Quiet Discs Without Back Pain, 3 Reasons
Feb 22, 2025
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An office worker in his 30s was diagnosed with a herniated disc at a hospital due to numbness in his legs and weakness in his legs while living his daily life as usual. The herniated disc was in progress, but it was not recognized.
A herniated disc is a disease that causes pain by compressing the surrounding nerves as the disc (intervertebral disc) located between the vertebrae protrudes or ruptures. However, not all disc protrusions necessarily cause pain. Even if the disk protrudes close to the nerve, it may progress to a pain-free state if the pressure intensity is weak, or if the pressure area is not a nerve that feels pain.
We point to three main reasons for this 'quiet disk'. First, the disk does not touch the nerve and only presses the surrounding tissue. In this case, back pain is not felt, but when the disk progresses, neurological symptoms such as numbness in the legs and muscle weakness may appear. Second, the nerves have adapted as the disk slowly protrudes. When a nerve is suddenly stimulated, it feels pain, but when pressure is applied slowly, the pain signal can be perceived weakly. Finally, it is the case that the pain of other body parts is prioritized and the symptoms of the lumbar disc are obscured. For example, if leg pain is severe, back discomfort may not be properly recognized.
Choi Sang-soo, director of Gangnam Nanuri Hospital's Spine Center, said "It is difficult for patients to notice discs without back pain on their own."If you experience numbness or weakness in your legs, you should suspect a back problem."
If the disc is left unattended because it is painless, it will eventually strongly stimulate the surrounding nerve tissue. As a result, numbness and radiating pain in the legs become more severe, and muscle weakness appears. Lower extremity radiating pain is a pain that occurs when the sciatic nerve from the waist to the legs is under pressure, and the numbness and aches continue along the hips, thighs, and calves. In particular, if numbness is caused even by small shocks such as coughing and sneezing when sitting for a long time, nerve compression may have progressed considerably.
In the early stages of 'quiet disc', non-surgical treatments such as physical therapy, manual therapy, drug therapy, and neuroinjection therapy can alleviate symptoms. However, surgical treatment should be considered if numbness in the legs, muscle weakness, and sensory decline persist, or if non-surgical treatment does not improve.
In recent years, bilateral spinal endoscopy, which has a smaller incision and faster recovery than conventional incisional surgery, has attracted attention. Two-way spinal endoscopy is a spinal surgery method that removes disks by inserting endoscopic cameras and surgical tools at the same time through two different small holes. An endoscopic camera is inserted into one hole to observe the surgical site in real time, and a laser or micro-cutting tool is inserted through the other hole to remove the disk. It is characterized by being able to operate precisely while securing visibility through two holes.
Chief Choi Sang-soo advised, "Bilateral spinal endoscopy has the advantage of reducing muscle damage and shortening the recovery period in a minimally invasive manner.". "However, since it is not an equally applied surgical method for all patients, it is important to accurately grasp individual symptoms and conditions and then determine the treatment direction through consultation with a specialist.".
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
