Do you often feel pain or discomfort in your neck? Don't ignore it, because neck pain can be an indication of a problem with your health. Moreover, the neck is one part of the body that is prone to experiencing pinched nerves. A pinched cervical nerve, also known as a cervical disc herniation , is a condition in which the contents of a ruptured cervical disc flow outward, clamping the neck nerves, which can cause serious pain, even paralysis.
Early symptoms of a pinched neck nerve are usually sore and sore from the neck to the shoulders and arms. In addition, there is a tingling sensation that spreads to the fingers. However, if the pinched neck nerve is severe and affects the main nerve, the symptoms that appear are weakness or paralysis of the hands and feet. If the patient is showing symptoms of weak muscles or paralysis in the limbs, it needs to be treated with surgery. However, there are still many people who think neck surgery is scary and carries a high risk.
However, there is actually no need to worry about this anymore, because now neck surgery is no longer scary. Over time , medical tools have developed to be more sophisticated to cure patients from their illnesses. One of them is minimally invasive surgical techniques or minimally invasive surgery for pinched neck nerves. Minimally invasive neck nerve surgery is surgery in a hospital with the latest method, namely percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy (PECD) which has two techniques, namely anterior (front) and posterior (back).
The operation uses endoscope equipment which only requires an incision of 0.5 cm in the neck. Then, through the incision, the PECD operating tool which is made of optical fiber and connected to a monitor screen will be inserted and directed to the foramen or an area that has many nerves in the spine. The foramen is a place where a lot of nerve clamps are likely to occur which can cause you pain. Furthermore, the surgeon can see the location of the pinched neck nerves clearly and take steps to free the nerves from the clamps that occur. Then, the doctor will take the broken bone cushion and will install synthetic pads or pieces of bone so that the neck does not lose its function of movement and can still carry out its functions as before.
Through minimally invasive surgical technology for neck nerve entrapment, the risk of failure is quite low when compared to conventional surgery. Bleeding during surgery will generally be less. In addition, the duration of the operation lasts only a short time. The advantages of this minimally invasive surgical technology can also be seen from the fast recovery period. Within a few hours after carrying out the operation, the patient can immediately go home from the hospital without having to be hospitalized as is done after conventional surgery. So, you can carry out your usual activities after minimally invasive surgery. Not only that, scars, infections and the risk of recurrence after surgery will be minimal.
However, to prevent a pinched neck nerve from recurring, you need to do the following:
Pay attention to the position of the neck
A pinched neck nerve usually occurs due to the wrong position or neck posture. In addition, the wrong posture or neck position can exacerbate the pain that occurs due to a pinched nerve. So, for those of you who have had minimally invasive surgery, you still have to maintain your posture and neck position during your activities so you don't experience pinched neck nerve problems again.
Avoid looking down for too long while staring at a smartphone screen or computer monitor. Also, avoid sleeping on your side with a pillow that is too low or too high. This can put a burden on the cervical vertebrae which makes the cushion between the vertebrae wear out more quickly. So, it's best when doing activities that involve a lot of bending down, pause every one minute to straighten your neck or don't keep looking down.
Do special stretches for the neck
Specific neck stretches are a way to increase your range of motion in your neck and strengthen your neck muscles. You can do neck exercises by moving your head up and down, then continue by tilting your head left and right, so that the neck muscles are more relaxed. In this way, the neck will get better, relaxed and not stiff anymore.
Avoid activities that strain your neck
Activities such as driving a motorbike or car can put a strain on your neck. This is because when driving, you rarely move your head and neck. As a result, you leave the position of the neck and head in the same position for some time which causes the neck to become easily tense, stiff and raises the risk of a pinched nerve recurring. It's best if you occasionally use public transportation or ask for help to be escorted if you want to go a considerable distance if possible.
So, that's an explanation of neck nerve surgery that is more modern with minimally invasive surgery and the prevention that can be done so that pinched neck nerve disease does not recur. If you or a family member is going to have this operation in the near future, don't forget to consult in more detail with the doctor at the hospital and immediately change your lifestyle to become healthier. #LiveExcellently