A vertebral hernia is a protrusion or prolapse of some disc fragments into the canal of the spine. Most often, a similar disease occurs as an osteochondrosis complication.
Since the maximum load falls on the lower back, then among all clinical cases, the most common is a hernia, localized precisely on one of the lumbar intervertebral discs. Less commonly, a vertebral hernia is found between the cervical or thoracic vertebrae.
The average age of patients, more often than others susceptible to this dystrophic disease, is about 26-49 years. In this group of patients, the hernia usually forms due to inadequate anti-osteochondrosis therapy or the lack of treatment for this disease.
In older people, herniated discs are relatively rare, because with age, the disc undergoes structural changes, leading to its inactivity.
How to treat a hernia of the spine without surgery
Often, doctors, regardless of the degree of development of a spinal hernia, send the patient under a surgical scalpel. But not all clinical situations require surgical intervention. The surgeon’s help is needed only in individual cases when:
- A hernia causes severe pain symptoms, which can only be eliminated by narcotic painkillers;
- A hernia leads to a disruption in the activity of the internal organs of low-pelvic localization;
- There is progressive paralysis or spondylolisthesis (displacement of the vertebrae);
- A hernia provokes muscle atrophy.
The rest of clinical cases involve the use of conservative therapy methods, which are based on taking medications and physiotherapy procedures.
Drug therapy is based on taking anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, chondroprotectors and muscle relaxants, fortified drugs, and in individual cases, a specialist may resort to prescribing opioids and relaxants.
If the pathology has caused depressive disorders in the patient, then antidepressants are additionally prescribed. In addition to medications, patients with spinal hernia are shown adequately selected physical exercises designed to increase the stability of the spine and restore its former flexibility.
To relieve painful symptoms and tension from the spinal column, wearing a corset is indicated , and in case of unbearable pain, it is permissible to carry out a novocaine blockade, the duration of which can be up to three weeks. But such blockages should not be abused, since such anesthesia can provoke vertebral atrophy.
Traditional methods of therapy
It is quite affordable to treat a spinal hernia at home, using the recommendations of traditional medicine, based on the use of medicinal plants and natural ingredients.
Decoctions, herbal infusions, baths or warming, rubbing or compresses, etc. are made with them.
- Decoctions and tinctures:
- Comfrey root (30 g) is poured with a bottle of vodka, kept for 20 days, periodically shaking up, then sipped and drunk, diluted with water (10 drops per 30 ml);
- A decoction is made from aspen bark (1 tbsp): it is poured with a glass of water and boiled for 60 minutes. You need to take the remedy in a large spoonful of no more than 4 r / day;
- A tincture is made from cinquefoil: 150 g of the crushed plant is placed in a half-liter bottle, vodka is poured to the brim and kept in a dark cabinet for 2 days, shaking the container every three days. Drink the product in a large spoon with water.
- Rubs and compresses:
- Mix dry mustard with salt (1: 2), then gradually add kerosene, bringing the mixture to a creamy consistency. The resulting product is applied to the affected area with rubbing movements and left until the mixture dries, then washed off. Such procedures are recommended to be done before a night’s rest;
- A herbal assortment is prepared: sweet clover + elecampane + saber (100 g each) + hemlock (150 g) and poured with medical or edible alcohol, kept for two weeks. The resulting medicine must be rubbed at the site of localization of the hernia;
- In the spring, dandelion stalks without peduncles (3 kg) are harvested and crushed with a meat grinder, then the mass is squeezed out with gauze and the resulting juice is diluted with medical alcohol. Keep the raw materials in the refrigerator for 10 days. Treatment consists in evening rubbing of the affected areas of the spine with slightly warmed dandelion tincture. Course – 10 days, for treatment you need 3 courses, break between courses – 10 days;
- Garlic (300 g) is finely crumbled and poured with vodka 0.5 l, stand for 10 days. The aged mixture is spread on a rag or a multi-layered piece of gauze and applied to the hernia. Cover the top with polyethylene and wrap it up.
- Baths and local heating:
- Warming up in a steam room has a very beneficial effect on the spine, the procedures relieve pain and improve blood circulation;
- You can do local heating with a chicken egg. It is cleaned without cooling, and cut into halves, placed on a painful vertebra until it cools down;
- Prepare a mixture for therapeutic baths: in 0.2 liters of boiling water, pour baby soap shavings (10 g), add 100 g of salicylic alcohol and 200 g of turpentine. Mix the components thoroughly. Add 3 large spoons of this mixture to a 37 ° C water bath. The duration of the procedure is 10 minutes.
Positive results will be more rapid if you apply several agents at the same time. For example, do rubbing in the morning, take tinctures or decoctions inside during the daytime, and take a heating bath or make a compress before going to bed.
Such procedures require daily execution for three weeks.
Home methods
Self-help home therapy involves the use of several therapeutic techniques.
It includes taking medications (analgesics, muscle relaxants, NSAIDs, vitamins, chondroprotectors, etc.), performing exercise therapy complexes, massage procedures, using manual and reflexotherapy techniques.
Therapeutic and gymnastic training is allowed only after the removal of acute pain symptoms. A physiotherapist is involved in the selection of an individual therapeutic and gymnastic complex. Stretching is a very effective exercise against spinal hernia. To this end, the bed is installed obliquely, and straps for the hands are attached at the head of the bed, holding on to which you need to half-hang for 2-3 hours / day.
Massage procedures help get rid of local swelling and blood congestion, relieve spasms of muscle fibers, accelerate lymph drainage, and increase blood supply in the affected area. Manual therapy methods are also quite effective. They involve the reduction of the vertebral hernia with the help of the hands. But such procedures must be carried out extremely carefully, since inept reduction can lead to spinal injuries.
Cervical spine
An exacerbated hernia is characterized by the occurrence of an inflammatory process, therefore, its treatment is not complete without glucocorticoids and anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs and other medications recommended above. Also shown is a gentle massage aimed at relaxing muscle tissue. Stretching of the cervical vertebrae has a beneficial effect.
With cervical hernias, it is very useful to regularly perform special gymnastic elements. They will help restore the position of the vertebrae, strengthen the corset muscles and prevent pathological relapses in the future. Training should take place in a slow rhythm, accompanied by a smooth execution of movements.
A very common technique is electrophoresis of drugs directly in the area of the hernia. Effectively deals with hernia and acupuncture. Such treatment helps to restore normal health, relieve tension and spasms, and accelerate blood flow.
Thoracic department
The principles of treatment of intervertebral hernias are practically the same, regardless of the location of the lesion. A thoracic hernia is manifested by painful symptoms in the back, aggravated by coughing or sneezing. In addition to taking medications and massage procedures, gymnastic techniques are also used.
To get rid of a thoracic vertebral hernia, you should exercise regularly and correctly. The main direction of exercise therapy for such a disease is to strengthen the spinal column.
To quickly get rid of a thoracic hernia, physiotherapists-vertebrologists recommend performing the following elements:
- Sitting on the floor, pull your knees to your chin and your heels to your buttocks. Grasping your knees with your hands, bend your back back and forth;
- Lie on your back and pull your legs to your stomach. Perform stretching head movements towards the knees;
- Put a roller on the floor and lie on it with your chest region. Putting your hands on the back of your head, perform backbends.
Properly performed self-massage greatly facilitates the condition. To perform it, they fold their hands behind their backs in a kind of lock and perform massaging movements with them from the lower back to the shoulder blades and back. Rolling on your back has an excellent effect, clasping your knees with your hands.
Lumbar
The main symptom of a lumbar hernia is intense soreness localized in the sacro-lumbar region of the spine.
Often, these patients are worried about numbness of the legs with characteristic tingling and weakness. Motor restrictions appear, and over time, posture curvature develops, such as scoliosis or kyphosis.
Conservative-therapeutic methods for lumbar hernia, used at home, are based on traditional medication, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, etc.