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I found out I have a small bone spur pressing on my L5 spinal nerve. So far, I just have a few twinges of back pain, nothing serious. What can I expect to happen if this gets worse?

Many people have progressive degenerative changes in the spine that never cause them any problems. So there's no guarantee that even if your condition gets worse that your symptoms will get worse. But if they do, the typical progression of symptoms is low back pain along with buttock, thigh, and calf discomfort. Most patients describe this discomfort as aching, burning, and/or cramping. Numbness and tingling may occur in the calf and foot. When the L5S1 nerve root is pinched, pressed, or inflamed, there can be some motor involvement, too. This means the motor nerve to the muscle is affected. Muscle weakness and atrophy can develop over time. A partial footdrop can even develop. Most of the time, the symptoms are worse with spinal extension. This makes standing up straight and walking difficult. Bending over or flexing at the hips seems to help with the painful symptoms but can cause other problems to develop. Get help before you get to this point. A six-to-eight week program of conservative care can make a difference. Antiinflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and even an epidural steroid injection can offer significant pain relief and put off surgery. But if these measures aren't successful in alleviating the pain, then decompressive surgery may be needed.

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