Herniated disc and other 'Spinal tube stenosis', 6 suspicious symptoms
Oct 06, 2024
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The spine that supports our body weighs only about 2kg. With a weight of only 2 kilograms, it usually supports a body of 60 to 70 kilograms. As time passes, the spine accumulates fatigue and naturally wears out over time. It's the same reason that if you use something for a long time, it breaks down.
Spinal canal stenosis is one of the most common spinal diseases that afflicts the lives of middle-aged people along with herniated disc (intervertebral disc exodus). According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 1,822,204 patients visited the hospital last year due to spinal canal stenosis, up 9.8% over three years from 1,659,452 in 2020.
"Patients with spinal stenosis often postpone treatment due to the burden of surgery, but surgery is not the only answer," said Kim Jong-tae, a professor of neurosurgery at the Catholic University of Korea's Incheon St. Mary's Hospital. "If the area or degree of stenosis is accurately identified through initial appropriate diagnostic tests and customized non-surgical treatment is performed accordingly, effective symptom improvement and severe deterioration in many cases can be prevented."
◇The cause is aging, degenerative diseases...If it gets worse, it's hard to walk without pain
Spinal duct stenosis is a typical degenerative disease closely related to aging. The aging of the spinal canal, a passage through which nerves pass from the head to the arms and legs, causes pain by compressing the nerves as the surrounding ligaments and joints thicken. With age, degenerative changes begin in the disc, the elastic tissue between the vertebrae and bones, and if it progresses further, it worsens to spinal stenosis.
Spinal canal stenosis has no symptoms when lying down or resting, but when standing up or walking, there is a cold, numb feeling near the hips and legs or pain like squeezing. At this time, if you stop walking and sit and rest or bend your waist forward, the spinal canal expands momentarily, reducing pain.
The incidence rate is higher in women than in men. Women account for more than 60% of all patients. In particular, almost all of the female patients (97.8% as of 2023) are caused by weakened tissue around the spine due to hormonal changes after the onset of menopause in their 50s.
Professor Kim Jong-tae said, `When spinal stenosis worsens, the distance to walk painlessly becomes shorter, and in severe cases, even a few steps can worsen to the point where you have to rest and walk" he warned.
◇Symptoms progress slowly and visit the hospital late…Early Adequate Treatment Important
Symptoms of spinal stenosis are characterized by gradual appearance. Therefore, it is often dismissed as a natural phenomenon, or visited a hospital only after the disease progresses with the idea that it will heal soon. It is different from herniated disc, which is mostly actively treated for acute pain.
However, if spinal stenosis is left unattended without early treatment, it will not only weaken the muscle strength of the lower extremities but also the sensation of the legs, making it difficult to walk and increasing the risk of falling. Professor Kim Jong-tae said, `In particular, elderly women with osteoporosis are prone to break bones when they fall because their bones are weak, and if their activities are restricted, they can gain weight and weaken their bones further due to lack of vitamin D, resulting in various complications and difficulties in daily life"In order to break this vicious cycle, it is important to visit a hospital at the beginning of the disease and receive appropriate treatment" he said.
◇ Most of the symptoms can be controlled by conservative treatment such as medication, not surgery
In principle, the treatment of spinal stenosis is a step-by-step treatment according to the patient's condition. Conservative treatments such as posture correction, exercise therapy, drug therapy, physical therapy, and injection procedures such as neuromuscular blocking are performed first.
Professor Kim Jong-tae said "Surgery is recommended to be received when severe pain or walking restrictions persist or worsen even with adequate and sufficient duration of primary conservative treatment, and when the expected benefits of surgery are much greater than the risk of surgery."
Of course, there are cases where quick surgery is inevitable. If the disease progresses significantly and the symptoms of motor paralysis in the lower extremities and progresses rapidly, surgical treatment should be performed as soon as possible to prevent permanent disabilities.
Degenerative diseases are closely related to normal lifestyle. Carrying heavy things or moving your waist too much can strain your spine. Make sure to take the correct posture normally. The habit of sitting with your legs crossed when sitting can cause pain around your back and pelvis and lead to spinal deformity. Above all, it is better to move your body often and increase your walking time. I recommend walking more than three times a week to help strengthen the spine or back, walking slightly faster for 40-50 minutes.
Professor Kim Jong-tae said, `With proper lifestyle and simple stretching, you can strengthen the strength around the spinal joint and prevent spinal diseases"It is important to try to keep your spine healthy in the right posture," he said.
※Suspected 6 symptoms of spinal stenosis
-The back, buttocks, thighs, calves, and toes are numb or cold, pulling and hurting.
-When you walk, your legs are severely numb and hurt, so you have to rest, and if you sit and rest, the pain is reduced.
-Because of the pain, the distance to walk is gradually decreasing.
-When you exercise or work, the pain gets worse.
-Bend your back forward reduces pain.
-My back and waist are bending more and more.
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bellho@sportschosun.com
