Protrusion is one of the common diseases, which manifests itself in the form of dystrophic disorders in the intervertebral discs, which lead to their degradation. As a rule, this disease occurs in 80 percent of the population over the age of 30 years.
Protrusions - what is it
This disease, first of all, signals serious changes in the musculoskeletal system. Basically, this ailment is a consequence of the development of one of the stages of osteochondrosis.
Moreover, protrusion is the initial form of an intervertebral hernia. Its main and first symptom is acute pain in the affected area. In this case, displaced discs interact on the spinal roots, as well as on the spinal cord itself.
If a person fails to turn to a medical institution for help in time, he runs the risk of acquiring a more serious disease - an intervertebral hernia, which in the end will have much worse consequences. Also, protrusion of the spine, which will develop into a hernia, is much harder to treat and very dangerous for human health.
Protrusion formation
The appearance of protrusion is accompanied by dystrophic changes in the fibrous ring of the intervertebral discs, that is, in other words, their structure changes, their elasticity is lost, as a result of which the disc is flattened and protrudes beyond the vertebra. But it is worth considering that the fibrous disc retains its shape and integrity, so that the gelatinous core remains inside.
Spinal protrusion can be of several difficulty levels:
1. A protrusion of 0 to 3 millimeters is not the cause of any discomfort, and does not have any harmful effects;
2. A protrusion of 3 to 5 millimeters is a condition that is very often accompanied by uncomfortable and frequent pain. They are especially manifested during heavy physical exertion.
3. A protrusion of 5 millimeters - this condition is already regarded as an intervertebral hernia.
Causes of protrusion
To date, there are several main reasons that lead to the appearance of protrusion of the lumbar spine. These reasons include:
- unwritten posture;
- insufficient development of the muscle structure of the body;
- hereditary predisposition;
- the presence of excess weight;
- failure of metabolic processes of the body;
- age-related changes;
- large irrational loads on the back and spine;
- the presence of severe infectious diseases of the body.
As already mentioned, protrusions are the most common diseases of posture. What it is is clear to everyone, but few people know how to prevent the occurrence of this ailment.
Stage of protrusion formation
To date, doctors have identified several stages of protrusion formation:
- At the first stage, up to 70% of the structure of the intervertebral discs (disc) is destroyed. They lose their elasticity and cracks form in the fibrous membrane. This stage is manifested by acute local pain in the affected area.
- The second stage of the disease is characterized by protrusion of the disc. In this case, the pulpous nucleus moves from the center to the edge, thus, the tissues of the fibrous disc are stretched. At this stage, the disc bulges up to 2-3 mm, as a result of which sharp pains and discomfort in the transverse section can be felt.
- The last stage is characterized by a strong protrusion of the spinal disc. In this case, there is a rupture of disk fibrosis and the formation of a vertebral hernia, pain can occur in the affected area and various neurological disorders, for example, numbness of the limbs.
Classification of protrusions
It is known that protrusion is one of the most common diseases of the spine. What it is and what are the reasons for their appearance is already clear. Let's find out by what parameters this disease is classified.
So, protrusion is classified by type, type of protrusion and location.
- By type of protrusion, they are classified into circular and diffuse.
- Diffuse protrusion is a chronic type of disease. With this type of disk protrudes unevenly. If this disease is not treated on time, then sooner or later it will lead to disability and disability.
- Circular protrusion - when the intervertebral disc protrudes evenly. With this type, nerve infringement occurs, which becomes the reason for the development of neurological symptoms - the appearance of pain, numbness of the nerve limbs.
2. Protrusion of the lumbar spine is divided by the type of protrusion:
- Central protrusion (median) - protrusion occurs in the direction of the center of the spinal canal. In most cases, a disease of this type does not have any manifestations, but there is a great risk, since exposure to the spinal cord can lead to disruption of its work.
- Back protrusion - protrusion of the intervertebral discs occurs from the abdomen to the back. Very often, this type negatively affects the spinal cord, which leads to a violation of its functionality. It feels severe pain in the affected area, impaired sensitivity, in some cases a violation of the functionality of the pelvic organs.
- Lateral protrusion (lateral) - the disc protrudes to the right or left side relative to the spine. May cause the formation of spinal roots. Until the nerves are restrained, the disease has no symptoms.
- Posterolateral intervertebral protrusion (posterolateral) - intervertebral discs protrude back to the back and to the right or left side. It has a harmful interaction on the roots and structure of the spinal cord. Until the moment of nerve infringement, there are no symptoms.
3. The disease is divided by location: cervical, thoracic and lumbar protrusion.
Cervical protrusion
Protrusions of the cervical spine very often lead to the development of a variety of complications that can provoke an overload of the spine. The consequence of this may be the formation of new protrusions, and as a result, the development of an intervertebral hernia. The following symptoms can signal the appearance of this disease:
Local pain in the neck of a chronic or acute nature.
- Limit neck mobility.
- Manifestations of headaches, dizziness.
- Pain radiating along the arm.
- Numbness and tingling in the hands.
- Weakness in the muscles of the shoulders and arms.
Thoracic disc protrusion
Due to the structure of the human skeleton, protrusion in the thoracic region is very rare. The following symptoms may indicate the appearance of this disease in the thoracic region:
- Chronic or acute pain in the thoracic spine, discomfort.
- Chronic pain in the intercostal space or between the shoulder blades.
- Tingling in the abdomen and chest, numbness of the extremities and impaired sensation.
- Failure in the work of organs that are located in the affected area (heart, liver).
- Weakness in the abdominal muscles.
Lumbar protrusion
It is known that this disease most often occurs precisely in the lumbar spine. This is due to the fact that it is this area of the back that is constantly exposed to large dynamic and statistical loads. Protrusion of the lumbar spine is most often accompanied by:
Chronic and acute pain in the lumbar region.
- The presence of painful and constrained sensations in the lumbosacral zone.
- The formation of radiculitis.
- The manifestation of weakness in the legs.
- Violation of the sensitivity of certain parts of the body - numbness, sensations of "goosebumps", tingling.
- The appearance of pain radiating in one or both legs.
- In certain cases, the activity of the urethra and genitals may also be impaired.
Symptoms of protrusion
Symptoms of this disease directly depend on which particular disk is damaged. But until that time, until the pinched disk of various spinal nerves occurs, protrusion can occur absolutely without any symptoms.
In general, the symptoms of protrusion can always manifest with different strengths, it all depends on how irritated the spinal cord and the nervous system is impaired by the intervertebral disc. The most common symptom of protrusion is severe pain in the affected area, which can ultimately lead to impaired sensitivity.
In addition, you can also determine a number of other indicators that may indicate the presence of protrusion:
- Chronic or acute pain in the affected area (neck, lower back, thoracic spine).
- The presence of migratory and radiating pain.
- Manifestation of radiculitis.
- Loss of muscle elasticity and weakening of the muscle corset in the affected area.
- Loss of sensitivity of individual upper and lower extremities.
- The presence of a feeling of stiffness and burning in the affected area.
- Decreased hearing sensitivity, vision, headaches, dizziness.
Most commonly degraded intervertebral discs
The protrusion of the l5, L4 / S1 disk most often occurs, since it is these disks that are subjected to the greatest load when performing any action. l5, L4 are the dorsal intervertebral discs that are located in the lumbar region. When lifting weights or when sitting, there is a lot of pressure on these disks, which becomes the cause of their degradation. S1 is the first disc from the pelvic bone, which is also often subjected to stress. For these reasons, these discs are most often degraded.
As practice shows, there are practically no tangible symptoms of protrusion until the age of 30, basically all of them arise precisely after this age, since it is during this period that the human body undergoes a large number of interactions that negatively affect his state of health.
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosis with the appearance of protrusion symptoms, as a rule, begins with a physical examination of the patient by the attending physician. For this, specialists use a series of manual tests that allow you to determine the affected area. If intervertebral protrusion is suspected, an additional examination is prescribed for the patient - ultrasound, MRI, CT, EMG, X-ray and so on. X-ray allows you to determine the complexity of the disease, MRI - to establish compression of nerve bundles, and the scale of damage to nerve fibers helps to know EMG.
Treatment
From the foregoing, it can be concluded that protrusion is a very common and dangerous health disease. Therefore, its treatment should be carried out under the supervision of experienced doctors.
Treatment of protrusion is a complex of various procedures. They should be aimed at relieving pain, swelling of tissues, restoration of motor functions and normalization of sensitivity.
In order to forget what protrusion is, treatment also needs to be carried out with the help of various medications. To fully cure and restore, various analgesics, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory drugs are used today.
Also, special massages that only highly qualified specialists can do are of great help in the treatment of this disease.
Ways to Prevent Protrusion
As mentioned above, one of the worst diseases is protrusion. What it is, and how they appear, is already clear. But there are ways that can significantly reduce the likelihood of this disease.
It is not hard to guess that in most cases lumbar protrusion appears due to deformation of the intervertebral discs, so you need to constantly strengthen your back by doing sports, namely athletics. This kind of sport helps to strengthen muscle mass and ligaments, which, in fact, hold the entire back structure.
Conclusion: one of the common diseases of the back with which every second person lives today is protrusion. The treatment of this disease is simply necessary in order to avoid excruciating back pain, numbness of the limbs, headaches and allow yourself to work normally, relax and lead an active lifestyle.