Herniated disc - what to do?
Kathrin had one, Bianka too, and last week Mia got caught too. Lately, you might almost think the herniated disc is an infectious disease. No wonder: A dozen kilometers a day or more. For this running time, our body is actually built. The average person lays in this country but only a few hundred meters daily walk back. Even high-joggers and athletes usually lag behind this natural activity target. Our body is almost always in a movement deficit. Especially for the back this has consequences: Because our intervertebral disc tissue is not supplied with blood; It is only through the change of loading and unloading that water and nutrients enter and end products of the metabolism go out. As with a sponge, which sucks and is then pressed out again. Exercising in the gym two to three times a week gives us the good feeling of activity, but it is still not enough for our backs to compensate for the everyday rumbling. If there is a hereditary tendency to more wear and tear of the intervertebral disc, their damage seems to be inevitable, even in sporty women. Incidentally, the proportion of genetic factors is estimated at about 40 percent here.
Most vulnerable is our lower back: Two-thirds of those affected it hurts there, discomfort in the neck are much less common. Over 90 percent of herniated discs also occur in the lumbar spine - these are the five bones above our pelvis. This is where the pressure of the vertebrae on the tissue cushions is the strongest in sitting and far greater than when standing, namely 180 kilograms compared to 100 kilograms.
Running, gymnastics, spinning - too little for a healthy back? Yes!
So that the intervertebral discs are healthy and the musculature remains strong, there can not really be too much activity. Why does it then meet athletes? Put simply, they train wrongly and do the wrong sport. During training, we like to forget about those muscle parts that support our spine. And: lack of core strength and body control, fast spinning movements, as they are required in golf, tennis or badminton, but also upsets such as skiing, cause problems. Some strength training, such as lifting weights, also leads to short-term extreme pressure on the spine, usually in the already strained lower back. Even women who actually move a lot and exercise regularly can then get into a cross.
Anyone who does sports that puts a strain on their backs therefore has to pay attention to two things. First, one should not be overstrained, for example, by suddenly exercising more often or more intensively. Second, you should In addition to the actual sports program, strengthen the back and abdominal muscles regularly with targeted exercises. Of course, this is especially important for beginners and after a break in training, for example, if you are on skis only once a year during winter holidays. And even for advanced golfers or tennis players, it can be helpful to get tips from a real expert every now and then. After all, the right technique will decide whether these sports strain or strengthen your back.
Very important are also: our fascia. This connective tissue, which also includes ligaments and tendons, surrounds muscles and organs like a firm skin. It runs through the whole body and determines our body tension and perception as well as the coordination of movements. Especially the so-called lumbar fascia in the area of the lumbar vertebra supports our back. But she is also easily overwhelmed by long sitting, especially with a crooked back. Then she lones temporarily; especially in bending movements, it can come in their interior to micro-cracks and inflammation. Currently, studies indicate that these tiny injuries to the fascia can cause severe pain. Under certain circumstances, a herniated disc can also be detected by means of imaging techniques, but the actual cause of the pain would be this connective tissue damage.
Sport is all the more important: it keeps the fibers of the fascia elastic and strong, and indeed the most sustainable, the more diverse and diversified we move. Fasciators primarily respond to stretch stimuli as required by full-body exercise programs (eg, yoga or Pilates). The back workout in ChroniquesDuVasteMonde BALANCE (Issue 1/2012, until April 3, 2012 at the kiosk) therefore provides an effective fascia training. In contrast, a classic back program, which focuses on muscle strengthening, usually does not train the fascia immediately. And possibly neglecting an important building block of back health.
But what good is it, when it has just hit the cross? Warmth is good as a first aid. Painkillers, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, bring additional relief - but of course should not be taken permanently. Even massages or acupuncture have proven themselves many times. Unquestionably, the most successful remedy for the pain is simple: time. In more than half of those affected, the symptoms disappear on their own after six weeks at the latest; three months later, more than 80 percent are again painless. The body itself can break down the prolapsed disc tissue; One year later, the spinal canal is usually free. Even if this is not the case, "healing means that the pain disappears and not that you have healthy pictures," says Martin Marianowicz, orthopedist and back specialist from Munich. "The body can learn to come to terms with the changes." This works best in the conflict: that is, through movement.
Of course, you often have to force yourself to do that. Because usually the pain when lying are more bearable, because the burden of the intervertebral discs is then lower and the muscles can relax. The body, however, learns in this way that protection is good and requires more and more of it. It is important to stop this process early and consciously, because not only is healing delayed, but at the same time the risk of a so-called pain memory is increasing and the symptoms become a permanent condition. If you are unsure what to expect, ask your doctor or physiotherapist for advice. It would be wrong to force your back on acute complaints, for example, to a several-hour badminton match and thereby burden even more. For his sake, first choose motions that gently strengthen him. Then he will do your favorite sport again afterwards.
Considerable sport
To go biking: Strengthens the spinal ligaments and protects the joints at the same time. Important: Always drive with your back straight. Nordic Walking: Activates the back muscles into deeper layers by using the arms, loosens above all shoulder and neck area, ensures an upright posture. Important: Only the right technique brings a back-plus. To jog: Takes the intervertebral discs well by alternating ante and relaxation, trains the deep muscles in the lower back. Important: The right shoes, otherwise the back is strained - and condition: Otherwise you are out of breath, before the running effect reaches the back muscles at all. Tai Chi: Strengthens the support muscles through the upright posture, flowing movements train the body awareness and loosen up the muscles. Important: If the movement sequences are too demanding, you can start with the lighter Qigong exercises first. Swim: Relieves the intervertebral discs, gently trains the muscles. Important: Breaststroking can stress the cervical spine. Better is backstroke or crawling.
Picture your diagnosis!
What is a herniated disc? The sheath of the intervertebral disc - it sits like a pillow between the vertebral bones - ruptures, and its tissue invades the spinal canal, in which the nerves run. Where does the pain come from? "Not the mechanics, so the pressure on the nerve, is the cause of the complaints.They only arise because the body reacts to this restriction with an inflammation," explains Martin Marianowicz, orthopedist and back specialist from Munich. And: "A herniated disc does not mean anything at all." If you push people without back pain under the X-ray machine or in the MRI tube (magnetic resonance imaging, also called nuclear spin), you will also see such a damage in every fourth. What should a doctor do? "The conversation is important," says Marianowicz. "Where do the pain sit, do it radiate, when will it get worse, etc. A doctor who does not ask these questions but only wants to take pictures can not help your back." On the contrary, pictures are frightening because they make visible the wear of the spine. And when does surgery have to be done? Operations of the intervertebral disc should always be the last resort, such as when paralysis occurs and, for example, the bladder and bowel can no longer be controlled. Nevertheless, in 2009 there were more than 160,000 surgical interventions, 40 percent more than five years earlier. The majority of these interventions - estimated at up to 80 percent - are considered superfluous. Because the pain often returns after surgery; Most sufferers benefit from a conservative treatment, including exercise training, more sustainable.
