Am I the one with the herniated disc?Overweight and Smartphone overuse vulnerable generations in their 20s and 30s
Jul 18, 2025
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◇Disk? Intervertebral Plate? An Accurate Understanding of Confused Back Diseases
Lumbar disc is one of the most common spinal diseases, and its medical name is 'Lumbar Intervertebral Plate Escape'. 'Disk' is commonly used as a disease name, but it originally refers to a cartilage tissue located between the vertebrae that absorbs shock and helps movement.
The intervertebral plate is composed of the core of the center and the fiber ring surrounding it. When the fiber wheel is damaged due to degenerative changes such as external shock or aging, the water nucleus escapes and compresses the nerves. At this time, if inflammation and pain occur in the waist area, it becomes lumbar intervertebral disc escape (back disk). The lumbar disc is most common between lumbar vertebrae 4 and 5, but it also appears frequently between lumbar vertebrae 3 to 4, lumbar vertebrae 5 to 1.
◇The numbness and pulling pain is a lumbar disc...Muscle pain and misconception
Initially, there is only stiff pain, which can be confused with other back pain diseases. Simple back pain usually results from muscles, with pain in the side of the waist or pain in certain positions. Typically, lumbar sprain has strong pain when moving, and the pain gets worse when taking deep breaths and sneezing.
On the other hand, the lumbar disc does not have a clear pain area, and the lower body is tingling, numb, and pulling pain appears. The muscle strength around the nerve root where the lesion occurred may be weakened, and there are multiple symptoms such as sensory disorders and abnormal senses, and in severe cases, urine disorders. Since it is not easy to distinguish between the two diseases, if symptoms persist, it is recommended to visit a hospital for an accurate diagnosis.
◇2030 generation, rather vulnerable environment for waist disks
Herniated disc at a young age is often caused by poor lifestyle and posture. In particular, office workers who spend most of their days at their desks need to be more careful. If you sit for a long time, your pelvis is tilted back and pressure is concentrated in the front of your waist, and at this time, a load is applied to the disk, making it more likely to be damaged. Lack of exercise, weight gain, and smartphone use are also typical factors of herniated disc.
According to the '2024 Survey on the Use of Broadcast Media', the average daily smartphone usage time of the people is steadily increasing to 2.6 hours.
Professor Son In-seok advised "Bowning your head when looking at a smartphone is not good for the disc."Since bending the spine backward increases the burden on the disc, efforts to maintain a correct posture during commuting hours and daily life are needed."
◇ What is a conservative treatment that can control symptoms without surgery?
A herniated disc does not necessarily mean you have to undergo surgery. Recently, a number of conservative treatments such as drugs, physical therapy, and injection therapy are also used. The key to conservative treatment is to reduce pain and avoid surgery. By suppressing the secretion of inflammatory substances, swelling of surrounding tissues can be calmed, improving nerve pressure. The procedure of washing the inflammatory area with a thin tube and the intervertebral balloon plastic surgery', which temporarily expands the intervertebral space with a balloon, is also symptom-controlled. However, because the intervertebral disc does not recover well once damaged, conservative treatment does not completely return the disc to its original state. When it does not improve even with conservative treatment, the underlying lesion is removed surgically.
◇Less surgical burden 'Bilateral spinal endoscopy'
Surgery is performed when daily life is impossible due to severe nerve paralysis or severe pain. It proceeds by removing the nucleus that is pressing the nerve. In the past, the burden on patients was high due to bleeding and anesthetic side effects due to large incisions, but recently, the burden has been greatly reduced with 'two-way spinal endoscopy' that reduces infection, bleeding, and pain with minimal incisions. A minimum incision window of about 1 cm is made in two surgical sites, and a high-definition endoscope and surgical tool are inserted into each side.
Damage to normal tissue is reduced, and the lesion site can be operated accurately through the monitor, minimizing the occurrence of surgical complications and the duration of recovery. Depending on the situation, surgery can be performed without general anesthesia, which is also useful for elderly patients and chronically ill patients.
◇Prevent frequent stretching and correct posture
First, it is important not to maintain a high-pressure posture for a long time to prevent lumbar disc. Sitting on the floor, bending over, and leaning on the sofa are typical. However, busy modern people often spend most of their time sitting in chairs.
You should maintain a correct posture when working or studying, and relieve the burden on your spine by stretching your back to wake up every hour. Second, it is recommended to avoid exercising that puts a strong load on the waist or suddenly twists the waist. These are activities that put weight on the waist or jumpy exercises like when climbing down. Like ball games such as soccer and tennis, exercise that rotates the waist quickly does not help much with spinal health, so care should be taken when doing activities.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
