What should I do if I have a herniated cervical disc?

  Cervical disc herniation is one of the more common spinal disorders in clinical practice, second only to lumbar disc herniation in terms of incidence. It is mainly due to the degenerative lesion of the nucleus pulposus, fibrous ring and cartilage plate of the cervical disc, especially the nucleus pulposus, which, under the action of external factors, leads to the rupture of the fibrous ring of the disc and the protrusion or release of the nucleus pulposus from the rupture, thus causing the adjacent tissues, such as the spinal nerve roots and spinal cord, to be compressed, causing headache, vertigo, palpitation, chest tightness, neck pain and swelling, restricted activity, shoulder and back pain, numbness and swelling of the upper limbs, gait instability, limb weakness and other symptoms and signs. The symptoms and signs such as unstable gait, weakness of limbs, etc. can cause life-threatening paraplegia in severe cases.  The anterior part of the cervical intervertebral disc is high and thick, the normal position of the nucleus pulposus is posterior, and the posterior part of the fibrous ring is weak, so the nucleus pulposus easily protrudes or comes out posteriorly, and there are important structures such as the spinal cord and nerve roots behind the disc, so the protruding nucleus pulposus easily stimulates or compresses the spinal cord or nerve roots and produces clinical symptoms.  According to the location of the cervical disc protruding into the spinal canal, it can be divided into the following three types: 1. Lateral protrusion type: the protrusion site is on the lateral side of the posterior longitudinal ligament and the medial side of the hook vertebral joint. This is where the cervical spinal nerve passes through, so the herniated disc can compress the spinal nerve root and produce radicular symptoms; 2. Paracentral herniation: the herniated part is on one side and between the spinal cord and the spinal nerve, so it can compress both and produce unilateral spinal cord and nerve root symptoms; 3. Central herniation: the herniated part is in the center of the spinal canal, so it can compress the bilateral ventral surface of the spinal cord and produce bilateral spinal cord symptoms.  The treatment of cervical disc herniation is mainly based on the type of cervical disc lesion to develop a targeted treatment plan, such as: taking blood-strengthening and pain relieving drugs, cervical traction, local physical therapy, painful injection, cervical spinal canal injection, cervical multi-dimensional rehabilitation, cervical spine fixation, cervical disc decompression, cervical disc nucleus pulposus oxidation, minimally invasive cervical disc removal, cervical disc biochemical dissolution and surgical treatment.