Lumbar spine

In the lumbar spine, serious bone or cord injuries are much less common than in the neck, but disc injuries and sprains of the small joints between vertebrae still occur. Lumbar spine injuries have been suggested as more common in training situations.

As with in the cervical spine, a motion that involves moving the head backwards or forwards with a twisting action may injure a disc, causing it to bulge outwards (prolapse) and press on nerves running into the legs, producing shooting pains down the leg.

If a disc centrally prolapses (pushes backwards) this may cause compression on the spinal cord, resulting in pain down both legs, loss of sensation between the legs and loss of bladder and bowel control. This is known as Cauda Equina.