Surgery For a Herniated Disc?
How is the spine constructed?

The spine spans from the lower skull down to the tailbone and is a unit made up of various components. These components work together to create a flexible support structure, that is capable of protecting the nervous tissue of the spinal cord. The vertebrae are the bony building blocks of the spine and in between each vertebrae is a disc. The disc acts as a cushion, that minimizes the impact of movement on the whole spinal column. Surrounding the discs and vertebrae are strong fibrous soft tissues called ligaments, whose purpose is to attach each vertebrae and encase the discs.

What is a herniated disc?

The discs are made up of an outer ring (annulus fibrosus) and a softer, gelatinous center (nucleus pulposus). The nucleus pulposus is under pressure, which supports the downward weight of the human body. As the body ages or due to injury the annulus fibrosus can deteriorate. When this deterioration reaches a certain threshold the nucleus pulposus can rupture through the outer ring. This ruptured disc is called a herniated disc and it can cause symptoms from minor discomfort to nerve injuries.

What are the symptoms of a herniated disc?

Some ruptures are minor enough that they produce no symptoms at all. Others cause mild to severe symptoms such as:

-Shooting pain down the buttock, back of thigh, and down the leg
-Tingling and/or numbness in the legs, and weakness of muscles
-Pain in upper or lower back; abdomen or legs; or over shoulder blades
-Numbness, or tingling in the arm, hands, and fingers
-Spasms and pain in the neck muscles

Treatment for herniated disc.

Herniated discs usually respond to conservative treatments. These treatments include analgesic (pain-relieving) medicines, such as asprin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Muscle relaxants such as cyclobenzaprine and methocarbamol can also be prescribed to combat muscle spasms. Spinal injections, called epidurals, can be used to reduce swelling and inflammation of nerve roots.

Physical therapy is an important aspect of treating ruptured discs. Following prescribed exercises can help to relieve pressure on the nerves and thus relieve some of the pain and weakness that is present.

Some herniated discs do not respond well to these conservative treatments and it is in these cases that surgery is needed. Three common types of herniated disc surgery are laminectomy, spinal fusion, and microdisectomy. For a laminectomy the lamina (part of the bone that curves around and covers the spinal cord) is removed. Then the tissue that is putting pressure on the spinal cord or nerves is cut away. Spinal infusion entails repairing the vertebrae with bone grafts and microdisectomy is performed when fragments of the herniated disc must be removed.

Risk factors and prevention of herniated discs.

Some factors that raise the risk of herniated discs cannot be changed. For instance, merely being a man creates a higher risk for a rupture. The process of aging and previous back injuries also raise the risk of having a herniated disc.

There are also risk factors that can be changed such as:
-Being overweight (places extra strain on the spinal cord)
-Smoking cigarettes (puts certain toxins in the body that hinder the absorption of nutrients into the spinal cord)
-Strenuous exercise without proper warm up
-heavy physical exertion
-sitting or standing for long periods of time

Understanding, what a herniated disc is, and how it can occur, is the first step to lowering the risk of it happening. Staying healthy and being conscientious about a person’s activities are the two best ways to lessen the risk of rupture.