Herniated spine, symptoms

Herniated spine (intervertebral hernia) is a prolapse of the pulpous nucleus from the intervertebral disc. Very often this disease occurs with osteochondrosis or scoliosis.

In order to understand the causes of formation and signs of a hernia of the spine, it is necessary to have an idea of the anatomy of a person. So, the spine consists of separate vertebrae and discs between them, which perform the function of shock absorbers during the movement. With a hernia, the discs gradually deform and begin to move out of the way, while the pulpous core goes beyond the fibrous membrane, tearing it up and squeezing the nerve roots. Most often, a spinal hernia occurs in the lumbar region, since it is this area that accounts for the greatest burden. Less often the occurrence of this disease can be traced in the cervical and thoracic parts of the spine.

Depending on the area in which the hernia of the spine has arisen, the symptoms of the disease are different. However, the general symptoms include: acute pain, numbness of the hands and feet and muscle spasms.

The first symptoms of a hernia of the spine may appear already by the age of 20 and manifest as pain in the lumbar region or in other departments. The most common disease in people aged 50 years, and not only in men, but also in women.

If manifested in the lumbar spine herniation, the symptoms are presented by the ever-increasing pain spreading from the waist to the leg. Pain interferes with normal movement and walking, with the progression of the disease in the patient, the work of other internal organs may be disrupted.

At the very beginning of the disease, the pain is felt in the lumbar region, then gradually begins to give in the leg, the patient has numbness and tingling. Acute pain does not normally move normally.

If manifested in the cervical spinal hernia, the symptoms are also presented by the pain syndrome, only in the arm region. Also there are headaches, limitation of the mobility of the cervical region, the symmetry of the neck muscles is lost.

If manifested in the thoracic area of the hernia of the spine, the symptoms are very similar to heart pain, since pain occurs during inspiration or exhalation in the chest. This type of intervertebral hernia is rarely found in practice.

When conducting the diagnosis, it is very important to correctly analyze the patient's complaints, the causes of the pain and determine in which body position the symptoms are observed. This is necessary to exclude all other diseases. And only after collecting all complaints, muscle strength is checked, surface diagnostics is carried out, the results of which determine the location of the hernia of the spine. After this, additional studies are prescribed in the form of MRI, X-ray and CT.

Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is a relatively new method in modern medicine, which results in a fairly accurate diagnosis. This method of diagnosis is informative, and the results give information on the size of the hernia, its location and other parameters.

CT (computed tomography) using special equipment and appropriate software allows you to scan the necessary area of the spine. The result is a printout of the image in three-dimensional form. However, CT is inferior to MRT diagnostics because of the informativeness and accuracy of the results obtained.

X-rays are mainly used to exclude other diseases of the spine.

It is very important in this disease to diagnose in time the main cause of back pain. This will allow you to choose the right tactics of treatment.

When treating a spinal hernia, it is very important not to miss the moment when the condition of the disease still allows you to do without an operation and to suspend the active development of the disease.