Contralateral vs Bilateral – What’s the difference?

Lower back pain is a common problem, especially as you get older. It can also be caused by many things, including disc degeneration (also known as disc bulge or disc herniation). But what is the difference between bilateral and contralateral? And what causes lower back pain?

Bilateral

In the context of lower back pain, bilateral means that the pain spreads to both sides of your lower back. It’s also called “symptoms on both sides” or “pain on both sides.”

Bilateral lower back pain is most common among people with chronic lower back problems who have been diagnosed with a herniated disc in their spine (also known as a slipped disc). The most common cause of bilateral lower back pain is muscle strain or inflammation from working out too hard at the gym or doing too much heavy lifting at work.

Contralateral

Contralateral means the opposite side of the body. For example, if your right arm is being tested, then its contralateral partner (or “opposite”) would be your left arm.

The best way to think of it is like this: when we say “contralateral,” we’re talking about two sides being compared against each other; so if you were testing someone’s right hand and asking them to compare it with their left hand (which would mean testing both hands), then those two hands would be considered contralaterally related because they belong on opposite sides of their bodies.

Things that can cause lower back pain

Back pain is a common complaint, with more than 80% of the population experiencing lower back pain at some point in their lives. It’s often caused by one or more of the following:

• Disc herniation – When your spine is compressed, it can cause pressure on a nerve root and result in pain. This can occur from trauma or degeneration (wear and tear).
• Disc bulge – This occurs when there’s too much pressure placed on your disc, which causes it to bulge outwards into surrounding tissues like muscles and ligaments. The result is inflammation that may radiate down into nearby nerves as well as intense pain during movement or sitting still for long periods of time.
• Spinal stenosis – This condition happens when there are narrowed spaces around vertebrae due to degenerative changes in spinal joints over time; this makes it difficult for blood vessels carrying nutrients throughout our bodies access these areas effectively leading them become starved causing further damage within those regions which could lead towards nerve compression issues resulting in lower back pain symptoms such as tingling sensations down both legs extending until reaching toes depending on where exactly symptoms begin appearing first.

Lateral rotation of the pelvis

Lateral rotation of the pelvis refers to an outward rotation of one side of your pelvis compared to another.

The pelvis is made up of two bones: iliac crest (top) and sacrum (bottom). The ilium forms most of what we think of as our buttock, while the sacrum is located at the back of our hips where they meet with our legs. When you rotate your pelvis laterally, one side moves out while the other remains stationary or moves inwards towards center.

Disc degeneration (also known as disc bulge or disc herniation).

As you age, the discs that cushion your vertebrae begin to degenerate. This natural process is called disc degeneration. It can be caused by trauma or repetitive stress and may result in pain and sciatica (pain that radiates from the lower back down through one or both legs).

Disc surgery is performed when there’s a problem with one of these discs:

• A bulge has developed on the outer layer of an intervertebral disc (also known as a herniated disc). Bulges are common among people over 40 years old; they’re often not serious but may require surgery if they cause leg pain that lasts longer than six weeks or doesn’t respond well to conservative treatment options such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen

Lower back pain can be caused by many things.

The terms “bilateral” and “contralateral” are used to describe the side of the body that is affected by pain.

Bilateral pain is pain on both sides of the body. For example: if you have lower back pain on both sides of your lower back, then it’s considered bilateral lower back pain.

Contralateral refers to one side of the body compared with another side (ie: left arm vs right arm). It can also be used as an adjective for describing something that affects only one side at a time (ie: contralateral limb).

Lower back pain is a common condition, and it can be caused by many different things. The most common cause of lower back pain is injury or overuse of the muscles in this area. Other causes include arthritis, disc degeneration (also known as disc bulge or disc herniation), spinal stenosis and spinal cord tumors.