A 35-year-old male presents to your office with complaints of back pain and some weakness in his left leg. It has been present for a few weeks and the back and leg pains have been increasing in intensity. You are concerned about a herniated lumbar disc. His left ankle jerk reflex (achilles tendon reflex) is absent and you find numbness on the lateral aspect of the lower leg and sole of his left foot. This is most commonly caused by a:
A. Herniated nucleus pulposus at the L1-L2 level
B. Herniated nucleus pulposus at L2-L3 level
C. Herniated nucleus pulposus at L3-L4 level
D. Herniated nucleus pulposus at L4-L5 level
E. Herniated nucleus pulposus at L5-S1
Answer: E
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Biomechanics
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