Plain definitions of 37 terms we use on the job in McDonough.
Term Index
Open any term below for a dedicated definition page.
Allodynia is a pain response to contact or pressure that normally should not hurt. Light touch, brushing hair, or resting on a pillow may feel painful. The symptom often involves increased nerve sensitivity and can occur with headache disorders, nerve conditions, or changes in how the nervous system processes signals.
Also called: Pain from light touch
An Annular Tear is a split or crack in the annulus, the tough outer ring of a spinal disc. The annulus surrounds the softer disc center and helps contain it. A tear may occur in the neck or lower back and can appear with disc wear, injury, or nearby pain symptoms.
Also called: Annular fissure
Arachnoiditis is a painful inflammatory condition affecting the arachnoid, a thin membrane around the spinal cord and nerve roots. In some cases, inflammation causes nearby nerve roots to stick together or become irritated. Symptoms may include burning pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, or changes in bowel and bladder function.
Axial Pain is discomfort centered in the spine or nearby tissues, such as discs, facet joints, muscles, or ligaments. The pain usually stays near the neck or back and does not follow a nerve path into an arm or leg. Common causes include strain, joint changes, disc problems, and spinal injury.
Also called: Spinal pain
Cauda Equina Syndrome is a serious condition caused by pressure on the bundle of nerves below the spinal cord. This pressure can affect bladder or bowel control, leg strength, sensation, and sexual function. The condition often develops from a large disc injury, spinal narrowing, bleeding, infection, or another space-occupying problem.
Central Sensitization is a change in how the brain and spinal cord process pain signals. The nervous system becomes more responsive, so signals that once felt mild may feel painful or last longer. This process can help explain widespread pain, tenderness, and symptoms that continue after an injury heals.
Also called: Central sensitivity syndrome
Cervical Radiculopathy is a condition that develops when a nerve root in the neck becomes irritated or compressed. The irritation can send pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness into the shoulder, arm, or hand. Symptoms often follow the path of the affected nerve, which helps distinguish this condition from general neck pain.
Also called: Pinched nerve in the neck
Chronic Pain is ongoing or recurring pain that continues beyond expected healing or returns over time. The pain may come from an injury, illness, nerve problem, or changes in the body. It can affect sleep, movement, mood, and daily tasks. Its pattern and cause help guide assessment and treatment.
Also called: Persistent pain
Dermatome is a skin area linked to sensory fibers from a single spinal nerve root. Doctors use dermatome maps to compare pain, tingling, numbness, or altered feeling with possible nerve irritation. The pattern can help show whether symptoms may involve the neck, mid-back, or lower back and guide a focused spine evaluation.
A Diagnostic Nerve Block is an injection used to test whether a specific nerve or nerve branch sends pain signals from a suspected source. A clinician places numbing medicine near the target nerve and checks for a temporary change in pain. The response helps guide diagnosis and future treatment planning.
Also called: Diagnostic block
Disc Degeneration is a gradual change in the spinal discs that reduces their water content and flexibility. Spinal discs cushion the bones of the spine and help the back move. As discs change, nearby joints, nerves, or tissues may become painful or irritated, although disc changes do not always cause symptoms.
Also called: Degenerative disc disease
Dorsal Root Ganglion is a small cluster of nerve cell bodies beside the spinal cord. Each ganglion connects sensory nerves from a specific body region to the spinal cord. These nerve cells help carry pain, touch, temperature, and other sensations. Doctors may target a ganglion when pain follows a clear nerve pathway.
Also called: DRG
Electromyography is a diagnostic test that records the electrical activity of muscles and the nerves that control them. A clinician uses a fine needle electrode to measure muscle signals during rest and movement. The results can help show whether weakness, numbness, or pain may involve muscle tissue, peripheral nerves, or nerve roots.
Also called: EMG
Epidural Fibrosis is scar tissue that forms in the epidural space after spinal surgery, injury, or inflammation. The scar tissue may surround nerve roots and contribute to ongoing back or leg pain. Imaging can show changes, but the finding alone does not prove that scar tissue causes every symptom.
Also called: Epidural scarring
An epidural space is a narrow area inside the spinal canal that surrounds the outer covering of the spinal cord and nerve roots. The space contains fat, blood vessels, and connective tissue. Doctors may place medication there to reduce inflammation and pain near irritated spinal nerves.
Facet Arthropathy is a degenerative condition affecting the small joints that connect the bones in the spine. These facet joints help guide spinal movement, but cartilage wear and joint changes can cause local back or neck pain and stiffness. Symptoms may worsen with extension, rotation, standing, or other movements that load the joint.
Also called: Facet joint arthritis
Fluoroscopy is an imaging method that uses continuous X-ray views to show movement inside the body on a monitor. A clinician can watch bones, joints, or injected contrast material in real time. The live images help guide certain procedures and help show how body structures move during an examination.
Also called: X-ray guidance
Foraminal Stenosis is narrowing of the openings between spinal bones where nerve roots leave the spinal canal. The reduced space can press on a nerve and cause pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness along that nerve’s path. Foraminal stenosis may affect the neck or lower back and can result from disc changes, bone growth, or other spine changes.
Also called: Narrowed nerve opening
Joint Aspiration is a medical procedure that removes fluid from inside a swollen or painful joint with a needle. A clinician may send the fluid for testing or remove it to reduce pressure. The procedure can help identify the cause of joint swelling and guide treatment, including a later joint injection.
Also called: Arthrocentesis
Knee Osteoarthritis is a joint condition that develops as knee cartilage wears down and the joint changes. The condition can cause pain, stiffness, swelling, and reduced movement. Symptoms may worsen with walking, stairs, standing, or other activities that load the knee. Doctors consider symptoms, a physical exam, and imaging when assessing it.
Also called: Knee arthritis
Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive spine procedure that treats some painful vertebral compression fractures. A doctor guides a small instrument into the collapsed vertebra, creates space with a balloon, and fills the space with bone cement. The cement supports the bone and may help reduce fracture-related pain and spinal deformity.
Also called: Vertebral augmentation
Lumbar Radiculopathy is a nerve-related condition in the lower back that affects a nerve root near the spine. Irritation or pressure may send pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness into the buttock and leg. A herniated disc, spinal narrowing, or other changes near the nerve can contribute to these symptoms.
Also called: Pinched nerve in the lower back
Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a medical imaging method that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed pictures inside the body. MRI images can show soft tissues, discs, nerves, joints, and the spinal cord. Doctors use these pictures to assess possible causes of pain, injury, or reduced movement.
Also called: MRI
A Nerve Conduction Study is a diagnostic test that checks how well electrical signals travel through peripheral nerves. Small surface electrodes record the speed and strength of these signals after gentle electrical stimulation. The results can help identify nerve damage, compression, or reduced function linked to symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or weakness.
Also called: NCS
Neuropathic Pain is pain caused by damage, irritation, or abnormal signaling in the nerves that carry messages between the body and brain. It may feel burning, tingling, electric, shooting, or numb. Symptoms can continue after an injury heals, and light touch may feel painful in the affected area.
Also called: Nerve pain
Nociceptive pain is pain caused by actual or potential damage to body tissues. Specialized nerve endings detect signals from injured or irritated muscles, joints, bones, skin, or organs. The nervous system sends those signals to the brain, where they become pain. Arthritis, sprains, cuts, and inflammation can produce nociceptive pain.
Also called: Tissue pain
Occipital Neuralgia is a nerve pain condition that affects the occipital nerves at the back of the head and upper neck. The pain may feel sharp, burning, or electric, and it can travel toward the scalp, behind the eyes, or near the ears. Neck movement or pressure may worsen symptoms.
Also called: Occipital nerve pain
An Opioid Agreement is a written plan between a patient and clinician for opioid medication management. It explains how the medication will be used, monitored, and reviewed during treatment. The agreement may cover follow-up visits, medication records, refill requests, drug testing, and steps for addressing concerns about unsafe use or unexpected results.
Also called: Pain contract
A pain scale is a tool that helps a person describe pain intensity in a consistent way. It gives clinicians a shared reference for discussing symptoms, tracking changes, and recording findings. Common formats use words, faces, or a labeled range, but the result reflects the patient's reported experience, not a direct measurement of tissue damage.
Also called: Pain rating scale
Paresthesia is an unusual skin sensation, such as tingling, prickling, burning, numbness, or a feeling of pins and needles. The sensation can occur without an obvious touch or injury. Paresthesia may affect a small area or follow the path of an irritated nerve, often involving an arm, leg, hand, or foot.
Also called: Pins and needles
Post-Laminectomy Syndrome is ongoing or returning back or leg pain after spine surgery. The pain may come from nerve irritation, scar tissue, spinal changes, or another pain source. The name describes symptoms after surgery, not one single disease or proof that the operation failed.
Also called: Failed back surgery syndrome
Postherpetic Neuralgia is a nerve pain condition that can continue after a shingles rash clears. Damaged nerves may send burning, aching, itching, or sharp pain from the affected skin area. Light touch from clothing or bedding may feel painful. Symptoms often follow the same band of skin affected by shingles.
Also called: Shingles nerve pain
Sacroiliitis is inflammation of one or both sacroiliac joints, which connect the lower spine with the pelvis. The condition can cause pain in the low back, buttocks, hips, or legs. Symptoms may worsen with standing, walking, climbing stairs, or changing position. Injury, arthritis, pregnancy, or repeated stress can affect these joints.
Also called: Sacroiliac joint inflammation
Spinal Stenosis is a condition in which space inside the spinal canal or nerve openings becomes narrower. The reduced space can press on the spinal cord or nearby nerves. In the lower back, this pressure may cause back pain, leg pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that worsens during standing or walking.
Also called: Narrowing of the spinal canal
A Sympathetic Nerve Block is an injection that temporarily quiets sympathetic nerve signals linked to pain and abnormal blood flow. A clinician places numbing medicine near a sympathetic nerve group, often near the spine. The procedure can help assess and treat certain pain patterns associated with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Also called: Sympathetic block
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a noninvasive pain treatment that sends mild electrical pulses through adhesive skin pads. The pulses may change how pain signals reach the brain and can support comfort during daily activity. A small battery-powered device controls the pulse pattern, strength, and timing during each session.
Also called: TENS
Vertebral Compression Fracture is a break or collapse in one of the spine’s vertebrae. The injury can occur when weakened bone gives way or when force presses down on the spine. It may cause sudden back pain, tenderness, reduced movement, or a change in spinal shape, though some fractures cause few symptoms.
Also called: Spinal compression fracture
