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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 22, 2018 6:55 PM IST
Often people ignore the symptoms of the spinal diseases, since they do not consider it to be a serious problem © Shutterstock
For 48-year-old Usha Reddy, a homemaker by profession, a doting mother, and a caring wife, life was smooth sailing until her chronic upper back and neck pain started radiating towards her right arm, which eventually developed into numbness and weakness in her right arm. These symptoms were accompanied by severe pain for last one week and she could barely sleep and ended up waking up all night due to pain.
Neck pain and shooting pain along the arm had been had a regular feature from quite some time, which she had been managing with quick fixes like muscle relaxants and hot water bottles. However, only when the pain became excruciating that she consulted a doctor when it was revealed to her that she was suffering from something more serious - a herniated disc. Despite negligence and delayed access to medical aid, Mrs Usha was a fortunate woman as the doctor assured her that her condition was "entirely curable" only if she underwent immediate surgery or else the weakness of the hand could be irreversible.
"Often people ignore the symptoms of the spinal diseases, since they do not consider it to be a serious problem, thereby not just increasing the gravity of the problem but also throwing it beyond the range of drug-based medication. However, the best part is advancement in medical technology has made it possible to not just treat spine problems but also restore its characteristic motion almost completely, "says Dr Venkateswara Prasanna, Fortis Malar Hospital.
While managing a normal life without a healthy spine is incredibly difficult task, like Mrs Usha reddy most of us often fail to take proper care of it. According to a research study published in Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine 2011, in a lifetime, degenerative spine disorders can affect two-thirds of the world's population. Degenerative disc disease is a condition that can occur in the neck or low back and cause significant pain.
As a matter of fact, our spine is made up of 33 bones (24 articulating and 9 fused) called vertebrae supported by spongy inter-vertebral discs, which not only provide support to our back but also enable mobility. Without inter-vertebral discs, the spine would be very stiff.
At the time of birth, 80 percent of these inter-vertebral discs are filled with water, surrounded by tough collagen fibers. As we age, due to improper posture, nutritionally deficient diet or abrasions, not only does the water content of the disc decrease, the proteins undergo changes as well, making the spine stiff and vulnerable to wear and tear.
Herniated disc, on the other hand, develops when one (or more) of inter-vertebral discs rupture, pushing out a jelly-like fluid. This leaked fluid initially irritates nearby nerves, eventually extending to nerve compressions which leads to numbness and severe pain in the concerned body part. In Mrs Usha's case, it affected her right arm.
If diagnosed at an early stage, a herniated disc can be managed with medication and physiotherapy. However, at advanced stages, surgery is the best option.
"Earlier, we used to treat such problems by fusing two vertebrae, but at the same time, fusion therapy also reduces the space and mobility of the spine and increases stress on other adjoining vertebrae, which in the long run could lead to similar painful symptoms. Fortunately, advanced disc replacement therapy has emerged as an incredible solution for this problem,"says, Dr Venkateswara Prasanna.
Dr Venkateswara Prasanna explained that conventional fusion therapy involves removing the diseased disc between two cervical vertebrae and placing a bone graft in between to aid the formation of solid bone bridging the vertebrae. Complete removal of the diseased disc does cure the pain since it was the bulging components of this disc that press against the spinal cord and nerve roots and generate pain in the neck and arms. However, the fusion procedure hinders the motion and flexibility of the spine at that level.
In artificial cervical disc replacement therapy, the old and diseased disc is replaced with a prosthetic device (a disc) which is specially designed to maintain mobility in treated vertebral section. This mobile metal disc, inserted between the vertebrae, enables maximum restoration of motion including flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation and alignment i.e. height and curvature, like natural disc.
This proves to be a great help to the patients to live a long, active, healthy life. It is ideal for people who are comparatively younger and cannot afford to be left out from regular activities as retired persons can.
Moreover, after an artificial cervical disc replacement procedure, the patient recovers quickly and goes back home in as early as three to four days after surgery, and can resume almost all normal activities in another four to five days.
"It is very important to note here that since disc replacement therapy is meant to bring motion back to the neck, patients falling in the 50 years age group who failed to respond to medication and physical therapy are ideal for this type of surgery. Because with age, flexibility of the spine is greatly reduced and mobility once lost is hard to recreate," adds Dr Venkateswara Prasanna.
According to a report published in January 2009 issue of Spine, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that patients who received an artificial disc not just had a quicker recovery as compared to those who underwent conventional spinal fusion, but recovered just as well or better than those who had a spinal fusion. United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this therapy in 2007.
So with such an advanced therapy at place it is high time for us to stop bogging ourselves down with cervical problems, which not only holds us back from day-to-day activities but also hampers overall quality of life and productivity. So, all those who are undergoing such torment, get treated as soon as possible, because life is all about motion and not to put at halt.
