Is the herniated disc causes low back pain and sciatica? Or, like osteoarthritis, is it not rather another consequence of creating back problems and sciatica, namely muscle spasm? Sore back and low back pain back pain is muscular in origin.

A focus on the most visible and quantifiable. What meets the eyes, forgetting that there may be something more subtle but much more important.

It was a herniated disk visible on an MRI, but we forget that it does not just happen. She must have some cause, not necessarily visible on this image. Cause we could however easily find by palpating the patient: muscle contracture. Or is it also causes pain.

Besides, if one wants to think about it. If one can accept that a herniated disc could possibly sometimes compress a nerve, causing sciatica pain. By what mechanism a herniated disc it could cause back pain? This assumption is quite fanciful.

And even in cases of sciatica the question remains: What caused this disc herniation?

Although sciatica and low back problem are often associated (this is called sciatica), to simplify the explanation we distinguish.

Back pain, the famous ‘bad back’, affects 5 to 10% of the population. An estimated 80% of people have suffered at one time or another. And10% of low back pain in sick are even after 6 months of evolution.

Low back pain account for nearly 10% of visits to general practitioners. 2nd place after … colds. And yet, it is estimated that three quarters of the patients do not consult. This condition is responsible for 7% of work stoppages, 8% of radiology procedures. 2-3% of drug prescriptions, 30% of physiotherapy requirements. It is the cause of 13% of disability.

Direct medical costs far exceed one billion Euros, and low back pain are the source of some 4 million lost workdays each year. These figures date back to 1990. We could not find any more recent French data. It is not unreasonable to estimate that these costs may have tripled see quintupled in 10 years, because, as we shall see, their increase is exponential.

It is estimated that most low pain lasting less than 3 months. The bulk of the cost is due to the 7% of chronic low back pain. What seems questionable, because in practice many expenses are incurred for acute low back pain Especially since they recur in half the time at least. sore lumbago sciatica and back pain and back are of muscular origin.