An unknown headache, it turned out, was a neck disc
Apr 08, 2025
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A (30s, female), a beauty industry worker, recently started pain in the back of her neck and had a severe headache, so she eventually visited the hospital. The diagnostic result is 'Neck Disk'.
Mr. A worked all day with his head down and his head forward, so the wrong posture became a daily routine. The cervical spine was under excessive pressure, leading to neck pain and headache. It is commonly referred to as 'Cervical Headache', which is one of the symptoms of the neck disc. The disc between the cervical vertebrae came out and pressed the nerves passing through the neck, causing pain.
Lee Dong-hyun, head of the spine center at Gangnam Nanuri Hospital, said "In addition to the suspicious symptoms, if you have shoulder pain and limb radiating pain as well as headaches of unknown cause, you should get tested."
Neck disc is a disease in which the disc, which serves to absorb shock, escapes between the neck bones and compresses the spinal nerves passing through the neck, causing pain.
When the spinal nerve is compressed, the muscles are rigid around the neck and can cause headaches, limb radiation pain, and numbness in the hands and feet.
Manager Lee Dong-hyun said "In the case of neck disc, it is easy to misunderstand it as simple fatigue symptoms or mild muscle pain in the beginning. In the early stages of the neck disc, non-surgical treatments such as physical therapy and exercise therapy can improve symptoms, but if the symptoms worsen and you come to the hospital, you may have to undergo surgical treatment immediately."
Recently, if surgery is inevitable, a minimally invasive method is preferred to minimize damage to surrounding tissues by incising the skin a little.
Spinal endoscopy is especially attracting attention. Unlike conventional spinal surgery performed by incision, spinal endoscopy is a surgical method that precisely removes the lesion area by making a hole of less than 5mm and inserting an endoscope and surgical tools. Spinal endoscopy is divided into two-way vertebrae and single-hole vertebrae according to the incision method, and two-way vertebrae insert an endoscope and surgical tools into each of the two holes to remove ruptured disk fragments and ligaments that cause pain. Treatment is usually around an hour, and the operation time is short. Depending on the patient's condition, it is a treatment that is less burdensome to the patient so that he can be discharged from the hospital for about a day.
Director Lee Dong-hyun said, `Both-way and single-hole surgery methods depend on the patient's condition"Since it is a highly difficult treatment, it is important to receive treatment from professional medical staff with extensive clinical experience in endoscopic spinal surgery."
Prevention is the most important thing for all diseases. In particular, neck disc is highly likely to recur even if the pain is reduced, so it is better to stretch from time to time in everyday life.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
