1.Lower back pain
Low back pain as a painful experience is common in daily life, and although rare in children, it can develop in both men and women. The causes of low back pain are diverse, and the most common cause is due to degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs and small joints of the lumbar spine, which is caused by the so-called tissue aging, and the incidence of low back pain closely related to poor posture is the highest.
Additional low back pain as a disease includes: lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis isthmus, lumbar spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, etc.; in addition to malignant tumor (cancer) metastasis, spinal osteomyelitis, spinal tuberculosis (TB), and trauma (e.g., compression fracture). Generally the prognosis of low back pain is relatively good, and most of the pain is relieved after 1-2 weeks. However, special attention should be paid if there is severe pain, or prolonged pain, or if lower extremity symptoms (numbness, leg pain) are present in addition to low back pain. In either case, early diagnosis of low back pain is extremely important, and early and accurate diagnosis is called for, and consultation with a spinal disease specialist is recommended.
2. Numbness in the hands and feet
Numbness in the hands and feet occurs with spinal cord lesions and sciatica pills, and is a manifestation of damage to the spinal cord or peripheral nerves. In cases such as frozen shoulder, shoulder-hand syndrome, elbow tenosynovitis, and lower limb muscle pain, although sometimes there is also a transient numbness sensation, but they are easier to relieve. Diabetes, certain vitamin deficiencies, hereditary sensory deficiencies, and occlusive arteriosclerosis (numbness in the lower extremities as soon as you walk) necessitate medical treatment.
On the other hand, diseases such as cervical spondylosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), spinal cord tumors, lumbar disc herniation, and lumbar spinal stenosis require diagnosis and treatment at an orthopedic department that specializes in spinal diseases. Of course, nerve pain and numbness (peripheral nerve compression) in the elbow and wrist and hand joints are also treated in orthopedics; it must be emphasized that when the degree and scope of numbness are expanded, it is necessary to go to a spinal disease specialist for examination.
3. Inflexibility of upper and lower limbs
Numbness of the fingers, inability to move the upper limbs, inability to move without command, and more specifically, difficulty in using chopsticks, difficulty in tying buttons, difficulty in taking coins from a wallet, are all symptoms called fine motor disorders of the fingers, which are important features of cervical spinal cord damage. In addition, symptoms such as weakness in lifting the shoulder, weakness in flexing the elbow, and weakness in grip strength are symptoms of low muscle strength, which is also a symptom of spinal cord nerve damage. In the lower extremities, unstable walking, the need to grasp handrails when descending steps, difficulty standing with eyes closed, difficulty taking off and removing shoes, etc., are important features of spinal cord damage.
The main cause of these movement disorders and paralysis is the result of damage to the brain, or to the spinal nerves that pass through the spinal column, or to the spinal nerve roots, which are branches from the spinal cord. Common diseases include cervical spondylosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, ossification of the ligamentum flavum, spinal cord spinal tumors, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal stenosis, etc. These symptoms, if there is no cause and gradually worsen, it is necessary to immediately consult a specialist doctor specializing in spinal diseases for early diagnosis and early treatment.
4. Lower limb pain and numbness after walking
There are two general causes of walking difficulties: lower extremity diseases and diseases outside the lower extremity. Among the lower extremity diseases, osteoarthritis (long bone spurs) is a major category, and pain in the joint itself is an important feature. In addition, walking difficulties caused by diseases outside the lower extremities are broadly divided into two categories: nerve damage from spinal lesions and blood flow disorders in the lower extremities. Generally speaking, nerve damage from spinal lesions is more common and is associated with pain and numbness from the hip to the back of the lower extremity and the foot of the lower leg.
The pain and numbness appear after walking for a while, and the symptoms disappear when resting, so that the patient cannot walk far, and we call this kind of walking intermittently with repeated walking difficulties intermittent claudication. This intermittent claudication is common in lumbar spinal stenosis (relieved by sitting or squatting) and lower extremity occlusive arteriosclerosis (relieved by standing). In short, if there are symptoms of pain and numbness in the lower extremities after walking, it is recommended to seek consultation with a specialist.
5, upper limb pain
Cervical spine diseases such as cervical disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament often produce pain in the upper limbs due to compression of the cervical spinal nerve roots (nerve branches emanating from the cervical spinal cord). The symptoms are often aggravated when the cervical spine is tilted back, doing left and right lateral flexion, and can also cause pain in the medial scapula. Most of the symptoms will be improved by conservative treatment such as cervical girth protection, drug therapy, cervical traction, and closed injection. Surgery will be considered only if there is no improvement in conservative treatment for more than 3 months.
In addition, diseases such as frozen shoulder (so-called fifty shoulders), thoracic outlet syndrome (caused by compression of the brachial plexus nerve located between the first rib and the clavicle and the subclavian artery), and shoulder-hand syndrome can also present with upper extremity pain. It is also important to be aware of upper extremity pain and numbness caused by cervical medullary tumors, as well as lung cancer occurring in the apical region of the lung that compresses the cervical nerve roots. In either case, a consultation with a spine surgeon is recommended.
6.Pain in the lower extremities
The spinal cord, cauda equina, and nerve roots are collectively referred to as nerves, and pain in the lower extremities occurs with nerve injury. Occasional, transient lower extremity pain can be observed, but if the pain is recurrent or persistent, it is better to see a spine specialist. The most common causes of lower extremity pain are lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, spinal cord tumors, inflammation and other diseases. The appearance of symptoms such as difficulty in walking, abnormal sensation in the lower extremities, and urination and defecation different from before indicate neurological dysfunction.
Because of delay or misdiagnosis and mistreatment, sometimes neurological impairment will not be restored, so it is important to consult a specialist as soon as possible. In addition, hip, knee and ankle joint lesions, as well as lower limb bones and muscle problems, can cause lower limb pain, which must be systematically examined, carefully analyzed, carefully identified and reasonably treated.
7.Neck, shoulder and back pain
Neck pain, shoulder pain and back pain can occur regardless of youth or old age, and such pain is found in all age groups. Although there are various causes, the causes generally vary with age. Muscle fatigue (strain), impaired muscle blood circulation, and small joint inflammation predominate in younger people, while changes that occur with age (degeneration, aging) in the cervical spine and shoulder joints predominate in middle-aged and older people.
However, among them, there are also cervical disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, malignant tumor bone metastasis and other diseases causing neck, shoulder and back pain, and after a while, serious symptoms such as hand and foot paralysis can occur. Thus, if the symptoms persist, or if there are cases of bad hands or unstable and clumsy walking, it is necessary to seek consultation with a specialist to identify the cause. Identify the cause (clear diagnosis) in order to decide the appropriate treatment, you can improve the symptoms.
8, sports injuries of the spine
The spine is the core of the body, so due to sports activities can produce a variety of injuries, the most representative of which is the lumbar isthmus crack. This injury occurs in primary and secondary student athletes, producing back pain and lower extremity pain. Although sports are diverse, they are particularly prevalent in baseball and football players, and the reason for this may be a fatigue fracture of a portion of the lumbar spine (isthmus, the small inter-articular portion) due to repetitive motion.
With this injury, the fracture site can heal if diagnosed early. Children of this age who report back pain must be seen by a specialist. Other diseases that are triggered and aggravated by sports include lumbar disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, discogenic low back pain, and cervical disc herniation, which can be obtained without sports, although they need to be taken differently from the general population when exercising. Therefore, in order to make exercise beneficial to health and minimize the hazards of exercise, the escort of a spinal disease specialist is needed.