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Abstract

Background: Lumbar disc herniation is one of the commonest causes of low back pain. The magnetic resonance imaging is a gold standard non-invasive investigation for viewing lumbar anatomy in detail. Aim of the Study: To evaluate the effects of body mass index on the presence, extent and severity of lumbar disc bulging and herniation as well as to determine the relationship between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging has proven lumbar disc bulging and herniation. Patients and Methods: A crosssectional study conducted on 100 patients with lumbar disc bulging and herniation proved by MRI were included. Results: The correlation between body mass index and the total disc bulge/extrusion score was statistically significant. There was a significant association between neurological deficit and body mass index as well as between straight leg raising test, femoral stretch test, neurological deficit, and the waist to hip ratio. On the other hand, there was no significant association between clinical features and nerve root compression for patients with both normal body mass index as well as overweight and obese ones, although the frequency of patients with positive clinical findings was higher in patients with nerve root compression but the difference did not reach the significant level (P-value >0.05). Conclusion: There is an increase in the likelihood of having a lumbar disc herniation and its global severity in overweight and obese patients. The type of disc displacement associated poorly with clinical signs and symptoms as well as with obesity. INTRODUCTION: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) affects a large number of patients annually. It has been reported that intervertebral disc disorders represent the largest specific diagnosis among patients with spinal pathologies 1 .