With the short name “herniated disc HWS” my doctors an incident on the cervical spine, in short HWS. Another technical term for this is cervical disc prolapse. Cervical spine and thoracic spine are much more rarely affected by a herniated disc than the more heavily used lumbar spine area. Read more about the herniated disc HWS!
Herniated disc HWS: causes
HWS is often found in the elderly, where cervical erosion can promote an incident. With increasing age, the vertebral joints change and loosen, and the intervertebral discs wear increasingly. This can ultimately result in a herniated disc HWS.
Apart from that, there is also an acute herniated disc HWS. It is usually the result of bagatelltraumata as abrupt rotational movements of the head. He also occurs in younger people.
Herniated disc HWS: symptoms
A cervical spine disc herniation is preferably found in the lower part of the cervical spine, ie between the 5th and 6th (HWK 5/6) or between the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae (HWK 6/7). These are the segments with the greatest mobility.
Such a herniated disc does not always cause cervical spine symptoms. However, when it irritates or puts pressure on exiting nerve roots, the patient may experience symptoms such as pain and / or abnormal sensation (paraesthesia) in the area of the nerve root. A circumscribed tapping pain, a painful movement restriction of the cervical spine and a weakening or paralysis of individual muscles can also occur in an acute cervical disc herniation.
In more rare cases, a herniated disc causes pressure on the spinal cord, which can have serious consequences such as arm and leg deficits, gait disorders, bladder dysfunction, and paraplegia.
In the upper segments of the cervical spine – for example between the second and third (HWK 2/3) or the third and fourth cervical vertebrae (HWK 3/4), a herniated disc rarely occurs. Neck and shoulder pains are just as much a possible sign of such an event as an aggravation of the symptoms at night.
Herniated disc HWS: treatment
If an acute cervical disc herniation causes symptoms, treatment is conservative if possible – without surgery. The complaints can usually be eliminated or at least alleviated within a few weeks. Possible therapy modules are, for example, the gift of drugs (Analgesics, muscle relaxants), the short-term wearing a ruff and heat applications (Cold usually works less well). Similarly, in a herniated disc HWS exercises Under physiotherapeutic guidance relieve the symptoms. These include, for example, relaxation and loosening exercises or back exercises.
Caution should be taken with chiropractic measures: you can make a small cervical disc herniation a mass prolapse with pressure on the spinal cord.
For prolonged cervical discomfort (with or without radiance in the head or arms), endurance, strength and flexibility training of the neck muscles may be useful.
Surgery for cervical disc herniation
If the conservative therapy does not work or if the hernia of the herniated disc causes significant or progressive signs of nerve deficits (such as paralysis), surgery is usually necessary. As a rule, surgery is performed from the front (ventral), ie via a transverse skin incision at the level of the larynx. From there, access to the anterior cervical spine and to the Herniated disc HWS, The disc is removed and usually replaced by a spacer.