Chapter 90 - Disorders of Nerve Roots Caused by Bony and Disk Diseases

Abstract

This chapter discusses the disorders of nerve roots caused by bony and disk diseases. The anterior motor roots and the posterior sensory roots are components of the peripheral nervous system that are located within the spinal canal. Damage to these nerve roots may result from degenerative, traumatic, neoplastic, infectious, and vertebral disorders. The topographical relationship of nerve roots with vertebral bodies, intervertebral disks, and spinal joints leads to vulnerability of nerve roots to lesions caused by movement, especially when degenerative changes occurring in the spinal column, such as spondylosis, spondylarthrosis, and intervertebral disk protrusion, reduce the available space for movement of these nerve roots. The lower cervical and lumbar segments, particularly the lumbosacral transitional region, are especially vulnerable to radicular compression syndromes, probably as a result of their comparably high mobility and their vulnerability to static strains. Severe root damage from spinal instability usually causes a lasting functional deficit, because reinnervation is generally relatively ineffective when there is a considerable distance between the nerve root and its target muscles, and the sensory receptors in muscle, tendon, and skin.