Lumbar disc herniation

For a lay person:

A herniated (slipped) disc in the lower back is when the soft centre of a spinal disc pushes out and presses on a nerve. It causes back pain and pain shooting down the leg (sciatica).

For a trained medical person:

Herniation of nucleus pulposus causing lumbosacral radiculopathy, most often at L4–5 and L5–S1. Most cases improve with conservative care; MRI and surgery are for red flags, progressive deficit or refractory pain.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Cold damp bi; Wind damp bi; Heat Bi; Kidney Yin Deficiency; Kidney Yang Deficiency; Qi and Blood Stagnation. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get emergency care for numbness around the groin or buttocks, loss of bladder or bowel control, or rapidly worsening leg weakness.