Cervical Disc Herniation

CERVICAL DISC HERNIATION

When neck straightening is left untreated and no precautions are taken, irreversible damage occurs in the discs between the cervical vertebrae. As a result of this damage, the discs bulge out of their normal position and extend toward the canal that contains the spinal cord. They begin to press on the spinal cord or the nerves that branch off from it.

The patient may develop numbness, tingling, loss of sensation and loss of strength in the arms. At this stage, the patient should undergo a neurological examination, and the size of the herniation should be determined with the necessary imaging methods. The decision to operate should be based on both imaging and the examination.

Cervical disc herniations usually occur between the 5th and 6th or the 6th and 7th vertebrae. This causes weakness in the patient's grip. The patient usually develops impaired fine motor movements of the hands (such as deterioration of handwriting or difficulty buttoning a shirt…). How long the herniation has been pressing on the nerve affects the success of the operation. A nerve that has been under compression for a long time may recover only partially. In this case, the patient may be left with permanent loss of strength or sensation. For this reason, numbness and weakness in the arms and legs should be taken seriously, and treatment should be planned after the necessary tests have been performed.