Is Every Lower Back and Neck Pain a Hernia?

Contrary to popular belief, severe hernias in the lower back and neck do not cause pain in these regions. If the hernias in these areas grow large enough to create nerve pressure, they cause complaints such as pain and numbness in the area where the nerve they press on goes. Therefore, the nerves coming out of the neck area go to the shoulder and arm, and the nerves coming out of the lower back go to the hip and leg. Hernias that press on the nerves in these areas cause problems in the shoulder-arm and hip-leg regions. Pain in the neck and lower back areas is mostly due to joint and muscle pain or a combination of these. What misleads us here is that when an MRI scan is performed on a patient who complains of neck or lower back pain, herniations are often seen at certain levels in almost everyone. However, the presence of herniation on an MRI does not indicate that the patient's complaints are due to the hernia. What is important here is to evaluate the patient in detail, find the real cause of the complaints, and treat them. In conclusion, not every neck or lower back pain is a hernia. When the cause of these pains is determined, effective treatment with manual therapy methods is possible.