The spine plays a “top-down” role, being both the supporter of the head and the central axis of the human trunk. Lesions of the spine have a serious impact on human life and work. To understand why herniated discs occur in the cervical and lumbar spine, we must first understand two aspects. First, the structural characteristics of the human spine The structure of the human spine is very complex, and there are 32 vertebrae in the spine. Including 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum is made up of 5 sacral vertebrae fused to each other, and the tailbone consists of 3 to 5 caudal vertebrae. There are only 23 intervertebral discs in the whole body because there are no intervertebral discs between the cervical vertebrae and the cardinal vertebrae and between the sacral vertebrae and the caudal vertebrae. Each vertebra can be divided into a vertebral body located in front and a vertebral arch located at the back, which together form the spinal canal, in which the spinal cord is located. Adjacent vertebrae are linked to each other with the help of intervertebral cartilage that gradually thickens from top to bottom: the intervertebral discs act as elastic cushions to reduce the impact of human movement on the spinal cord. Along the entire spine, there are two strong top-down longitudinal ligaments, the anterior longitudinal ligament and the posterior longitudinal ligament, as well as other ligaments of varying lengths and small and large muscles. The anterior longitudinal ligament is a broad band located in front of the vertebral body and on the anterolateral side, from the second cervical vertebra to the upper part of the sacral pelvic surface, which limits excessive posterior extension of the spine, which is particularly important in the lumbar region, where it stops the tendency to increase lumbar flexion due to the action of weight. Posterior longitudinal ligament The posterior longitudinal ligament is located in the spinal canal, behind the vertebral body. It runs from the second cervical vertebra to the sacrum, and it has the effect of limiting excessive forward flexion of the spine. The posterior longitudinal ligaments are not as wide and strong as the anterior ligaments, especially in the lumbar region, and are weaker on both sides, which may be one of the reasons why the nucleus pulposus protrudes more posteriorly. These two ligaments are commonly ossified in the neck. In addition to affecting movement after ossification, the anterior longitudinal ligament can also compress the esophagus and the posterior longitudinal ligament can also compress the spinal cord backward. The spine forms four sagittal curves: two primary and two secondary anterior convexities. The neonatal spine is formed by a forward bend of the posterior convexity of the thoracic vertebrae and the posterior convexity of the sacrum, which maximize the capacity of the thoracic and pelvic cavities for the organs. At birth, the infant begins with a slightly convex forward bend in the neck, and when the infant raises its head to look forward 3 months after birth, a permanent forward convex neck curve is formed to maintain the balance of the head on the trunk. Adaptation to survival produces head movement secondary to the formation of a cervical spine range of motion. The load of the head and neck (including its own weight and the load of various movements) is concentrated in the lower cervical segment, and the compressive stress of the 5-6th cervical vertebrae is the greatest, especially for workers with long term head down, the 5-6th cervical vertebrae are often in a state of high pressure and high distortion force, so that the 5-6th cervical vertebrae are the easiest, the earliest and the heaviest to degeneration. The sagittal diameter of the cervical spine gradually decreases from top to bottom, and the narrowest point is the 5th-6th cervical spine, where the spinal cord is cervically enlarged. Therefore, the 5th-6th cervical spine lesion is prone to spinal nerve and spinal cord irritation. In the postnatal 18 months when young children learn to walk, there is also an anterior convex lumbar curve, so that the body is upright above the sacrum, and when upright, they have to constantly bend over to adapt to survival, thus creating a range of motion in the lumbar spine. This resulted in the emergence of four curves in the spine that are unique to humans, two of which are primary lordosis and two of which are secondary to anterior lordosis. The posterior convexity of the thoracic spine is the result of the anterior narrowing and posterior widening of the thoracic vertebrae, whereas the secondary anterior convexity of the cervical region is mainly constituted by the anterior widening and posterior narrowing of the intervertebral discs, whose vertebrae are equal in height anteriorly and posteriorly or slightly lower in front. In the case of lumbar lordosis, in addition to the anteriorly high and posteriorly low intervertebral discs, the lumbar 4 and 5 vertebrae also become anteriorly high and posteriorly low, the lumbar 3 vertebrae are variable and still mostly square, while the lumbar 1 and 2 vertebrae still adapt to the posterior convexity of the thoracolumbar segment and have a posteriorly high and anteriorly low morphology. There are some differences in the curvature of the lumbar vertebrae in terms of gender, and the female ones are generally larger than the male ones. The presence of normal physiological curvature of the lumbar spine is an indication of the stability and balance of the spine itself. The structural characteristics of the two secondary pronation are: the anterior high and posterior low of the intervertebral discs and the anterior high and posterior low of the lumbar vertebrae 4 and 5; the physiological function is characterized by a large range of motion and high pressure. This physiologically determines the susceptibility of the discs in these two areas to lesions. Second, the structural characteristics of the intervertebral discs are located between the two vertebral bodies. The total thickness of the intervertebral disc is l/4-1/5 of the total length of the spine. intervertebral disc consists of three parts: cartilage plate, nucleus pulposus, fibrous ring, whose main component is collagen, the intervertebral disc can cushion the pressure on the spine during movement, absorb vibration, protect the spinal cord, the lumbar intervertebral disc can also assist the spine to complete the back and forth flexion and extension, left and right rotation movements. Fibrous ring: The fibrous ring is divided into three layers: outer, middle and inner. The outer layer is composed of collagenous fibrous bands and the inner layer is composed of fibrous cartilage bands. The layers are firmly bonded to each other by adhesive-like substances. The anterior and lateral portions of the fibrous ring are the thickest, almost twice as thick as the posterior portion. The fibrous rings are very strong and are tightly attached to the cartilage endplates to maintain the stability of the spine. The physiological structure of the anterior and lateral portions of the fibrous rings, which are thicker and thinner posteriorly, determines the pathological basis for the tendency of the nucleus pulposus to protrude or detach posteriorly. The nucleus pulposus: a white, mucin-like substance containing chondrocytes and fibroblasts, contains much water, which regulates disc pressure. With age, the water content decreases. The water content of the nucleus pulposus can account for 75-90% of the total nucleus pulposus. This makes the entire intervertebral disc resemble a water bag in which the nucleus pulposus rolls, transferring the pressure it receives evenly to the annulus fibrosus and the vertebral cartilage plate. The main role of the nucleus pulposus is: on the one hand, to bear the pressure between the upper and lower vertebrae, to maintain a certain distance between the two, on the other hand, in the case of sudden external force, play a role in absorbing oscillations, lumbar spine movement, the nucleus pulposus plays a role similar to the bearing. This determines that the nucleus pulposus has good elasticity, plasticity and conductivity. Under pressure, the nucleus pulposus becomes flattened, so that the pressure is transmitted in all directions, reducing damage to a vertebral body due to excessive pressure. However, as we age, the water in the nucleus pulposus decreases and the nutritional supply to the nucleus pulposus deteriorates, reducing the elasticity, plasticity and conductivity of the nucleus pulposus, which becomes less elastic and prone to damage, degenerative necrosis, and loss of the “bearing” role in spinal motion, affecting the range of motion of the spine. Plasticity and conductivity is reduced, resulting in the impact of its role in absorbing oscillations and conducting pressure is reduced, easy to birth ligaments and vertebral damage, resulting in ligament rupture and disc herniation (bulge) and vertebral fracture. Cartilage plate: It is transparent cartilage that forms the upper and lower walls of the intervertebral disc, meets the cancellous bone of the vertebral body, and fuses with the fibrous ring to seal the nucleus pulposus therein. Therefore, when the cartilage plate is intact, the nucleus pulposus is neither easy to protrude into the cancellous bone of the upper and lower vertebral bodies nor easy to protrude posteriorly. The blood vessels within the intervertebral disc degenerate, and by the age of 18 to 25 most of them have practically disappeared. Therefore, the nutrient metabolism pathway of the intervertebral disc is significantly different from that of other tissues of the body, and the intervertebral disc nutrients are mainly obtained through cartilage endplate diffusion and fiber ring diffusion. When the vertebral body is fractured or damaged, the integrity of the cartilage plate is affected, resulting in the loss of the physiological function of the intervertebral disc due to its degeneration and calcification due to impaired nutrient metabolism on the one hand; on the other hand, the nucleus pulposus may protrude into the vertebral body and lose its role as a “bearing” in spinal motion. Physiological degeneration of the intervertebral disc generally begins between the ages of 20 and 30. Starting from the end plate of the vertebral body, its morphology is thin and incomplete, with the result that: firstly, the fibrous ring loses its attachment point and becomes weaker, and secondly, it loses its role as a translucent membrane, which reduces its nutrient exchange and thus promotes degeneration and necrosis of the fibrous ring and the nucleus pulposus. Third, the characteristics of intervertebral disc lesions From the above physiological structure and spinal movement characteristics can be seen: on the one hand, the intervertebral discs in the cervical and lumbar spine are prone to lesions, and most of them protrude posteriorly, and they mostly occur in the intervertebral discs between the cervical spine 5-6, the intervertebral discs between the lumbar spine 4-5 and the lumbar spine 5-sacral 1; on the other hand, the lesioned intervertebral discs easily affect the On the other hand, the diseased discs can easily affect the spinal cord and spinal nerve and produce clinical symptoms of spinal cord and spinal nerve irritation. Such as strong neck pain, arm and shoulder numbness and pain or dizziness, headache, tinnitus, eye swelling, nausea, loss of appetite, panic, heartburn, chest tightness, sweating, unstable walking gait, even muscle atrophy, memory loss, low back pain, leg pain, foot numbness, even lower back or anal swelling, numbness in the pubic area, serious cases affect the bowel and sexual function. At the same time, the protruding (or bulging) intervertebral disc can affect the tissue around the vertebral body, causing vertebral osteophytes or ligamentous hypertrophy, resulting in clinical symptoms of spinal and limb movement disorders. Such as cervical and lumbar spine range of motion is reduced, activity tolerance is reduced easily fatigue of the limbs, limb range of motion is reduced, and even some sports can not be completed. Fourth, the prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc lesions As long as the understanding of the physiological structure and movement characteristics of the spine, daily work to pay attention to, using appropriate scientific exercise methods to prevent the occurrence of cervical and lumbar spondylosis. Once the cervical and lumbar spine imbalance instant adjustment, as far as possible to restore the normal physiological activities of the spine. Even if you have cervical and lumbar spondylosis, you can reduce the degree of disc protrusion and improve the relationship between the protruding disc and the nerves and spinal cord through appropriate rehabilitation treatment to eliminate clinical symptoms. The rehabilitation of cervical and lumbar spondylosis includes conservative treatment and surgical treatment. Conservative treatment is suitable for most patients with early cervical and lumbar spine and those who are not suitable for surgery, especially those with the initial onset of cervical and lumbar spine disease or pre-cervical and lumbar spine disease (only cervical and lumbar spine discomfort or occasional slight numbness of hands and feet), who can completely recover and prevent their condition from worsening with appropriate conservative treatment, especially those with pre-cervical and lumbar spine disease can be spared from developing into cervical and lumbar spine disease. Conservative treatment is not only a doctor to help patients recover, but to a large extent depends on the patient’s own appropriate functional exercise, which must be appropriate to the individual and under the guidance of a doctor. At present, many patients with pre-cervical and lumbar spondylosis are resorting to those informal rehabilitation treatments, which are not only detrimental to the recovery of the disease, but some instead accelerate the development of pre-cervical and lumbar spondylosis to cervical and lumbar spondylosis. Surgery is suitable for patients whose conservative treatment is ineffective for half a year or whose condition has lost the opportunity of conservative treatment, but surgery for cervical and lumbar spondylosis is also a treatment method to relieve symptoms rather than a complete cure, and surgical treatment has risks on the one hand and produces many complications on the other, especially with the growth of age some complications that are difficult to treat. Such as vertebral body slippage, spinal stenosis.