How long should I stay in bed for a lumbar disc herniation?

How long should I stay in bed for a herniated lumbar disc?

1. Patients with lumbar disc herniation are generally recommended to rest in bed during the acute stage of the disease. For about two to three weeks, bed rest can help relieve the spasm of the waist and back muscles, the tension of the ligaments around the lumbar spine, the squeezing of the intervertebral disc, and the reduction of the intra-disc pressure. It can also help to partially retract the intervertebral disc that has not been completely ruptured, reduce the compression and stimulation of the nerve roots, and help to recover the function of damaged nerves.

2. If the lumbar disc herniation is treated with spinal fusion surgery, since spinal fusion often requires spinal internal fixation, the stability of the lumbar spine can be established after the spinal internal fixation surgery. Generally, for spinal fusion surgery, patients are encouraged to get out of bed and move around within 24-48 hours after surgery, which can promote the recovery of the patient's neurological function and reduce lower limb complications caused by long-term bed rest. For example, lying in bed for too long can lead to complications such as lower limb thrombosis and lung inflammation. When lying on the side, the knees and hips can be flexed to reduce the traction on the sciatic nerve and effectively improve the clinical symptoms caused by lumbar disc herniation.

Lumbar disc herniation CT scan

Lumbar disc herniation is very common in reality, and auxiliary examinations are mainly performed on the lumbar disc. Lumbar disc CT examination is the preferred examination method for lumbar disc herniation. In most cases, it can get a clear display, such as the location of the disc herniation, the degree of the disc herniation, the relationship between the herniated disc and the surrounding nerve roots, and the surrounding dura mater sac.

Therefore, patients with lumbar disc herniation need to have physical signs in addition to symptoms, and then a CT or MRI of the lumbar disc can fully diagnose the disease. If it is a normal lumbar disc, its density is relatively low, and if it is bone, its density is generally higher.