The spinal column is one of the most important part of the body since it protects the spinal cord which is the line of communication between the body and the brain. The spinal column also supports the skeleton.
Spina Bifida Occulta is a common condition that often occurs to healthy individual. In fact about 10% to 20% of healthy individual has it. It is only discovered incidentally through X-ray of the lower back. It can exist without you knowing it.
It is simply a normal bone anatomy where some region of the spine which is referred to as spinous process and neural arch shows abnormal in the radiogram. In this case the spinal nerves and cord is not affected thus it does not lead to any problems in the nervous system. Some radiologist refers to this as vertebral fusion defect instead of referring it as Spina Bifida.
But there are also cases where it affects the spinal cord thus have a high risk of having health consequences. These conditions are the following;
Tethered Spinal Cord. This condition involves the lower end of the cord where it attached abnormally to surrounding structures. This gets the spinal cord damaged and stretched.
Lipomyelomeningocele and lipomeningocele. This condition involved a tethered spinal cord stick to a non-malignant tumor in the back.
Thickened Filum Terminale. This condition involves the end part of the spinal cord which has thickened.
Fatty Filum Terminale. This condition involves a fatty lump at the inside of the end of spinal cord.
Diastematomyelia and Diplomyelia. A piece of cartilage or bone splits the spinal cord into two.
Dermal sinus tract. It is the connection between the skin of the back which looks as a band of tissue to the outside and the spinal canal.
All these conditions mentioned above may be present without any bony abnormalities in the spine but if any of these associated abnormalities happens then symptoms associated to the nervous system may show. These sign and symptoms may include – numbness or other changes in the sensation in the legs or back, weakness in the legs, pain in the legs, orthopedic deformities in the back, feet and legs, and change in the bowel and bladder function.
Those people who have underlying spinal cord abnormality should have medical and surgical evaluation so as to see how far it has affected the spinal cord or the nervous system. But how can an individual know if they have these abnormalities in the first place? One thing is that the skin just above the defect usually provides a clue whether there is a spinal abnormality present underneath the skin.
It has been found out that around 80% of individuals who has spinal cord abnormalities have some kind of skin abnormality in the skin just above the defect. These defect includes a hairy patch, fatty lump, Mongolian spots or dark spots, Hemangioma, deep dimple or skin tract or sinus and hypo pigmented spot where a region with decreased skin color.
If you happen to discover these skin abnormalities in your lower back then seek evaluation immediately by your physician or one who is a specialist in the malformations of the spinal cord. However not all individuals with skin defect has Spina Bifida Occulta especially those who have a sacral dimple. MRI or ultrasound is requested to evaluate the structures underlying the skin.
Complications arises from Spina Bifida and the severity depends mostly in the location and the malformation size like if the malformation occurs in the upper back then you are of high risk of severe complications. Complications can include paralysis, hydrocephalus, scoliosis, and kyphosis.