Hernia of the nucleus of the spinal cord is the most common cause of sciatica. In most cases, it manifests as buttock pain radiating to the leg. Can herniated disc heal on their own?
Spinal hernia – symptoms
Pain is a symptom that accompanies the spinal hernia in all episodes. But its severity and other symptoms are different in different episodes.
- The lumbar spinal hernia, the one that happens most often to us, causes severe pain in the cross, which often radiates to the hip and leg. It is strong and very difficult to move. Very often, sciatica is just a symptom of a lumbar hernia. There may also be tingling in the legs and even loss of feeling. There are also other, less specific symptoms: pain in the lower abdomen and groin, increased urge to urinate, and pain when passing stools.
- Cervical spinal hernia manifests itself more secretly. Initially, it is only a slight pain and stiffness and difficulty in performing free head movements. Then tingling in the hands and stiffness begin to appear. Headache, dizziness and shoulder pain are common symptoms of a vertebral hernia.
- The collapse of the intervertebral disc in the thoracic segment signals pain radiating to the ribs, which is very strongly felt when laughing, coughing or sneezing. There may also be chest and heart pain.
Spinal hernia treatment
Hernia treatment depends on the symptoms. If it is asymptomatic, no measures are necessary. Most often the patient complains of pain, then the treatment methods are:
- physical therapy,
- exercise,
- massage,
- heat therapy,
- cryotherapy,
- laser therapy,
- electric therapy,
- medicines that reduce muscle tone
- painkillers,
- anti-inflammatory drugs,
- cortisone injections
- operation.
A spinal hernia operation is performed relatively rarely, especially when there are limb paresis. Surgical intervention carries a small risk of complications and brings great relief to patients. During the procedure:
- decompression,
- clearing and stabilizing
- implantation of artificial discs.
Absorption of a hernia of the spine – how can a hernia go back?
Reducing and absorbing a hernia is a complicated process, but in a simplified way we can describe it as the result of the action of so-called feeding cells that come out of the blood vessels and piece by piece they “eat” the hernia. The better the blood supply to the hernia, the more efficiently this process will take place. Unfortunately, in some cases, hernia causes so much inflammation and swelling that the blood supply is significantly reduced due to vascular pressure. Sometimes ischemia also affects a nerve pinched by a hernia. In such cases, in hernia of the lumbar spine next to pain, the sensation in the leg may deteriorate and / or the weakness of the muscles moving the foot. A large hernia of the cervical spine can cause weakness in the upper limb and its numbness. The swelling of the nerve increases, like the swelling of the finger on which the ring is left. In such cases, the absorption of the hernia of the spine occurs very slowly, and the discomfort can even last for years.
