Is it okay to use a pillow when sleeping with a herniated disc?

After suffering from lumbar disc herniation, you can also put a pillow under your waist, but this is not very beneficial for treatment. If the condition is not particularly serious, physical therapy should be carried out in time to avoid worsening of the symptoms. There are many methods of physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, manipulation, traction therapy, and hard bed are all better methods. In addition, the method of Chinese medicine differentiation and treatment can also achieve very good therapeutic effects.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation

1. Treatment based on syndrome differentiation

Wind-cold with dampness: Treat by dispelling wind and cold, promoting dampness and unblocking meridians. The prescription that can be used is Duhuo Jishe Decoction with processed Chuanwu and Pueraria root. Duhuo Jishe Decoction includes: Duhuo, mistletoe, Eucommia ulmoides, Achyranthes bidentata, Asarum, Gentiana macrophylla, Poria, cinnamon heart, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Chuanxiong, ginseng, licorice, Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora, and Rehmannia glutinosa.

Damp-heat blocking the meridians: treat by clearing away heat and dampness, and dredge the meridians. The prescription of choice is Xuanbi Decoction (including Stephania tetrandra, apricot kernel, talc, Forsythia suspensa, Gardenia jasminoides, Coix seed, Pinellia ternata, silkworm feces, and adzuki bean peel). If the pain is severe, turmeric, mulberry branch, and Pittosporum tobira bark, etc. can be added.

2. Topical medications

Patients can use Tianhe bone pain ointment or Nanxing pain relief ointment, etc.

It should be noted that the above drugs must be used under the guidance of a professional doctor.

3. Prescription:

Shentongzhuyu Decoction

Ingredients: 10g of Qinjiao, 10g of Chuanxiong, 10g of peach kernel, 10g of safflower, 10g of myrrh, 10g of Duhuo, 10g of Wulingzhi, 10g of Cyperus rotundus, 15g of Achyranthes bidentata, 10g of Notopterygium wilfordii, 10g of earthworm, 6g of licorice, and 10g of Angelica sinensis.

Applicable patients: patients with injured tendons and veins, qi stagnation and blood stasis, unbearable waist pain, restricted movement, radiating pain in the lower limbs, symptoms aggravated when the patient coughs, dark purple tongue, and sluggish pulse.

Factors that may cause lumbar disc herniation:

1. Structural factors of the spine

Spinal deformities include asymmetric or transitional vertebrae of the spine, scoliosis, and straightening of the physiological curvature of the spine induced by the straightening of the physiological curvature of the spine. Straightening of the physiological curvature is common among young people who sit for long periods of time.

2. Physiological factors

The incidence of lumbar disc herniation is highest in middle-aged people aged 30-50 years old, and it has a trend of becoming younger this year.

For the treatment of lumbar disc herniation, minimally invasive therapy is advocated. A four-dimensional liquid knife is used. The four-dimensional liquid knife is currently one of the more advanced treatments in the world. Its efficacy is comparable to that of surgery and it can quickly relieve pain in a short period of time, but it does not damage human tissues and organs like surgery. Therefore, it is given the reputation of "four-dimensional liquid knife". It is also suitable for spinal diseases such as cervical spondylosis (various types), cervical-shoulder syndrome, cervical-lumbar syndrome, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar stenosis, lumbar degeneration, lumbar spondylolisthesis, ankylosing spondylitis, and can also treat rheumatism and rheumatoid disease. It is safe and reliable, does not require hospitalization, is painless and has no side effects. Generally, the treatment is once a week. Most symptoms can be eliminated in one treatment, which is 10 times that of subcutaneous absorption therapy. Compared with oral administration, intramuscular and intravenous administration is more direct and more effective.