Good posture as prevention of disc herniation

Disc herniation, also referred to as prolapsed disc, ruptured disc, compressed disc, bulging disc and most inaccurate as slipped disc is one of the common cause of both lumbar and cervical spondylosis.This condition is expected to occur mainly in age old following age related degeneration of the spine. However in recent times disc herniation is on the increase in working adults due to the long periods of time spent sitting either in the office, the car or at home and the weight gain been experienced the world over.

Disc herniation is a painful episode in the back that occurs when theintervertebraldiscgets damaged. These discssitbetween two spinal vertebrae and acts mainly as a cushion that  takes the pressure off the spine. Structurally it resembles  a rubber disc with a soft jelly centre or better still, a ball of jelly wrapped over and over with a tough string of fibres referred to as annulusfibrosus and the gel centre known asnucleuspulposus.

With aging, poor posture or weight gain, the disc in between the vertebrae is squeezed until the hard outer shell bulges out or breaks and the inner jelly like substance escapes to the spinal canal. Sadly, once a disc is stretched or broken it cannot heal nor reverse itselfback to its original state.

When part of the disc presses on a nerve, symptoms include pain in the back and/or the legs. The location of the pain depends on which disc is weak and how bad the pain is depends on how much of the disc is pressing on the nerve. In most people with herniated disc the pain spreads over the buttocks and goes down the back of one thigh and into the calf. Some complain of pains in both legs while in others there might be numbness or tingly sensation in the foot. The pain from a herniated disc is usually worse when one is active and gets better with rest. Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving andleaning forward may make the pain worse. You may find that holding yourself up with your hands while sitting helpsthe pain.

Maintaining a good posture through out the day is one effective way of avoiding this painful condition. In addition to keeping your spine in proper alignment, maintaining a good posture also helps to strengthen your core muscles. Your core muscles aid your spine in supporting and stabilizing your body’s weight — one of the main causes of spinal compression. By strengthening your core muscles, you are removing weight from your spine and minimising the development of degenerative spine conditions.

A good posture means constantly aligning the spine by simple practices such as standing tall and sitting up straight. If you are standing, you should be able to draw a straight line down the side of you, from your earlobe to your shoulder to your hip to your feet.

While practicing good posture is not guaranteed to prevent the development of a herniated disc, it will greatly decrease your chances of developing one later in life.

Nkiru Jibuaku  is a British trained Physiotherapist. She currently works as a Senior Physiotherapist in Lagos and can be reached on  [email protected]