Treatment of spinal disc herniation by rehabilitation
(Baonghean) - Spinal disc herniation is one of the most common bone and joint diseases today. The disease not only appears in middle-aged and elderly people but also in young people, the rate of disease is increasing. In recent times, Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital has had many effective methods of treating disc herniation.
Serious consequences
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| Instructing patients to practice at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
In addition, cervical disc herniation causes shoulder-arm neuralgia syndrome, or the patient may have shoulder and neck pain, stiff neck, arm muscle atrophy, hand paralysis, headache...; Thoracic disc herniation also often occurs and clinically compresses the intercostal and paraspinal nerve roots, causing intercostal neuralgia syndrome, the patient may have difficulty breathing, chest pain...
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| Supporting patients with herniated discs undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo courtesy of Thanh Cuong |
If the brachial nerve is damaged, the patient cannot lift the arm or has difficulty bending or extending the arm, and the ability to work and live is seriously affected. The disease can leave dangerous consequences and complications for the patient. The patient may become disabled due to paralysis in the case of a herniated disc compressing the cervical spinal cord.
When compressed, the lumbar nerves can also lead to incontinence due to sphincter dysfunction. The limbs gradually atrophy, possibly losing the ability to work and move.
Up to 17% of people over 60 years old suffer from back pain. The disease occurs in about 30% of the population, often occurring in working age groups from 20 to 55 years old.
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| Examining a patient at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo courtesy of Thanh Hien |
Recently, many patients from all over the province have come to Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital to examine and treat herniated discs. Patient Nguyen Van Nam in Hung Tan (Hung Nguyen), 50 years old, came to the hospital for treatment with a herniated disc compressing the nerve roots and spinal cord, causing symptoms of pain, numbness, muscle atrophy, and paralysis, leading to difficulty in movement. Initially, because he subjectively felt pain and stiffness in his body, he did not go to the doctor immediately but endured the pain and went to work as usual. Over time, the pain became more and more frequent, leading to numbness in his limbs and difficulty in movement.
"After a period of treatment at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital, his condition has improved a lot. Currently, his pain has decreased and he can move around more easily."
Patient Ngo Duc Manh (Hung Phuc ward, Vinh city) is 43 years old, currently a worker at a company. He was hospitalized with pain in the lumbar spine.
At first it was just minor pains, then the pain became constant and greatly affected his work.
Patient Ngo Duc Manh (Hung Phuc ward, Vinh city)
To treat Mr. Manh, Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital has a specific regimen combining Eastern and Western medicine, such as physical therapy with infrared heat, paraffin, shortwave, electrolysis, pulsed electricity, interference... massage, spinal adjustment...
Treatment methods
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| Read the diagnostic film of the treatment method for patients with broken bones at Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital. Photo courtesy of Thanh Hien |
Master Thai Thi Xuan - Director of Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital said: At Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital, to effectively treat patients with spinal disc herniation, the hospital has provided specific treatment regimens for patients according to the principle of combining drug treatment and rehabilitation.
Depending on the patient's condition, the hospital will determine how long or short the treatment will take. Currently, about 90 - 95% of all patients with spinal disc herniation are treated conservatively with internal medicine combined with rehabilitation methods and techniques.
Specifically:
In the acute phase, the patient rests in place, on a hard mattress, immobilized in a non-load bearing lying position. Physical therapy with infrared heat, paraffin, therapeutic ultrasound, shortwave, electrolysis, electropulse, interference... Gentle passive, active, impedance and isometric muscle contraction exercises. After the acute phase, the patient's pain is relieved and can be treated with additional lumbar and thoracic spine traction, cervical spine traction with a spinal traction machine to increase the intervertebral foramina and reduce nerve root compression.
Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital also combines treatment with traditional medicine such as using decoctions or pills. Depending on each type of disease diagnosed according to traditional medicine, there are different "treatment methods" according to the cube method. In addition, patients are also massaged and adjusted the spine by using techniques of "emitting, pressing, squeezing, pressing, pushing" to impact the back and spine, following the path of the nerves corresponding to the diseased areas; or using acupuncture (electroacupuncture or Laser acupuncture) depending on each location of the spinal disc herniation and the compressed nerve area to indicate the appropriate acupuncture points.
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| Patients being treated at the Rehabilitation Hospital practice exercise. Photo courtesy of Duc Anh |
For more effective treatment, Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital has established a Pain Control Unit with the support of Professor Nguyen Van Chuong - Head of the Department of Neurology, Hospital 103, Neurologist of the Military Medical Institute, Executive Committee Member of the Vietnam Neurology Association, Chairman of the Hanoi Pain Control Association. It is known that in addition to the above treatment methods, Professor Nguyen Van Chuong has currently applied epidural injection and block treatment methods in the treatment of disc herniation.
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| Nghe An Rehabilitation Hospital: Pioneer in establishing a Stroke Rehabilitation Center and Pain Control Unit. Photo courtesy of Lam Tung |
Professor Nguyen Van Chuong said: Epidural injection is indicated for patients in stage 3 of the disease (the stage when the patient has nerve root pain during the stimulation period). This method requires the doctor to have specialized techniques and exquisite hand feeling; when inserting the needle and adjusting the needle into the correct epidural frame. The technique is simple, but requires great caution, not to rush and insert the needle too hard into the subarachnoid space.
During the epidural injection, the patient also received combined treatment with lumbar spine traction on a specialized bed that has the effect of "stretching the spine" to widen the intervertebral space and joints. The results after treatment showed that nearly 100% of patients could move, arch, stand up, bend down... almost normally, 87.5% had no more muscle stiffness in the spinal groove, 85% had no more scoliosis, the physiological curve was restored... Patients only had to stay in the hospital for 15 - 20 days.
Professor Nguyen Van Chuong - Head of Department of Neurology, Hospital 103
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