Are you one of those who think that the best thing to do in this season when we want to have a constant air circulation is to spend your day under air conditioning? Especially the air conditioner hits, you can also say that I use a fan! Are you even one of those who open two opposite windows and use the air flow as a natural method? In fact, although I respect every thought, every method has reservations in terms of the NECK. Our neck is very delicate and unprotected compared to the waist and back vertebrae. It is affected even by very simple traumas, air flow and sudden-reverse movements. It is only necessary to stop direct exposure. For this, wearing a scarf, which I recommend in summer and winter, will help. At the same time, it will protect the heat balance and remove the wetness that comes with sweating.
WHAT TO DO FOR A STRONG NECK?
It will not be enough to strengthen only the joint, muscle and bone triangle. Our posture and positions should be completely in the direction of protecting the neck angle. It is necessary to maintain the ‘C’ shape of the neck, which we call cervical lordosis. When the pressure curve changes, you will see that the cartilage structure between the vertebrae also deteriorates. This will be reflected as neck and arm pain, numbness and even loss of strength in the future.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO PROTECT OUR CERVICAL VERTEBRAE WITH NECK EXERCISES?
I would like to share a few tips that I recommend to all my patients to have a strong neck. The first step in protecting the cervical vertebrae is to protect the muscles and joints. By increasing their strength and endurance, we protect our vertebrae and then our spinal nerves, which are the extension of our brain. You can find exercises that strengthen our muscles on my website (www.dronurkulaksizoglu.com), but no matter what kind of exercise you are going to do, you need to warm up your neck muscles at the very beginning. Repeat the ‘BANANE’ movement, which is called as indicating something that our children do not want by raising their shoulders, 4-5 times. Afterwards, fix the fingertips on the chest by contracting them. Let your elbows start circling parallel to the floor. Now you have ready and warmed muscles; START DOING THE EXERCISES.
ECLIPSES AND LOCKDOWNS HAVE BECOME VERY FREQUENT, HAVE I GOT A NECK HERNIA?
When we do not perceive the signals given by our body at the right time and neglect them, we encounter an advanced condition. We need to take precautions before the locking of our neck increases and I recommend you to have a good examination by a specialist physician. Let’s not forget that pain and stiffness, which is the first signal, is an indicator of something wrong. If you have a massage, it will pass, painkillers are very good, apply this cream and keep it warm, the doctor will give you the same, let me give you a crunch…. We should not try to be treated on our own, we should not try to solve every pain by finding a cover.
IS NECK FLATTENING A HERNIA?
Until 15-20 years ago, we never cared about Neck Flattening. But when we realised that the beginning of the hernia was flattening, we took it seriously and started to spend intensive time on its treatment. First of all, the angle distortion, the flattening and reversal of the neck curve disrupts all balances. It manifests itself with neck pain. In case of progression, pain and numbness spreading to the arms begin. They describe a restless neck and arm. Pains that do not let you sleep at night and the symptom of loss of strength explain the situation that requires urgent application to us.
WHEN IS SURGERY NECESSARY?
Not every hernia detected in the treatment protocol is operated immediately.3 to 4% of all Neck Hernias are candidates for MICROCERRHERY. We discuss the surgery of hernias when there is loss of strength, urinary incontinence, imbalance, lack of response to physiotherapy and medication for 3-4 weeks, dizziness, headache and numbness.The other 96-97% are treated with alternative and supportive therapies.
IS MICRODISCECTOMY CLOSED OPERATION WITH MICROCERCRAFIC TECHNIQUE?
In fact, we have been experiencing marvellous developments in the last 30 years thanks to microsurgical techniques. We can plan the incision of the patient’s surgical area as 1.5 cm and magnify it up to 40 times with a microscope and perform very detailed and tissue-respecting cleaning.The advantage of this technique minimises the possibility of damaging any nerve tissue and recovery occurs in a short time.Among the people, it is called closed surgery because there is a small scar.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO RETURN TO WORK AND NORMAL LIFE AGAIN?
After cervical hernia surgery, it is expected to wear a neck brace for 1-2 weeks and return to normal life quickly. Sometimes short-term physiotherapy support may be recommended for postoperative posture and position training. But the main thing is to have surgery in the right place at the right time without encountering irreversible damage.