Buttock pain in lumbar disc herniation: clinical characteristics, risk factors, and surgical outcomes

J Neurosurg Spine 42:572–578, 2025

The study investigates buttock pain in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), identifying it as a common, independent symptom. It found that buttock pain is associated with contained herniation and an intact annulus fibrosus, and can be effectively treated with endoscopic discectomy.

Buttock pain is common in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), particularly in the L3–S1 segments, and is often independent of back and leg pain.

• The study examined 321 patients with single-level LDH who underwent endoscopic discectomy, finding that 75.4% experienced buttock pain.

Buttock pain is more prevalent in patients with contained LDH and an intact annulus fibrosus.

Endoscopic discectomy is effective in treating buttock pain, with significant improvements observed shortly after surgery and at the 1-year follow-up.

• The occurrence of buttock pain is not associated with age, sex, or specific spinal levels, indicating it as an independent symptom.

• The study suggests that altered intradiscal pressure may be a pathogenic factor for buttock pain in contained LDH.

Residual buttock pain was more likely in L3–4 LDH, though the sample size for this segment was limited.