Steemit Learning Challenge-S21W6; Disc Herniation"
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Am happy to join this week's lesson and also to put in my entry for the lesson learnt this week. A special thanks to our professor @ashkhan who have taken it upon himself to take us on this journey of absolute enlightenment. I found this week's course interesting and decided to give the task a short just like I've been doing since the begining o this season. I really do hope my teacher finds my entry interesting.
What's disc herniation? Write in your own words after getting knowledge from the lesson post.
A herniated disc which is often referred to as slipped disc is a medical condition that occurs as a result of slippage of the soft center spinal disc which results in severe pain and weakness for many when it presses on any nerves, for some other, they do not experience pain but numbness, meaning they do not feel anything around that area. Disc herniation usually occurs in the lower back region but not limited to it, it can also occur in the spinal column or the neck and middle back.
Let quickly consider the common types of Disc herniation we have. This classification is based on the regions where these condition occurs. Below are the types we have.
• Cervical - This type occurs within the cervical spine or neck which then results in pain and numbness in that same region which also extends to the arms and shoulders.
• Thoracic – this type occurs in the center of the back and the pain that results from this extends to the chest. It can be a very severe condition.
• Lumbar – this occurs in the lower back region and also results in pain which cuts across the thighs, leg and buttocks region.
In this section, we would be considering the causes of Disc herniation. There are several factors that contribute to it and the list are as follows.
• Aging. This is one of the major reasons for this medical condition
• Severe injuries, like falls. No doubt, this can wreck the disc of a man.
• Performing repetitive bending or twisting motions. This can be very risky if not cautiously done.
• Improper lifting of heavy objects. This is very key, lifting object that are way beyond our strength can rupture the disc
• Sitting for extended periods of time in the same position.
• Smoking. Very underrated but risky to our well being when it comes to this matter.
The following symptoms would be noticed when an individual suffers from disc herniation.The symptoms the victim notices are based on the area affected, if it's in the lumber region then you notice the following..
• Back Pain.
• Numbness in the legs and feet.
• Muscle weakness.
Symptoms in the cervical region includes the following...
• Pain around the shoulder blades
• Neck pains (back & side of the neck)
• Pain in the shoulder, arm and by extension to fingers and hand
• Tingling in the arm
Treatment of Disc Herniation includes the following below which are some of the common approaches to treating.
• Medication: Your medical personnel can prescribe for you medicines you can get over the counter to get yourself better. It includes aspirin, ibuprofen etc. The medicines are usually anti inflammatory pain relievers.
• Spinal Injections these are usually steroids shots to ease the pain in the affected region. They are injected directly into the spine.
• Physical Therapy: these are fitness programs aimed at giving the body relief. It helps loosen tight muscles and improves blood circulation around the body.
In severe cases, victims would have to undergo surgeries to help them get better and stronger.
How would you diagnose a disc herniation? Any clinical investigation or assessment tests?
To diagnose this condition, If am to act as a medical practitioner,I would have to run some physical examination just to know what exactly would be administered. If it's something that is not very serious, I would know and if it's something that needs serious medical attention like surgery, I would also be able to find out via the physical examination.
In this physical examination, I will assess your muscles, sensations and muscle strength by subjecting you to some physical test such as straight leg raises test among others to ascertain the degree of the problem. There are other tests he might also subject you too and they are
• X-rays
• Computed Tomography (CT) scan
• Myelogram
• Electromyogram (EMG) etc
Try to practice at least 3 exercises that you have learned from the lesson. Share images, gifs or videos while practicing preferably gifs or videos.
• William Flexion ( knee to chest stretch)
According to our teacher, this exercise helps to strengthen your hamstrings muscles, also improve, range of motion, pain in back region, to stretch the muscles below your back of the thigh. Of a truth it's effective in fixing the muscles in this regions.
• Cat & Cow Stretch Exercise
The cat and cow stretch helps Improved range of motion, flexibility, posture, strength, balance, stress and relaxation, and reduce stiffness. It was indeed effective in fixing my back region as I've been have a little pain along that line due to my excessive sitting at work.
• Sciatic Nerve Glides
According to our teacher, It's important to relieve pain, inflammation, and pressure on sciatic nerve . Improve range of motion, mobility and reduce adhesions that are formed due to disc herniation. My conclusion about this is that truly it's effective in fixing these conditions.
Share your review after performing these exercises either on yourself, healthy individual or patient.
The exercise are quite refreshing for me, I have been having a little back pain for sometime now due to my extensive sitting at work but then the physical therapy I did has helped me a great deal by stretching vital parts of my body and making me feel very relaxed and cool.
I think these therapies are dynamic in their workings, such that it doesn't just only fix specific parts of the body but then it equally helps other parts of the body.
I think I need to drop my pen here but before I finally do, I would like to invite @m-fdo, @walictd @radleking to this challenge. I hope they find it really interesting. Gracias!
Regards
@lhorgic❤️
Thank you for understanding the lesson and sharing your assignment; I hope that you will enjoy this week's lesson and try to implement it in your life if you see any such case.
Observations
Task 1 (3/3)
You have shared a great knowledge about disc herniation, its symptoms, and and causes, but didn't add its types. A bit more depth require to complete the answer. I appreciate your effort.
Task 2 (2.8/3)
In the second question, you tell us about how you have to assess a patient by doing physical examination and history taking, performing investigations and special tests. You add one special test to assess but It would be better if you add name and explanation of one special test of each region to assess the disc herniation. Great.
Task 3 (4/4)
You try the cat & cow stretch, William Flexion and sciatic nerve glides exercises . You did the cat & cow stretch, William Flexion and sciatic nerve glides correctly. A little suggestion to keep your camera on wide angle as your whole leg was not shown in the video during sciatic nerve glides. Always remember to apply heat pack before performing exercises to relax the muscles and reduce stiffness. I appreciate your efforts.
Overall you made a great attempt to answer all the questions. I appreciate your efforts. But next time try to avoid the above written suggestions. Keep learning and try to implement your knowledge to the people suffering from disc herniation or any type of back pain. Thank you.
Thanks for the recommendation...it's much appreciated.