ArticleBMJ open2022
Symptom descriptors and patterns in lumbar radicular pain caused by disc herniation: a 1-year longitudinal cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic sciatica from herniated disks: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy and safety of endoscopic surgery combined with platelet-rich plasma for lumbar disk herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial evaluating a care pathway incorporating ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma injection plus physiotherapy versus physiotherapy alone in patients with L5/S1 lumbar disc herniation.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2026Article
- Physical activity barriers and facilitators in patients awaiting spine surgery: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Safety ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Letter to the Editor concerning "The effect of symptom duration on the outcomes of lumbar discectomy for radicular pain secondary to lumbar disc herniation: A systematic review and meta-analysis" by Low WX, et al. (Eur Spine J. 2025; doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-08912-y).European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections for Chronic Spinal Pain: A Clinical Review of Efficacy and Evidence.Cureus · 2025Review
- Cost and outcome comparison between intradiscal condoliase injection and surgical treatment for lumbar disc herniation based on real-world data analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Genetics- and age-driven neuroimmune and disc changes underscore herniation susceptibility and pain-associated behaviors in SM/J mice.Science advances · 2025Article
- The effcet of annulus fibrosus suture combined with percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy on obese patients with lumbar disc herniation.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Network Analysis of Contemporaneous Symptoms and Identification of Core Symptoms in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Prevalence of weakness and factors mediating discrepancy between reported and observed leg weakness in people with sciatica.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024Article
- Percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal vs. interlaminar discectomy for L5-S1 lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective propensity score matching study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
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3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe objective of the present study was to explore the diversity, quality, severity and distribution of symptoms in patients with radicular pain and a lumbar disc herniation.
designLongitudinal cohort study.
settingHospital-based back clinic.
participantsNinety patients referred to secondary healthcare with (a) low back-related leg pain, (b) age between 18 and 65 years and (c) MRI confirmed lumbar disc herniation at a relevant side and level. OUTCOME MEASURES: Neuropathic pain symptoms were assessed using the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 (SF-MPQ-2) and the painDETECT Questionnaire. In a subsample classified with neuropathic pain, in-depth interviews were performed, and symptomatic areas were drawn on standardised body charts.
resultsAt baseline, the most frequently used painDETECT symptom descriptor was numbness sensation, reported by 94%, followed by sudden pain attacks and tingling or prickling. The mean (SD) SF-MPQ-2 score (0-10) for aching pain was 5.9 (2.8); numbness 4.3 (3.3); tingling 4.0 (3.4); burning 2.6 (3.1); pain caused by light touch 1.5 (2.6). Leg pain was rated as extremely bothersome by 73%, numbness and tingling by 38%, weakness by 24% and back pain by 17%. In the subsample (n=52), deep-lying pain and non-painful abnormal sensations were frequent, at 71% and 85%. Drawings demonstrated substantial overlap between symptoms from compromised L5 and the S1 nerve roots. Painful and non-painful symptoms improved at approximately the same rate. At the 1-year follow-up, 45% (14/31) of patients who had received disc surgery, and 34% (18/53) of those who had received conservative treatment reported no bothersome back pain, leg pain, numbness/tingling or weakness.
conclusionPatients reported several highly bothersome symptoms, but not all are described as painful. The overall symptom profile of lumbar disc-related radicular pain differs from other neuropathic pain conditions with limited allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Symptomatic areas for the L5 and S1 nerve roots have a large overlap.
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