What to do about low back pain? Recently, due to the cold weather, there are many patients with low back pain, how to quickly solve the problem of low back pain on this special day? Today I will tell you about the relevant scientific knowledge about low back pain.
Xiao Liu, a "code farmer" who has been working at the desk for a long time, recently had pain in his lower back, so he went to the hospital for a lumbar MRI. The report suggests "lumbar 4-5 intervertebral disc degeneration, mild lumbar disc herniation". Seeing the words "lumbar disc herniation", Xiao Liu began to feel uneasy. But in reality, the image report is only a part of the diagnosis, and does not confirm the diagnosis of the disease alone.
An MRI report is simply an imaging diagnosis, and it describes the structural changes that the doctor sees on the MRI image. However, the true diagnosis needs to be based on a combination of the patient's symptoms and signs, as well as the doctor's clinical experience. Changes on MRI images are only used as a guideline for diagnosis, but doctors will further consider whether these changes are consistent with the patient's symptoms. Therefore, a final clinical diagnosis can only be made when the imaging diagnosis is combined with the patient's symptoms.
A herniated lumbar disc is a common imaging finding, but it does not mean that every patient will experience symptoms. In fact, studies have found that up to 196%～36.3% of patients had a herniated disc in the MRI, but did not experience symptoms such as low back and leg pain. This means that a herniated disc in the lumbar spine doesn't necessarily cause symptoms and doesn't necessarily need to**.
True lumbar disc herniation refers to a clear herniation on MRI, and the patient has symptoms related to the herniation, such as low back and leg pain. However, patients without symptoms are only "herniated discs" on imaging, and there is no need to worry too much.
For the causes of low back pain, a herniated lumbar disc is just one of them. In fact, most low back pain is not defined**, and the most common cause of this is muscle strain. Less than 5% of low back pain may be related to a herniated lumbar disc. Therefore, when a patient has low back pain, it is not necessarily caused by a herniated lumbar disc.
For patients with lumbar disc herniation, the goal is to alleviate symptoms and achieve clinical results. Not all patients require surgery**. In fact, more than 80% of patients achieve satisfactory results with non-surgical**. Non-surgical methods include bed rest, oral medications including traditional Chinese medicine, physiotherapy, exercise, acupuncture, etc. Surgery should only be considered if non-surgical ** is ineffective or if a specific condition arises**.
To be clear, neither conservative nor surgical can herniate a lumbar disc. The goal is to relieve symptoms and move the patient from symptomatic to asymptomatic. Therefore, patients should treat the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation rationally and follow the doctor's advice to perform **and** exercises to improve the quality of life. At the same time, prevention is also very important, including correcting bad posture, avoiding long-term bending and sitting for long periods of time, and strengthening the lower back muscles.