The 70-year-old Daddy Zhu became addicted to playing mahjong after he retired. He has become a mahjong master for more than ten years, but he also suffered from shoulder and neck pain. Last year, he started to suffer from the pain until he could not sleep at night, and even taking painkillers did not work. . Only after seeing a doctor did I learn that the main culprit of shoulder and neck pain was the herniation of the cervical intervertebral disc caused by long-term bowing and “numbness”.
Daddy Zhu is a senior “Mayou”. After retiring more than ten years ago, he lingered at the poker table and sometimes played all-night mahjong. Three years ago, Daddy Zhu started to have shoulder and neck pain. The pain was mild at first, but he could hold it back. A year and a half ago, the pain worsened and began to affect sleep. He needed oral analgesics to relieve it. Half a year ago, Daddy Zhu’s analgesics were already at their maximum dose, and they had no effect. I often felt radiation tingling or electric shock-like pain in the shoulders and neck. The right upper limb was the most serious. Eating and sleeping were seriously affected. In severe cases, I couldn’t sleep all night. , and you don’t feel anything when you touch the cards with your fingers.
In January, Dad Zhu came to Hubei Maternal and Child Health Hospital for treatment, and He Bingshu, the chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics, saw him. According to Daddy Zhu’s condition, Director He made a detailed physical examination for him, including the feeling of each segment of the cervical spine, muscle strength examination, and a preliminary diagnosis of cervical spondylosis (cervical disc herniation). Protruding and compressing the nerve root leads to cervical radiculopathy, so the patient will have shoulder and neck pain, as well as hypoesthesia and numbness of the fingers and skin, and weakness of the upper limb muscles. Subsequent cervical X-ray, MRI, and CT examinations confirmed Director He’s diagnosis.
Gui Tong, director of the Department of Orthopedics, presided over the general practice discussion. Decreased cardiac function, slow recovery of damaged nerves, long-term smoking, postoperative tracheomalacia, and increased tracheal secretions make the operation more difficult.
Although he knew that the operation was risky, Daddy Zhu strongly urged the doctor to help him solve this stubborn disease. After full preoperative evaluation and careful preoperative preparation, Director He performed this cervical spine surgery for Daddy Zhu. The important structures such as recurrent laryngeal nerve, esophagus, trachea, carotid artery and jugular vein were skillfully avoided during the operation.
After the operation, the old man recovered well, the numbness of the fingers gradually decreased, the muscle strength of the upper limbs gradually recovered, and he began to walk on the ground three days after the operation.
Yesterday, Daddy Zhu came back for a re-examination three months after the operation, and happily reported to Director He: “The pain in the shoulders and neck is no longer, and I sleep soundly every night, and I feel twenty years younger. Now I can play mahjong again.” Director He hurriedly told him to play mahjong less and lower his head.
Orthopedic experts reminded that cervical spondylosis is common in people who work with their heads down. With the progress of society, office workers have been working at desks for a long time, and the proportion of cervical spondylosis in the population has gradually increased, and there is a trend of younger people. Early prevention is very important.
Correspondents: Wen Honglei, Huang Jieying
Hubei Radio and Television Health Development Center Graphic Editor: Yuan Jia