A doctor has warned of the consequences of an untreated intervertebral hernia

Intervertebral hernia is a serious pathology, and if ignored, the disease can lead to the inability to fully move and serve themselves. This was reported on December 24 by the neurosurgeon of "SM-Clinica", candidate of medical sciences Petr Volkov.

According to him, intervertebral hernia can be formed not only by intense physical activity, but also as a result of trauma, traffic accidents, due to excessive body weight, sedentary lifestyle, lifting weights and congenital pathology of connective tissue.

"When a person wakes up and instead of vigor feels unpleasant sensations in the back, the desire to stretch and find a comfortable position <...> this just indicates some already started pathological processes of damage to the vertebrae," he said in conversation with "Gazeta.Ru".

According to the expert, first of all begins to suffer the fibrous ring of the intervertebral disc, because there are formed small tears and defects in connective tissue.

The main symptoms of the pathology Volkov called shooting in the limbs and severe aching or throbbing pain in the back. He added that as a result of a hernia in the cervical region, a person may experience numbness in the shoulder, forearm, hand or fingers, and with a hernia in the lower back, the toes of the foot and lower leg become numb.

"Problems appear <...> with the increase in the size of the hernia, its separation into parts, the exit of disc fragments into the lumen of the spinal canal and compression of the roots of the spinal cord. Patients in this case <...> may have difficulties with defecation, urination, in extreme cases develop sexual dysfunction, "- said the neurosurgeon.

Volkov called the inability to fully move and serve oneself the most unpleasant consequence of the pathology. He recommended people who experience even the slightest pain in the back, do not try to solve the problem on their own to avoid serious health problems in the future.

Earlier, on May 22, Andrei Dzhadzhiev, deputy chief physician for surgery at SM-Clinica, shared with Izvestia the factors that influence the occurrence of postoperative hernias. According to him, the main causes of formation can be dysplasia (improper formation) of connective tissue, low protein levels in the body, as well as excessive physical activity.

He noted that most hernias, especially large hernias, require treatment. Otherwise, patients can develop life-threatening complications.