Conditions by region
Lower Back (Lumbar) Conditions
The lumbar spine is the five vertebrae of the lower back. It carries most of your body weight and does most of your bending, so this is where wear, disc herniation and nerve compression show up most often. Sciatica almost always starts here.
15 guides in this section.
Lower Back (Lumbar) condition guides
Adult Degenerative Scoliosis
A spinal curve that develops in a previously straight spine from asymmetric disc and joint degeneration, producing low back pain, leg pain, and neurogenic claudication.
Cauda Equina Syndrome
A spinal emergency caused by compression of the lumbar and sacral nerve roots, producing leg weakness, saddle numbness, and loss of bladder or bowel control that can become permanent without immediate treatment.
Degenerative Spondylolisthesis
A condition in which one lumbar vertebra slips forward on the one below due to age-related wear, narrowing the spinal canal and causing back pain and leg symptoms.
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
A condition in which chronic or recurrent back and/or leg pain continues or develops after one or more spinal operations intended to relieve that pain.
Flatback Syndrome
A loss of the lower back's normal inward curve that causes a stooped posture, a sensation of falling forward, and persistent low-back and leg pain.
Isthmic Spondylolisthesis
A forward slip of one lumbar vertebra onto the one below, caused by a stress fracture in the small bony bridge at the back of the spine.
Lumbar Disc Herniation
When part of a disc in the lower back displaces and presses on a nerve root, causing sciatica: pain, numbness, or weakness down the leg.
Lumbar Foraminal Stenosis
A narrowing of the bony exit channel through which a lumbar nerve root leaves the spine, causing sharp, radiating leg pain, numbness, and sometimes weakness.
Lumbar Lateral Recess Stenosis
A focal narrowing of the subarticular zone of the lumbar spine that compresses a traversing nerve root, producing leg pain, numbness, and sometimes weakness along a specific dermatomal pattern.
Lumbar Motor Deficit
New or worsening leg or foot weakness, such as foot drop, caused by a compressed lumbar nerve root, and a signal that timely evaluation matters.
Lumbar Radiculopathy
A pinched or inflamed nerve root in the lower back that sends sharp, burning, or electric pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness down the leg.
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back that crowds the nerves, causing leg pain and heaviness with standing and walking that eases when you sit or lean forward.
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with Neurogenic Claudication
A degenerative narrowing of the lower spine's spinal canal that causes leg pain, heaviness, and cramping when standing or walking: symptoms that ease when you sit or lean forward.
Mechanical Low Back Pain
The most common type of low back pain: aching or stiffness confined to the lower back, without leg pain, that usually improves on its own with time and activity.
Post-Laminectomy Syndrome
Persistent or recurrent pain in the back or a limb that continues after one or more spinal operations, arising from a combination of scar tissue, incomplete decompression, and neuropathic processes.
This article is general education, not medical advice. It cannot account for your history, imaging, or examination — talk to a qualified clinician about your own care.