Brief overview
- Symptoms: Pain that sometimes radiates to the arms and head, tingling in arms and fingers, sensory disturbances, paralysis
- Course and prognosis: Duration depending on the extent of the incident and the present complaints up to several months, prognosis favorable
- Treatment: therapy with pain-relieving drugs, surgery, physiotherapy, heat therapy
- Causes: Age-related wear and tear of the intervertebral discs, trauma or accidents.
What is a herniated disc of the cervical spine?
A herniated disc of the cervical spine (cervical disc prolapse) is a condition in the cervical region of the spine. The cervical spine consists of seven individual vertebrae, with an intervertebral disc located between each of the second through seventh vertebral bodies. In prolapse, the soft disc nucleus protrudes and presses against the spinal nerves or spinal cord, often causing pain or numbness.
Symptoms of a herniated disc of the cervical spine
Such a herniated cervical disc does not always cause symptoms. However, if it irritates or puts pressure on exiting nerve roots, affected persons often report shooting-in pain and/or paraesthesia or tingling in the area where the nerve root spreads. This includes, for example, a feeling of numbness in the fingers. Other symptoms of an acute herniated disc of the cervical spine are:
- Circumscribed knocking pain
- @ Headache
- Dizziness
- Painful restriction of movement of the cervical spine
- Loss of strength or paralysis of individual muscles, for example in one arm (possibly also on both sides)
Physicians refer to this symptomatology as cervical radiculopathy.
Neck and shoulder pain are among the possible signs of such a prolapse, as is a worsening of the symptoms at night.
Some sufferers report that they noticed a cracking sensation in the neck, i.e. in the area of the cervical spine, at the time of the prolapse. However, this is not a typical sign of a herniated disc of the cervical spine.
Herniated disc of the cervical spine: duration
Depending on the extent of the prolapse and the present symptoms, the duration of the healing process of a herniated disc of the cervical spine is in some cases up to several months. However, the prognosis is usually favorable, so that affected individuals are soon able to return to work. How long an affected person with a herniated cervical disc is sick or when exactly the person can return to work depends accordingly on the individual case.
Treatment of a herniated disc of the cervical spine
Possible therapy components are, for example, the administration of medication (painkillers, muscle relaxants), the short-term wearing of a neck brace and heat applications (cold usually works less well). Likewise, physiotherapeutic exercises under the guidance of a physiotherapist alleviate the symptoms of a herniated cervical disc. These include, for example, relaxation and loosening exercises or back school.
Caution is advised with chiropractic measures: They increase the risk of a small, mild cervical disc herniation developing into a mass herniation with pressure on the spinal cord.
Surgery for cervical spine disc herniation
If conservative therapy is not effective or the herniated disc in the cervical spine causes significant or increasing signs of nerve loss (such as paralysis), surgery is necessary in most cases. As a rule, the operation is performed from the front (ventral), i.e. via a transverse skin incision at the level of the larynx. From there, access is gained to the anterior cervical spine and the vertebrae where the herniated disc is located.
The surgeon removes the disc and usually replaces it with a spacer.
Causes of a herniated disc of the cervical spine
Apart from this, there is also acute cervical disc herniation. It is usually the result of minor trauma such as abrupt rotational movements of the head. It also occurs in younger people.
