With a lower back (lumbar) herniated disc that’s causing leg pain, it’s generally advisable that patients try 6–12 weeks of conservative (non-surgical) treatment. When conservative treatments aren’t providing significant relief after several weeks or months, surgery usually becomes an option. One surgical option is lumbar disc replacement.
Treatment
Displacement, Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Without Myelopathy Displacement of a lumbar disc refers to protrusion or herniation of the nucleus pulposus, of the cushion-like disc resting between any two of the five lumbar vertebrae (vertebrae L1 through L5) in the lower spine.
ICD-10 code M51. 16 for Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, lumbar region is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Dorsopathies .
ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code K42 K42.
M51. 26 Other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbar region - ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes.
Herniation of the nucleus pulposus (HNP) occurs when the nucleus pulposus (gel-like substance) breaks through the anulus fibrosus (tire-like structure) of an intervertebral disc (spinal shock absorber).
Displacement, Cervical Intervertebral Disc Without Myelopathy. Displacement of a cervical intervertebral disc refers to protrusion or herniation of the disc between two adjacent bones (vertebrae) of the cervical spine in the neck (vertebrae C2 through C7).
"A bulging disc is like letting air out of a car tire. The disc sags and looks like it is bulging outward. With a herniated disc, the outer covering of the disc has a hole or tear. This causes the nucleus pulposus (jelly-like center of the disc) to leak into the spinal canal."
A disc herniation is displacement of disc material beyond the normal confines of the disc space. The terms disc protrusion, disc bulge, disc herniation, ruptured disc, and slipped disc all mean the same thing and imply that disc material has left the normal disc space.
16 Intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy, lumbar region.
M51. 36 Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region - ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes.
M17. 11 Unilateral primary osteoarthritis, right knee - ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes.
ICD-10 code G89. 29 for Other chronic pain is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Diseases of the nervous system .
Code is only used for patients 15 years old or older. M51.26 is a billable ICD code used to specify a diagnosis of other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbar region.
Spinal disc herniation, also known as a slipped disc, is a medical condition affecting the spine in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion to bulge out beyond the damaged outer rings. Disc herniation is usually due to age-related degeneration of the anulus fibrosus, although trauma, lifting injuries, or straining have been implicated. Tears are almost always postero-lateral in nature owing to the presence of the posterior longitudinal ligament in the spinal canal. This tear in the disc ring may result in the release of inflammatory chemical mediators, which may directly cause severe pain, even in the absence of nerve root compression.
Myelopathy means that there is some sort of neurologic deficit to the spinal cord, whereas radiculopathy means that there is a deficit to nerve roots. Don’t code radiculitis (M54.1-) separately if you use thefourth character of “1” with radiculopathy for the disc disorders (M50.1- or M51.1-). It is already included in the code.
Though it is not specifically mentioned, “thoracolumbar” likely only includes T12-L1, and “lumbosacral” probably only refers to the L5-S1 interspace. There is a strange rule for cervical disc disorders indicating that you should code to the most superior level of the disorder.
It is already included in the code. Likewise, don’t code sciatica (M54.3-) if you code for lumbar disc with radiculopathy. It would be redundant. On a side note, lumbar radiculopathy (M54.16) might be used if pain is not yet known to be due a disc, but it radiates from the lumbar spine.