What is cervical disc herniation?

  It is one of the more common spinal diseases in clinical practice, second only to lumbar disc herniation in terms of incidence. It is mainly due to the degenerative degeneration 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, resulting in headache, vertigo, palpitations, chest tightness, neck pain and swelling, restricted movement, shoulder and back pain, numbness and swelling of the upper limbs, gait instability, quadriplegia, etc. The symptoms and signs such as unstable gait and weakness of the limbs can cause life-threatening paraplegia in severe cases.  According to the location of the cervical disc protrusion 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 site 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 site 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.  Clinical manifestations: mostly seen in middle-aged people over 30 years old, more men than women, 94% of patients occur at the cervical 5-6 vertebrae and cervical 6-7 vertebrae. Those with a history of trauma have an acute onset, often with posterior neck pain, relieved by bed rest and aggravated by activity. This symptom changes with the movement of the intervertebral disc and is a characteristic manifestation of cervical disc herniation. Due to the different sites of disc protrusion and different tissues of compression, the clinical manifestations are not consistent, and can be clinically divided into lateral, paracentral and central types: paracentral protrusion type: there are symptoms of unilateral nerve root and unilateral spinal cord compression. In addition to the manifestations of the lateral protrusion type, symptoms of unilateral spinal cord compression may also appear to varying degrees, manifested as increased muscle tone, decreased muscle strength, hyperactive tendon reflexes, decreased superficial reflexes, and pathological reflexes in the ipsilateral limb below the level of the lesion, and tactile and deep sensory disturbances may appear; on the contralateral side, sensory disturbances are predominant, i.e., temperature and nociceptive disturbances, and the distribution of sensory disturbances is not consistent with the level of the lesion, and the lesion The motor function of the contralateral lower limb is good.