I had a herniated lumbar disc and after doing traction, I was almost paralyzed because of this...

"Lumbar disc herniation", which used to be considered a "middle-aged and elderly disease", now occurs in more young people. Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the number of patients with lumbar spondylosis in my country has exceeded 200 million, of which patients with lumbar disc herniation account for 15.2% of the total population, and the number is rising. If lumbar disease is not treated in time, it will cause limb numbness, urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction and even lifelong paralysis.

A big question that bothers patients with lumbar disc herniation is whether to have surgery. We contacted a person who had lumbar disc surgery to listen to his experience.

Ever since I had a 7 cm cut on my waist, I have acquired a "superpower" - my waist is now more accurate than the weather forecast.

Just two days ago, the sun was shining brightly, but I told my friend to go home and collect clothes because it was going to rain soon. My friend looked at the sun outside, then looked at me, his eyes full of love for the fool.

As a result, within a few hours, strong winds and heavy rain broke through the sky, and my waist became even more uncomfortable. It was a subtle feeling that seemed to be cramped but not cramped . In our hometown dialect, it is called "quě" (meaning broken).

And all this started eighteen years ago.

Postoperative pictures.

A comfortable posture

It is actually a lumbar disc "bomb"

When I was in college, it was very popular to put a small table on the bed in the dormitory and play computer on the bed. As long as I didn't have classes, I could lie on the bed all day and didn't even get out of bed to eat.

Who would have thought that this action would plant a serious "bomb" in my waist. And another habit after work actually "detonated" it directly.
It turned out that when I was in school, I slumped in bed and my spine arched, which had caused lumbar disc herniation, but it was not too serious at the time and I did not notice it. However, after work, I was used to taking a nap in the chair at my workstation. This action would make my waist hang in the air, and the lumbar vertebrae 3 and 4 joints bore my whole body weight. Over time, the lumbar disc herniation was aggravated.

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Interestingly, my waist didn't react much at the time, but my left buttocks always had radiating pain. I thought I had sciatica. So I kept searching for information on this on my phone, and thus missed the best time for treatment.

Almost paralyzed

At first, the lumbar disc herniation was a dull pain that came and went. However, after staying up late to make a PPT, the "bomb" on my waist exploded, and when I woke up the next day, I found that my left buttocks were particularly painful, the kind that made me scream.

I called a taxi to a nearby small hospital for treatment. After listening to my description of my condition, the doctor there determined that I was unable to exert force because of lumbar disc herniation compressing the nerves, and asked me to take an X-ray and then do traction treatment.

When I first finished the traction treatment, my condition did improve. But what no one expected was that after one night, I couldn't stand up!

It was a terrifying experience: when I woke up, I felt very heavy and wanted to sit up, but I couldn't muster any strength. I thought I was tired and thought I would wait a while before sitting up, but after struggling for almost half an hour, I still couldn't muster any strength.

I was completely panicked and called my medical classmate. At his suggestion, I transferred to a well-known local orthopedic hospital. The doctor there wrote me an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) order and made a special phone call to arrange for expedited treatment.

MRI is magnetic resonance imaging, which is better than CT for imaging soft tissues such as muscles and ligaments. Through MRI, the doctor found that my vertebral ring was broken and cerebrospinal fluid was leaking out.

If you had come a little later, I would have been paralyzed!

Author provided

Afterwards I found out that, although traction can generally be used to treat lumbar disc herniation, this method cannot be applied to every disease, and the most appropriate method must be adopted based on the patient's specific situation.

In my case, I was too heavy to be traction-friendly. The basic principle of traction is to pull the bone gap apart and then push the protruding disc back through muscle strength. But I was too heavy, and after the bones were pulled apart, it was fine when I lay down, but once I stood up, the weight of my upper body would act on the bones and I would fall down directly.

In other words, after the traction, the moment I stood up, I broke my own vertebral ring! It is said that this happens to only 3 people out of 10 million people...

Because of lumbar disc surgery

I became a "rubber man"

My family was very worried about me. My mom was crying secretly during those days, and my dad, who had quit smoking for decades, smoked one cigarette after another during those days.

On the surface, I pretended to be indifferent and even joked with my mother, but secretly I was extremely worried. I randomly searched for relevant information on the Internet and saw many people saying that this surgery has many side effects. I was very worried. What's more, some people said that this surgery is very risky and there is a high possibility that I will not be able to get off the operating table. I was so scared that I couldn't sleep all night.

I also asked my classmate who was studying medicine at the time, and he told me that any surgery would involve risks, but he also told me that this was a relatively common surgery for orthopedic surgeons, so I should just rest assured and trust my attending physician.

Fortunately, the operation went smoothly. I even snored under general anesthesia.

I had a lumbar disc fusion surgery, which is to fix the two joints together. This will have a certain impact on bending over in the future, but the effect is very strong in time. After the anesthesia wore off, I could clearly feel the strength of my lower body restored and my buttocks didn't hurt anymore.

But the doctor told me that because I am too heavy, using 4 nails and 2 rods will affect my life to a certain extent.

Author provided

For example, when I brush my teeth, I often drip toothpaste on my chest because I can’t bend over much. When I go to the toilet, it’s also difficult to wipe my butt because I can’t bend over much…

And because the steel plate cannot be absorbed by the human body, if it stays in the body for a long time, it is very likely to be eroded by blood or other things. So after a year and a half, I had to have another surgery to remove the steel plate.

And this was the beginning of another "nightmare" for me.

As I said before, the reason why I needed surgery to treat lumbar disc herniation was, firstly, due to long-term incorrect posture, and secondly, due to inappropriate treatment.

But the most important reason is that I am too heavy.

In order to reduce the burden on my waist, the doctor told me that I must lose weight. I was afraid that I would not be able to stand up, so I was very hard on myself. It took me a year to lose weight from 240 catties to 160 catties.

You have to know that I had a surgery on my waist at that time, so I couldn't do any forceful movements, not even running, so I could only rely on starvation to lose weight. I was so hungry that my eyes turned green, and I couldn't wait to chew a few weeds I saw on the roadside.

But what I didn't expect was that a year and a half later, when I went to the doctor to get a prescription for surgery to remove the steel plate, the doctor was surprised at how much weight I had lost, and told me that I couldn't be so thin and I had to eat more.

I was confused at the time and asked the doctor: "Didn't you tell me to lose weight? Why do I want to gain weight now?"

The doctor gave me a very vivid analogy: after the screw in my body is taken out, there will be a big hole in my body. If I have fat at this time, the fat will expand like a balloon and fill up the hole. But I lost weight too quickly that year, and it is very likely that I will not be able to plug the hole with fat. So in order to avoid accidents after the steel plate is removed, I must eat more.

So in the following week, I opened the demon called "Taotie" and stuffed all the greasy food that I was afraid to eat before into my mouth.

I was so successful at that time that I ate 11 pieces of braised pork in one go. The owner of the braised pork shop is still impressed by me.

Of course, after removing the screws and plates, the doctor asked me to lose weight. Unfortunately, I had no motivation this time...

Author provided

Don't wear tinted glasses

Look at lumbar disc herniation

Ten years after the operation for lumbar disc herniation, I found that people have a deep misunderstanding about this disease . Many people think that if they have this disease, they can't do heavy work, and even need help from others to mop the floor.

Some misunderstandings are even more speechless. For example, during a blind date, the woman, her parents and even the matchmaker will question whether the disease will affect fertility...

In fact, lumbar disc herniation is a common disease, and it is becoming more and more common among younger patients. For example, when I performed my first lumbar disc herniation surgery, a patient in the same ward was only 14 years old. The reason why he suffered from lumbar disc herniation and needed surgery was because he liked to rest his chin on the table when reading and doing homework.

Personally, the painful experience taught me one thing. Don't trust "famous doctors", trust reports. All treatments must be based on CT and MRI examination reports, and stay away from the so-called experience on the Internet or the inferences made after a few words describing the condition.

The same applies to those folk remedies on the Internet such as sleeping with beer bottles or toilet paper. Treatment must be based on CT or MRI reports.

Just like my case, the vertebral annulus has been broken and cerebrospinal fluid is pouring out. In this case, surgery is necessary. Applying plasters, electrotherapy, physical traction, etc. will not have any positive effect at all, and may even make the condition worse.

In addition, postoperative rehabilitation for lumbar disc herniation is very important. Swimming is the most effective way to exercise . If you can't swim, you can use the "Flying Swallow" action to exercise your waist and back muscles and relieve the symptoms of lumbar disc herniation.

I rely on these two exercises to relieve the pain when my lumbar disc attacks.

We can also think divergently and find the solution that best suits our personal situation.

For example, people like me who work at a desk for a long time usually choose a seat cushion or a waist support to relieve waist fatigue. But I tried many and was not satisfied. Later, I found that the inflatable rubber toys played by children just fit the gap between the chair and my waist, so I suddenly had an idea and bought an inflatable cow as a cushion. You know what, it is quite comfortable.

Author provided

It has been ten years since I had surgery for a herniated lumbar disc. Currently, except for a dull pain in my waist on cloudy and rainy days, there is basically no impact on me . I can work and do housework normally, and I even made three three-pointers in a row when playing basketball last week.

Therefore, the disease of lumbar disc herniation is neither a big nor a small one. We can completely put down the psychological burden. As long as we despise it strategically and pay attention to it tactically, I believe we can definitely defeat it!

Doctor's comments

Ji Gang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University

The author clearly describes his injury factors, treatment process, surgical selection, postoperative recovery and special feelings. Lumbar disc herniation is a common spinal disease, usually caused by rupture of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc and protrusion of the nucleus pulposus compressing the nerve roots or spinal cord.

Many people in life are troubled by lumbar disc herniation. Here are some suggestions on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of lumbar disc herniation:

1

How to determine whether you have lumbar disc herniation

Pain : Continuous or intermittent pain in the lower back or lower limbs, especially aggravated when sitting or bending over.

Numbness and tingling : Numbness and tingling in the lower extremities, especially in the thighs, legs, or feet.

Muscle weakness : Weakness in the muscles of the lower extremities, difficulty walking or a feeling of weakness in the legs.

Reflex changes : Knee jerk reflex or Achilles tendon reflex is weakened or absent.

Other symptoms : In severe cases, symptoms such as incontinence may occur.

2

Treatment of lumbar disc herniation

Conservative treatment

Rest: Take adequate rest and avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time.

Medication: Use pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, or muscle relaxants.

Physical therapy: hot compress, cold compress, traction, massage, etc.

Rehabilitation exercises: Strengthen the core muscles and improve the stability of the lumbar spine.

Interventional treatment

Epidural injection: An injection of steroid medicine to reduce inflammation and pain.

Nerve block: An injection of medication that blocks pain signals.

Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery: such as discectomy, transforaminal endoscopic surgery, etc.

Traditional surgery: such as lumbar fusion.

3

Prevention and precautions for lumbar disc herniation

Correct sitting and standing posture

Keep your back straight and your feet flat on the ground when sitting. Keep your body upright when standing and avoid bending over for long periods of time.

Correct posture for moving things

When lifting heavy objects, squat down first, keep your back upright, use the strength of your legs to stand up, and avoid bending over to lift heavy objects.

Green is the correct sitting and lifting posture. The picture is copyrighted by the library, and reprinting may cause copyright disputes

Proper exercise

Do appropriate aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming, etc.

Strengthen the muscles of the waist and back through exercises such as bridge exercises and plank supports.

Avoid prolonged sitting

When sitting for long periods of time, stand up and stretch your body every hour.

Maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight will increase the burden on the lumbar spine, and maintaining a reasonable weight will help reduce the pressure on the lumbar spine.

Choosing the right mattress and pillow

The mattress should not be too soft or too hard, and the pillow should be of moderate height to maintain the natural curvature of the cervical spine.

If you have obvious symptoms or suspect you have lumbar disc herniation, it is recommended that you see a doctor as soon as possible for professional diagnosis and treatment.

Planning and production

Author｜Post-school science creator

Review | Ji Gang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Planning｜Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin