How many days to administer fluids after minimally invasive surgery for lumbar disc herniation?

Written by Guan Yu Hua
Orthopedic Surgery
Updated on March 06, 2025
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With the development of medical technology, currently for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation, such as when conservative treatment is ineffective—including lying on a hard bed, pre-heating the waist, taking blood-activating and pain-relieving medication, or drugs that nourish the nerves—some interventional surgeries are chosen if these do not provide relief. The main ones commonly used include ozone ablation, collagenase nucleolysis, percutaneous disc removal, and foraminoscopic technology, etc., all of which carry very low risk. The most commonly used is ozone ablation, which involves instant oxidation of the degenerated protruded nucleus pulposus. This destroys the proteoglycans, thereby making the proteoglycans lose their function. The cells produce proteoglycans, reducing the osmotic pressure of the nucleus tissue, which cannot maintain normal moisture, leading to shrinkage and loss of tissue. This increases the space, thereby reducing the symptoms of nerve compression caused by disc herniation. Usually, antibiotics are used post-surgery to prevent infection, generally for about three days. After the medication is completed, considering discharge and returning home for recovery is possible, followed by oral medication. (Please use medications under the guidance of a physician.)

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Written by Guan Yu Hua
Orthopedic Surgery
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Can lumbar disc herniation be treated with an injection block?

Lumbar disc herniation can be treated with an injection, which mainly uses caudal epidural steroid injections. This approach has a certain therapeutic effect but is limited. For example, it may relieve the patient's pain for about a week, after which symptoms may gradually reappear. I believe that this treatment method is more about addressing the symptoms rather than the root cause. For ineffective conservative treatments, such as resting on a hard bed, applying local heat, minimizing prolonged sitting, and lying down as much as possible except for going to the toilet or eating, symptoms will generally gradually alleviate over about 10-14 days. This can be combined with drugs that promote blood circulation and relieve pain, and drugs that nourish the nerves, as well as some diuretic drugs to relieve the pressure on the intervertebral discs. This can alleviate the stimulation of the nerve roots by the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral discs, affecting nerves from L4 to S3, which may cause numbness and pain in the back of the thighs, the dorsum of the calves, or feet. The symptoms vary depending on the stage of compression but the difference isn't significantly large. For cases where conservative treatment or injections are ineffective, we can consider interventional surgeries like ozone nucleolysis, which are currently performed skillfully with minimal damage and quick recovery. You can consult a hospital for more information.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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What are the symptoms of lumbar disc herniation?

The early symptoms of lumbar disc herniation mainly include back pain and limited mobility. With appropriate conservative treatment at this stage, the symptoms will not worsen. For example, sleeping on a hard bed, resting adequately, and using some physical therapy methods can help alleviate back pain and restricted mobility. If back pain and mobility limitations occur and are not treated correctly, it may lead to mid-to-late-stage symptoms. The patient will typically experience sciatica, with radiating pain and numbness in both lower limbs, caused by the herniated disc compressing the nerve root, leading to impaired nerve function and symptoms of numbness and pain in the lower limbs.

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Written by Wang Fei
Orthopedics
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Can you run after lumbar disc herniation fusion surgery?

Lumbar disc herniation is a common clinical disease, with a high incidence rate mainly between the ages of 40 and 60, particularly among the younger adult population. If the lumbar disc herniation is severe, and procedures such as nucleotomy, laminotomy, and lumbar fusion surgery have been performed, one might wonder what type of exercise is advisable post-surgery, and whether running is appropriate. Regarding lumbar fusion surgery for disc herniation, running is not contraindicated. After a good recovery, one can engage in jogging. However, it is advised to avoid high-intensity running and instead opt for short-distance, slow-paced jogging. This can be completely acceptable post-surgery for those with lumbar herniation fusion.

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Written by Su Zhen Bo
Orthopedics
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Can lumbar disc herniation heal itself?

In clinical practice, patients with lumbar disc herniation often cannot heal on their own. It requires early diagnosis and the correct treatment methods. Patients may lie flat on a hard bed, use lumbar traction, and combine this with heat therapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and moxibustion. Regularly using orthopedic herbal fumigation to treat the waist area can unblock the muscle meridians, accelerate metabolism within the muscles, enhance the strength of the waist muscles, stabilize the lumbar spine, and reduce irritation to the dural sac and nerve roots, which can alleviate clinical symptoms. After conservative treatment, if the condition recurs, the next step can involve minimally invasive surgery at the lumbar region, using techniques like discoscopy or foraminoscopy to perform simple nucleotomy. Post-surgery, functional exercises for the waist can be performed.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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Is a herniated lumbar disc serious?

Lumbar disc herniation is primarily due to degeneration of the lumbar disc or secondary pathological changes caused by this degeneration, which then stimulate blood vessels, nerve roots, and the spinal cord, leading to a series of clinical symptoms. Lumbar disc herniation is categorized into four types. The mildest type is the bulging type, followed by the protruding type, the more severe extrusion type, and finally the most severe, the sequestration type. Generally, lumbar disc bulging is relatively mild and conservative treatment is usually effective. Depending on the site and degree of compression, lumbar disc herniation may be treated conservatively, but some cases require surgical intervention. Most cases of disc extrusion require surgery because the extrusion leads to spinal stenosis, compressing all or part of the blood vessels, and it can also compress the spine and nerve roots, causing irreversible damage, and medications or massages can't reverse the condition. The fourth point concerns lumbar disc prolapse, meaning the nucleus pulposus falls into the spinal canal through the tear. This is one of the few emergencies seen in spinal surgery. If this occurs, immediate surgical treatment is necessary. Therefore, the severity of lumbar disc herniation mainly depends on the type and degree of the herniation, as well as the location and direction of the herniation, and which treatment method needs to be used.