Why are Herniated Discs not Healing---Some Tips to Notice | 腰椎间盘突出症因为这些才不能好
Among the chronic back problems, the herniated discs can cause the most pain and usually it takes the longest time to heal. Recently I encountered two cases.
First Case: A 60 years old man whose job is to carry and move heavy loads of meat in the cold storage in a supermarket. He needs to stay in the cold storage for a long time - sometimes more than 40 minutes. The main cause of his problem is overworking and the coldness. Another factor is the moisture. This is because the coldness causes the deficiency of the Yang, and the yang deficiency produces moisture; at the same time, frequent consumption of large amount of meat also leads to moisture. His main symptoms are pain in the lower left waist from the hips, and radiation to the lower limbs, calves, and outside of the feet. He had seen other doctors over ten times before coming to me. Despite his previous treatments, his condition did not improve and he walked awkwardly. After my first treatment here, his symptoms got a little better, and his walking improved. To my surprise, after the second treatment, and when he came for the third treatment the next day, his symptoms were obviously worse. His started hobbling again and even could not lie on his back. He was in great pain until I let him lie down and inserted a needle in the back to relieve the pain. Later I learned that after the second treatment, he did two more things by the suggestion of some other people: one was to sleep on a hard wood board, and the other was to exercise. I told him that these two things are the cause of the worsening of his condition: the hard board can not support the back properly, thus increasing the pressure on his spine; exercising in the acute phase can also lead to increased spine disc pressure and aggravate the condition.
A woman in her 40s had pain in the right hip for two months. She used to treat it as piriformis syndrome many times in another clinic. Later she saw my articles and turned to seek treatment from me. At first she was restless when she was awaiting treatment and could only sit on a half of her buttocks. After the examination, I found that her entire right hip showed a blackish color, which was caused by excessive acupuncture. She told me that the previous doctor used to have more than a dozen needles on the right hip and the symptoms were just slightly relieved. After the right hip is significantly darker than the left hip, the piriformis muscle is swollen. Later I came to the conclusion that the cause was herniated discs. I gave her acupuncture treatment, combined with TCM formula. After a month, her problem was significantly improved even she was working extensively during the month. She could walk better and felt better too. The reason why she could not be cured in the early stage was that the first diagnosis was incorrect and so she was not given proper treatment and advice, resulting in chronic problems.
From the above cases, we can see that in addition to normal treatment, doctors have a key role in advising the patient's life and work. In addition, the mental state, the weather, and excessive rest (yes, rest) are also important factors that cause lumbar disc herniation – we will talk about it next time.
各种慢性腰痛里，似乎腰椎间盘突出症是让人感觉最痛苦，最不容易好的一个问题。最近我就遇到了两个病例。
病例1：男性，60岁，在超市工作，主要工作是从冷库中搬运肉类。因此会在冷库停留相当长的时间---有时超过40分钟。他发病的因素主要是腰部过劳和受寒。另外一个因素是湿气重。这是因为受寒引起阳虚，阳虚产生湿邪；同时长期食用肉类也导致湿重。他的主要症状为左下腰从臀部开始感觉疼痛，并且向下肢，小腿，和足外侧放射。在来我这里之前他已在别处看过十次，病情并没有好转或缓解，走路一拐一拐的。在我这里第一次治疗后，他的症状有所减轻，走路也好转了，病人很满意。又经过第二次治疗，隔天第三次再来时，病人症状缺明显加重，走路又开始一拐一拐的，甚至不能平卧。我让他躺下在背后取穴扎针后，才有所缓解。询问后得知，在第二次治疗后，他又做了两件事：一是睡木板，二是听说建议做了运动。我告诉他这两件事是他病情又恶化的原因：木板对腰椎不能起到支撑作用，反而增加压力；在急性期、水肿期进行运动也会导致腰椎间盘压力增加，加重病情。
病例2：女性，42岁，右侧臀部疼痛两个月。曾经在列治文一家医馆以梨状肌综合征治疗十次，后来看到我的微信文章后转来求治。在待诊时病人坐立不安，只能坐半个座位。检查后我发现她整个右侧臀部呈现青黑色，为过度针灸所致。她告诉我之前的医生曾有十多针放在右臀部，病症稍有缓解。后右臀较左臀明显变黑，梨状肌肿胀。经检查确诊为腰椎间盘突出症。我给她常用的针灸治疗，结合中药配方。一个月后再诊，在病人连续工作的情况下，病症也好转一半，走路及精神状态显著提升。这个病人前期没能治愈的原因就是诊断不清而没有给予病人正确的治疗和生活指导，导致久病久痛而不能愈。
从以上病例我们可以看到，医生除了正常治疗，对于病人的生活和工作指导都有关键作用。另外精神，天气，和过度休息也是导致腰椎间盘突出的重要因素——我们下次再谈。
