Lumbar disc herniation is also called disc herniation. Lumbar disc herniation is a frequently-occurring and common disease, which is mainly caused by a series of symptoms caused by stimulation or compression of spinal nerve and spinal cord, such as disc strain and degeneration, fiber ring rupture or nucleus pulposus prolapse.
Degenerative changes have taken place in the adult intervertebral disc, and the fibers in the annulus fibrosus become thick and brittle, so that they finally break, making the intervertebral disc lose its original elasticity and unable to bear the original pressure. In the case of excessive strain, sudden change of posture, violent action or violent impact, the annulus fibrosus can bulge outward, so that the nucleus pulposus can also protrude outward through the cracks of the ruptured annulus fibrosus, which is called intervertebral disc protrusion.
Prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc leads to waist swelling pain, sciatic nerve radiation pain, numbness and swelling pain of lower limbs, hypoesthesia or pain allergy, muscle atrophy, thinning of affected legs, difficulty in walking, etc. In severe cases, dysfunction of urination and defecation, paralysis of lower limbs, and long-term bed rest make patients' quality of life decline and lose their ability to work and work.
The aging of the human body is an irresistible natural law, and almost all the organ systems of the human body are aging synchronously. After aging, the functions of various organ systems may decline to some extent, and even some people may have corresponding senile diseases and corresponding symptoms.
With the increase of age, bone and joint will inevitably undergo degenerative changes due to sports wear, which is a normal aging performance. The growth of age means the increase of "wear and tear", just like the wrinkles on the face, the whitening of hair and the presbyopia of eyes when people get old. The manifestation of aging in the lumbar spine is the intervertebral disc degeneration mentioned above, and the subsequent lumbar spurs. This is a natural physiological aging phenomenon, which accords with the normal metabolism law of human body.
Most normal people over the age of 60 can find degenerative aging phenomena such as lumbar spine formation and intervertebral space stenosis. People over 60 years old have different degrees of degradation and aging of various organ systems, but not all people over 60 years old will get sick. Most people who are found to have degenerative aging such as lumbar spine spur and intervertebral space stenosis do not necessarily have corresponding clinical symptoms. So it goes without saying that the spur changes color. Simple bone spur may not cause clinical symptoms. As long as we master its laws, we can take corresponding measures to prevent or mitigate its adverse effects.
In addition, some patients are afraid of bone spurs, and are very concerned about whether their own lumbar spine bone spurs and other joints of the body develop and how fast they develop. In fact, the development of bone spurs is a natural manifestation of human aging. As long as it is not in the key parts, does not oppress important tissue structures, and does not appear corresponding symptoms, everyone does not have to worry too much about the natural aging of the human body.
In addition, in today's situation of cancer discoloration, people are afraid of bone spurs, which may also be related to the psychological state of fear of bone spurs becoming cancerous. In the outpatient clinic, we can often meet some patients who are very concerned about asking the doctor if the spur will become cancerous. In fact, degenerative manifestations such as bone spurs will not become cancerous, so patients should be fully assured.
After the lumbar spine begins to degenerate, the intervertebral disc degenerates first, which makes the intervertebral disc easily compressed and lose its normal height, shortens the distance between vertebral bodies, and relaxes the anterior and posterior ligaments of the spine, resulting in instability between vertebral bodies and excessive activity between them. After the range of motion between vertebral bodies increases, slight, repeated and cumulative injuries are easy to appear at the edge of vertebral bodies, which may lead to local slight bleeding and exudation. After a period of time, bleeding and exudation are absorbed and fibrotic, and calcification can gradually form in the future, so that bone hyperplasia occurs locally, that is, at the upper and lower edges of the vertebral body in the gap, which is bone spur. Some books are called osteophyte and hyperosteogeny, but they all mean the same thing.
Due to constant stimulation and repeated trauma, bone spurs will continue to increase. It's like long-term labor with a hoe and shovel. At first, it can stimulate the palm to form blood bubbles, and after the blood bubbles heal, the palm can form calluses. Repeated stimulation of the palm in the future can make the calluses formed in the palm grow longer and thicker; On the contrary, after stopping physical labor for many years, the calluses of the palms will gradually become thinner or even disappear. Therefore, if the lumbar spine is stimulated by repeated strain, excessive activity and other adverse factors for a long time, it may accelerate the degeneration of the lumbar spine, make the intervertebral disc protrude, form and increase bone spurs; On the contrary, paying attention to the rest and maintenance of the waist can slow down the degeneration speed of the lumbar spine and the progress of bone spurs. People's calluses vary in thickness due to different degrees of labor; People's lumbar vertebrae have different rest and maintenance because of different bad stimuli, and the degenerative manifestations such as bone spurs are also different from person to person. We should be proactive. No matter how we rest and maintain, the lumbar spine will gradually degenerate and age during exercise. However, with proper rest and maintenance measures, our lumbar vertebrae can delay degeneration.
The research shows that the degenerative process of lumbar spine is not only related to the change of age, but also related to the long-term excessive flexion and extension of lumbar spine and load-bearing injury, which is the external cause of lumbar degeneration and morbidity. In some occupations where the waist is overloaded and vulnerable to trauma, the speed of lumbar degeneration is faster and the possibility of lumbar spondylosis is greater. For example, heavy manual workers, people who often carry heavy objects on their shoulders, and some athletes, such as weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling and other strenuous exercises, are easy to damage the lumbar spine, which will aggravate the strain and degeneration of the lumbar spine. It is not difficult to understand that many professional athletes and manual workers are prone to low back pain after middle-aged and elderly people. According to statistics, many people with low back and leg pain can recall the history of low back injury. Adolescent lumbar trauma is also an important external cause of low back and leg pain after middle age.
Bone spurs of the lumbar spine can grow on the upper and lower edges of the vertebral body and the front and back of the articular process. Under repeated stimulation, the number of lumbar spine spurs gradually increases, which can reduce or even harden the mobility between vertebrae, lead to a compensatory increase in the mobility between adjacent vertebrae, and aggravate the degeneration of intervertebral discs and intervertebral joints. In this way, over time, with the further action of strain factors, extensive disc herniation, intervertebral space stenosis, bone spur formation at the edge of vertebral body, hypertrophy of articular process, hypertrophy of ligamentum flavum and intervertebral instability can appear in the whole cervical or lumbar spine, which can be confirmed by X-ray film, CT and nuclear magnetic resonance vibration.
Most lumbar spine spurs will not cause low back pain and lumbar nerve root compression, so don't worry too much. Only a few specific parts of the bone spur will have symptoms. The bone spur at the posterior edge of lumbar vertebral body, together with edema or fibrosis tissue caused by the traumatic reaction of fibrous ring, posterior longitudinal ligament and swollen intervertebral disc, forms a mixture protruding backward or laterally on the segmental plane of intervertebral disc, which can directly stimulate and compress local lumbar nerve roots by combining with the posterior hypertrophic ligamentum flavum.
So you can't take the initiative.