Lumbosacral Neuritis

What is Lumbosacral Neuritis?

This is one of your spinal nerves are inflamed. Your lower back, along with the sacrum, contains lumbar vertebrae. The spinal cord lies within these vertebrae and within your spinal cord is where you will find different spinal nerves.

Lumbosacral Neuritis Symptoms

When a person has lumbosacral neuritis they will be suffering from shooting pains down their leg along with pain in their lower back. They may also notice weakness of their muscles and some differences in the sensation of the skin on that particular leg. Sometimes the pain they are feeling can be debilitating and affect their quality of life. They may also notice that certain movements will exacerbate, or increase, the pain they are feeling.

Causes

There are several different reasons as to why a person might be suffering from lumbosacral neuritis. Basically it is an irritation or inflammation of the nerve fibers that lie within their spinal canal. The inflammation and/or irritation can be the result of an infection, compression from a small spinal tumor, or compression by a small bone spur. It can even be caused from a herniated lumbar disc that is applying direct compression of the nerves. It can also be caused by bulging lumbar discs that are leaking inflammatory substances into your nerves. There are also degenerative changes in your spinal nerves due to mechanical damage, high toxicity, or metabolic disturbances.

Another reason a person might be suffering from lumbosacral neuritis is chronic acidosis. This is when your blood and other fluids in your body become too acidic. You can also develop lumbosacral neuritis from a bad bruise on the nerve and over extending your joints.

Diagnosis

Many times your physician can make a diagnosis based on a physical examination and your medical history. There are some cases in which your physician cannot make a definite diagnosis so they will order an x-ray of your spine to see if there are any irregularities within the alignment of your spinal column. On an x-ray they can also see if there is any narrowing of the disc spaces, osteoporosis, tumors, bone spur formation, or fractures.

If the x-ray is still not giving your physician a clear picture to make an accurate diagnosis they may order a MRI or CT scan of your spine. They can also have nerve conduction studies done so they can determine which specific nerve fibers are involved.

Treatment

Once an accurate diagnosis has been made then the plan of treatment can be decided because the treatment used depends on the cause of your lumbosacral neuritis. If your lumbosacral neuritis is caused from diabetic neuropathy, which is damage to the nerves and is common in people with diabetes, they can benefit from taking multivitamin supplements and simple physical therapy. They also need to have a good control on their diabetes. If it is caused by a tumor you may need to have some type of surgery followed by radiotherapy.

The pain that is associated with lumbosacral neuritis can be managed with either a prescription pain medication or by taking over-the-counter pain medications. They may also have to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs). Sometimes the physician will opt to use steroid injections put directly into your spinal cord to help relieve the pain and inflammation almost immediately. It is very effective if it is combined with an injection of local anesthetic. Your physician may also suggest that you take vitamins B1, 2, 6, and 12 and you can see the effects of taking these particular vitamins within thirty minutes of taking them.

Home remedies

Although you can use home remedies for short term pain relief you need to see your physician to find out the underlying cause and have it treated.

• Drink one cup of soya-bean milk with a little honey added and drink it every night before bedtime
• In water boil a cup of barley. When it has cooled down add some buttermilk and drink it once a day
• Eat raw spinach and carrots for snack a couple of times a day
• Each week soak in a Epsom-salt bath in water as hot as you can stand
• Use a heating pad on the affected area
• Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water to keep your body hydrated
• Eat meals that are healthy and well balanced