A situation that is often overlooked is the cause of our back pain, lumbar slippage, lumbar stiffness, lumbar arthritis and herniated disc. There is a situation other than known causes such as heavy lifting, genetic predisposition, abnormal posture and sitting disorders, which can be held responsible for all our back problems. When you go to the doctor for any back problem, we will talk about a condition that is overlooked and not emphasized in many reports and examinations, although it is partially seen and reported in the MRIs taken to confirm the diagnosis. This condition is a congenital vertebra, that is, spinal malalignment, and is briefly defined as transitional vertebra. There is an abnormality in the joints connecting the spine to the hip, and it appears as sacralization or lumbalization.
You may have come across many people who say, "The doctor told me you have an extra vertebra in your waist." This problem is the abnormal fusion that occurs at the point where the spine at the bottom of the waist meets the hip while the spine develops in the womb before birth. Studies conducted on patients who went to a doctor due to low back pain have shown that this problem exists in 30 to 45% of the patients.
How can it be understood if a patient has a transitional vertebra?
It may be a situation that is never noticed in normal life. The complaints of patients with such problems generally appear in the form of lower back pain and stiffness after the age of 25-30. Although the problem may begin to manifest itself after lifting something heavy, pregnancy, or an accident, complaints may begin without any reason, even just with stress. Physical and anatomical disorders can be detected by performing examinations such as MRI and Tomography. Every patient with a back problem should keep this situation in mind.
Dangers awaiting patients with transitional vertebrae?
First of all, the discs between the neighboring vertebrae, which are located just above the anatomical disorder, which we call the adjacent segment, degenerate and their structures deteriorate and crack. and may cause hernias. Additionally, a mechanical imbalance occurs in the waist. This is why most disc disorders and herniations occur. Another problem is normally the small joints in the waist, which are the clamps that help us with movements such as bending and standing, turning sideways. is the corruption of . The phenomenon we call calcification begins to occur early. The patient experiences pain when bending over, sitting up, or turning over in bed, and frequently suffers from painful problems such as stiffness of the waist. This mechanical deterioration in the waist sometimes causes the vertebrae to slide over each other. When it is excessive, the inability to walk, pain and numbness radiating to the hips and feet become a headache.
Those with transitional vertebrae must do light exercises that strengthen their lumbar muscles and activities such as swimming throughout their lives. This transition vertebra in the waist can have many different appearances and can be unilateral or bilateral. The entire bundle of problems caused by the transitional vertebra is called Bertolotti syndrome.
We wish you pain-free days.
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