebrae. Some athletes show no signs or symptoms of herniated disks if the disk was the only tissue that was damaged while others show signs of severe neck and lower back pain due to the fact that the surrounding nerves are being impinged by the jelly-like material that came out of the
disks.