Complications

While it can be painful, a herniated disk isn't typically a medical emergency. Rarely, disk herniation can cause cauda equina syndrome, which is the compression of spinal nerve roots. Relieving the pressure that causes cauda equina syndrome often requires emergency surgery, because it can cause permanent paralysis if it's not corrected. The following signs and symptoms, which suggest cauda equina syndrome, warrant a trip to the emergency room:

• Significant or increasing pain, numbness or weakness spreading to one or both legs
• Bladder or bowel dysfunction, including incontinence or difficulty urinating even with a full bladder
• Progressive loss of sensation in areas that would touch a saddle (inner thighs, back of legs and area around the rectum)
• Loss of movement

2006-12-20

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