There are several types of spinal cord injuries that can affect the lumbar spine:

Sacralization

Where lumbarization is the presence of an extra bone in the lumbar spinal column due to the failure of the first and second sacral spine to fuse, sacralization is the fusing of the L5 vertebra with the sacral spine.

This condition frequently has no noticeable symptoms. In fact, people can live their whole lives without realizing that they have sacralization of their L5 vertebra. When symptoms do occur, they often include arthritis, reduced range of motion (because of the fused bone), and/or pain in the legs or buttocks.

Generally speaking, sacralization is very mild. But, it can exacerbate other spinal cord injury types.

Cysts

Some spinal injuries can cause cysts to develop inside the spinal column. These fluid-filled sacs can put pressure on spinal nerves—causing pain, loss of sensation, or loss of function at the injury site.

Hopkinsmedicine.org notes that the “joints in the lumbar region” of the spine are particularly susceptible to developing spinal cysts. These cysts are most frequently caused by repetitive motion stress injuries (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome). Such cysts can be identified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, but most doctors will probably start with an X-ray to rule out other conditions, such as spinal fractures.

Fractures

When the vertebrae protecting the spinal cord and spinal nerves are fractured or dislocated, bone shards can damage or pinch the spinal nerves/cord. These fractures are most often the result of traumatic force—such as falls, gunshots, or physical blows—being applied to the spine.

Fractures carry a high risk of causing complete spinal cord injuries—preventing any signals from the central nervous system from reaching below the injury site. As such, all fractures should be handled with extreme caution to prevent a lumbar SCI from worsening.