Intervertebral hernia of the lumbar spine: causes and treatment

Many people have heard about such a thing asintervertebral lumbar hernia. In order to understand what is this disease, you should briefly disassemble the structure of the spine. The human spine is built from a series of vertebrae with intervertebral discs located between them, as well as ligaments and muscle groups supporting the spine in an upright position. The intervertebral disc consists of a so-called fibrous ring, which is the membrane of the disc and the nucleus located in its center. The core is capable of increasing at a rate of almost double in the vertical load, being absorbed by moisture, thereby preventing the squeezing of the discs.

Fibrous ring can bulge out of the diskand even break. In this case, the nucleus moves beyond the disk and enters the zone of the spinal canal, causing pain by squeezing the nerve endings. Most often, this phenomenon occurs in the lower back and in the neck, and is called the intervertebral hernia.

Intervertebral lumbar hernia may occur for the following reasons:

• Lack of exercise. The back muscles are weakened and do not hold the spine in the correct position. As a result, a relatively large burden, raised by a person not strictly vertically, but at some angle, can lead to rupture of the ring and the intervertebral hernia of the lumbar region will immediately manifest itself to acute pain.
• Insufficient supply of the body with vitamins andmicroelements. The vertebral discs, without getting adequate nutrition, can not recover, ossify and dry up, at risk of rupture. It is necessary to eat foods that contain calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
• Intervertebral lumbar hernia canand due to insufficient supply of moisture to the body. But the discs retain their damping properties due to moisture absorption.
• Injury of the spine. Here it is possible to carry falls on a back and on legs or foots, impacts in the field of a loin. A rupture of the ring can occur when lifting a large weight with a bent back, and even during rest on a very soft, spring net, when the backbone is bent in the opposite direction.

Prerequisites for the occurrence of this pathologycan accumulate gradually, and one unfortunate day, even with the usual tilt, may manifest intervertebral hernia of the lumbar region, the symptoms of which are: low back pain giving in the leg, as well as numbness of the hands or feet.

Intervertebral lumbar hernia is treatedconservatively. Various rubbing and massages are used to relieve pain and eliminate inflammation. Non-steroidal preparations such as celebrex or indomethacin may also be used. It often happens that the contents of the nucleus that has got into the spinal canal can dissolve by itself, of course, with properly prescribed treatment and the implementation of special exercises that contribute to this. So the patient can easily remove the diagnosis of "intervertebral lumbar hernia". Exercises that help in this, you can perform the following:

• Standing on all fours, raise both your arm and the opposite leg. Picking up, hold them in this position.
• Standing on all fours, kneel and, leaning on his hands, turn his bent legs to the left and to the right. The shoulder belt turns in the same direction, trying to see your legs.
• Sit on the bent legs, and hands to pull forward, touching the floor.
• Lying on the back, stretch the spine. The heels of the legs are pulled forward, and the chin trying to touch the chest.
• Imitation of swimming breaststroke lying on stomach.

The main task of these exercises is to provide an active blood supply to the lumbar region and to strengthen the back muscles responsible for maintaining the spine in a comfortable state.