Neck hernias are less common disorders than lumbar hernias.
Neck pain is a common condition in our society. The reason for this is that the neck muscles are sensitive and the vertebrae that make up the neck have a delicate structure. Neck pains are structures that are frequently affected by situations such as stress, cold and heat changes, and inappropriate postures. Neck hernia is the cause in very few of the neck pains.
· Neck hernias are more common in the ages of 20-50. However, they may occur as a result of neck traumas in earlier periods and due to deterioration of the discs and neck vertebrae in older ages.
· The most common causes of neck pain in our society are stress, inappropriate postures and neck immobility.
· The most important complaint of patients who usually apply with neck pain is that they feel tension in the neck region where the muscles join with the skull bones and in the shoulder muscles. The source of this pain is usually seen in people who put the sensitive problems in social life into themselves and cannot show it too much or people who get angry very quickly. In addition, such neck pains occur in people who are exposed to cold and hot changes very often or who sweat frequently in the neck and back region.
· Neck hernias are a very minor cause of neck pain. They show their clinics when the discs, which we call pillows, located between the vertebrae that make up the neck, are bulging or tearing into the canal through which the spinal cord passes.
· Most cervical hernias are seen between the C5-6 and C6-7 vertebrae, but they can occur at other levels as well. Loss of strength or numbness occurs in the muscles due to the compression of the hernia on the nerves leading to the spinal cord or arms.
· The most important findings in the clinic of neck hernias are numbness and tingling in the arms or one arm, pain in the arms or one arm, loss of strength in the arms or one arm. As we can feel these findings in the whole arm, it is possible to feel them in the muscle groups affected by the nerve affected by the hernia and in the sensory areas, for example, in the hands, forearm and shoulder. Advanced and very large hernias can also cause loss of strength in the legs, and this can be confused with many diseases.
· The most important diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of neck hernias is examination. The use of expensive methods such as MRI without examination is unnecessary and unreasonable as well as unnecessary. Revealing the patient’s clinical picture enables differential diagnosis with many diseases.
· The biggest fear of a patient with neck pain is the thought of having a neck hernia. Examination is a useful method in eliminating this concern.
· If the findings support cervical hernia in the examination; MRI planning is suitable for determining the location and effects of neck hernia size. MR is a truly confirmatory diagnostic tool to show the localizations and effects of neck hernias.
· When neck hernia is detected, the treatment approach changes according to the size of the hernia, the patient’s clinic, age or the condition of the patient’s current diseases.
· Physical therapy programs, neck braces, and drug therapy are used in cases where the patient has only pain, no loss of strength, and the hernia size is borderline.
· Surgery becomes inevitable in cases where neck hernia affects social life and loss of strength occurs. And it is necessary to remove the hernia.
· Benefit rate of patients as a result of neck hernia surgery; Although it varies according to the clinic before the operation, the majority of the patients have advanced relief.
· However, it should not be forgotten that there are complications in neck hernias as well as waist hernias in every surgery, there is a risk of paralysis in the theoretical sense, but there is also a risk of paralysis in practical terms, but it is a very rare complication.
· Neck hernias can be in more than one region, as in lumbar hernias. In this case, the hernia area to be approached is a situation that will be decided as a result of the patient’s clinic.
· Sometimes 2 or more discs in the neck region can be curved into the canal and the canal diameter is less than 1 cm, which is called cervical narrow canal in medicine. In this case, fatigue in one arm or arms occurs and power losses may occur. If the canal diameter is 1 cm or less and there is a clinic, then the procedure to be done is surgical treatment.
· In order to prevent neck hernia, regular neck exercises should be done, attention should be paid to posture positions and the neck should be protected from trauma.
· Loss of strength, numbness and tingling that occur after neck hernia surgery may not disappear immediately after surgery. Physical therapy programs to be applied after the surgery for strength losses will be able to restore the old strength. The numbness and tingling will disappear after 6-12 months.
· It should not be forgotten that if neck pain is accompanied by pain, numbness, tingling and loss of strength in the arm or arms, neck hernia should be suspected. Another thing that should not be forgotten is to know that although there are all these symptoms, the cause of these events may not be the neck hernia.
