Lyme disease is quite a problem -- especially in the (entire) northeast. Its many symptoms can be cardiovascular, neurological, myalgic and arthritic.
I found several articles that relate back pain to the naughty little bug – the Borrellia spirochete – that can tunnel into all parts of the body. It’s a very sophisticated bug that can change forms and elude the immune system as well as most diagnostic tests.
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Meningoradiculoneuritis mimicking vertebral disc herniation. A "neurosurgical" complication of Lyme-borreliosis.
Meier C, Reulen HJ, Huber P, Mumenthaler M.
University Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland.
We report on 3 patients with meningoradiculoneuritis (MRN) due to Lyme-borreliosis (LB), which presented clinically as vertebral disc herniation. In 2 cases the underlying infection was discovered only after unsuccessful neurosurgical treatment. In the differential diagnosis between MRN and disc herniation the following criteria are suggestive of MRN and should raise suspicion of a non-discogenic aetiology: History of tick bite or erythema chronicum migrans, fever or general malaise, mono- or oligoradiculopathy with absent or insignificant lumbar pain and complaints of a burning character of the radiating pain. In suspicious cases we recommend blood investigations including antibody determination against borrelia burgdorferi and CSF investigations including cell count and cytology, protein and glucose determination, nephelometry and isoelectric focusing to exclude MRN and other conditions that may mimic disc herniation.
Joint Bone Spine. 2004 Sep;71(5):433-7. Related Articles, Links
Sciatica, disk herniation, and neuroborreliosis. A report of four cases.
Dupeyron A, Lecocq J, Jaulhac B, Isner-Horobeti ME, Vautravers P, Cohen-Solal J, Sordet C, Kuntz JL.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Strasbourg Teaching Hospitals, Avenue Moliere, 67098 Strasbourg cedex, France.
arnaud.dupeyron@chru-strasbourg.fr
We report four cases of sciatica in patients with same-level disk herniation confirmed by computed tomography and a final diagnosis of acute radiculitis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, with a favorable response to ceftriaxone therapy. The neurological manifestations of Lyme disease are protean, and a potential contribution of concomitant disk disease to sciatica can lead to diagnostic wanderings. Disk lesions and infectious conditions that can cause sciatica are discussed. Whether a favorable response to antibiotic therapy should be taken as proof of B. burgdorferi radiculitis deserves discussion. In practice, in a patient with clinical manifestations suggesting disk-related nerve root pain and residing or having traveled to an endemic area, B. burgdorferi infection should be looked for, as both etiologies can coexist.