Which statement best describes the sensory and motor pattern seen in lumbar radiculopathy?

Which statement best describes the sensory and motor pattern seen in lumbar radiculopathy?

• A. Unilateral leg symptoms following a nerve root distribution.
• B. Headache with neck stiffness.
• C. Bilateral leg symptoms without a root pattern.
• D. Weakness only in the arms.

Answer: (A)

Lumbar radiculopathy is caused by irritation or compression of a single nerve root, so the sensory and motor changes follow that root’s dermatomal and myotomal distribution. This produces symptoms in one leg that map to a specific nerve root pathway, often with leg pain radiating along that course and weakness in the muscles supplied by the same root, sometimes with a decreased reflex on the affected side. That makes the description of unilateral leg symptoms following a nerve root distribution the best fit, because it reflects both the focused sensory pattern and the corresponding motor weakness tied to one spinal nerve root. The other scenarios don’t fit as well: headaches with neck stiffness aren’t radicular leg findings; bilateral leg symptoms without a root pattern suggest a non-radicular or diffuse process; weakness confined to the arms points to cervical involvement rather than lumbar.

Lumbar radiculopathy is caused by irritation or compression of a single nerve root, so the sensory and motor changes follow that root’s dermatomal and myotomal distribution. This produces symptoms in one leg that map to a specific nerve root pathway, often with leg pain radiating along that course and weakness in the muscles supplied by the same root, sometimes with a decreased reflex on the affected side.

That makes the description of unilateral leg symptoms following a nerve root distribution the best fit, because it reflects both the focused sensory pattern and the corresponding motor weakness tied to one spinal nerve root.

The other scenarios don’t fit as well: headaches with neck stiffness aren’t radicular leg findings; bilateral leg symptoms without a root pattern suggest a non-radicular or diffuse process; weakness confined to the arms points to cervical involvement rather than lumbar.