Spinal Infection

In most cas­es, spinal infec­tion is caused when an ill­ness or infec­tion some­where in the body is car­ried to a disc in the spinal col­umn. Even when the ill­ness has passed, the infec­tion stays in the disc and spreads to the ver­te­bral bones, caus­ing pain and defor­mi­ty. Bac­te­ria from an infec­tion trav­els through the blood­stream and into a ver­te­bral disc. Once infect­ed, the soft nucle­us cen­ter and the fibrous annu­la wall weak­en, decay and col­lapse. This caus­es the disc space to close, squeez­ing down on the nerve root and caus­ing pain.

In a decay­ing domi­no effect, the infec­tion spreads to the ver­te­bral bod­ies above and below the disc. The bones, weak­ened by the infec­tion, crum­ble under the weight of the human body. The deformed spinal col­umn push­es into the spinal cord, caus­ing many func­tions of the body to become impaired. Over time, the deformed ver­te­brae heal and fuse. This fur­ther press­es on the nerve roots, caus­ing con­tin­u­ous pain.