With nearly 7 years of experience working at the computer, Mr. Phan Thanh (29 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) often has back pain that appears at the end of the day and at night.
The sharp pain sometimes makes me not want to do anything, continuously taking pain relievers is not a way. Once, when the health department conducted a periodic health check-up, I registered for a spinal examination and discovered spinal degeneration," Mr. Thanh said.
According to Colonel, Dr. Phan Dinh Mung - Director of the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Deputy Director of Military Hospital 175, in recent years, the number of people suffering from spinal diseases has shown a clear increase, especially among young people and people of working age. The main causes come from two prominent factors: overweight, obesity and the habit of sitting a lot, little exercise.
“Developing quality of life leads to increased overweight and obesity. A large body weight increases the load on the spine, especially load-bearing areas such as the lumbar spine, thereby easily leading to many spinal diseases,” Dr. Phan Dinh Mung analyzed.
In addition, the strong development of technology, computers and office-related occupations makes the number of people who have to sit for long periods and exercise less and more. The combination of overweight and prolonged sitting habits has increased diseases such as herniated discs, yellow ligament thickness, and spinal stenosis.
Reality at Military Hospital 175 shows that the number of people coming for examination, consultation and treatment of spinal diseases is increasing. However, according to Dr. Phan Dinh Mung, the important goal is not only treatment but also raising awareness to prevent diseases early.
“We do not expect more and more patients to come, but expect people to understand why spinal diseases are increasing, understand the risk factors to proactively prevent them before the disease occurs,” he emphasized.
According to the Deputy Director of Military Hospital 175, controlling weight with a reasonable diet and regular exercise will help reduce the load on the spine. In addition, office workers need to pay attention to the correct sitting posture, avoid sitting for too long, and exercise regularly to relax the lumbar muscle system.
Clinical practice shows that the group of patients who come for examination the most often falls in the age group from 35 to 45, the working stage, often sitting in the office, little exercise. If you do not change your habits at this stage, the risk of developing more severe spinal diseases in the age of 45-60 is very high.
We need to change perceptions early, right from the age of 35-40, to protect the spine, helping people have a long-term healthy life," he said.
Regarding treatment, Dr. Phan Dinh Mung said that endoscopic spinal surgery is currently being applied in the treatment of diseases such as herniated discs, yellow ligament thickness, spinal stenosis. This is a minimally invasive method, with minimal damage to muscles, blood vessels and nerves, helping patients with less pain and rapid recovery, and even being able to be discharged within the day.
However, laparoscopic surgery also requires highly experienced surgeons due to a narrow surgical field, the risk of bleeding and damage to important structures. Therefore, performing doctors need to be well-trained and have the support of an experienced team.
