Introduction:

Acute traumatic disc herniation, caused by a traffic accident, is a rare event at the cervical level, being even less (0.4%) at the lumbar level.

Case report:

A 23-year-old male who, in a motorcycle accident, presented acute low back pain and paresis of muscles innervated by left L4-L5-S1 roots, with decreased left patellar and achilles reflexes and decreased sensitivity in the aforementioned left dermatomes. Imaging studies demonstrated a fracture of the poster inferior edge of the L4 body and massive extrusion of disc material, requiring surgery for its resolution.

Conclusions:

Traumatic disc herniation at the lumbar level is an uncommon event.