No Looking Back!

Neurosurgery specialist DR CLARENCE LEUNG is Clinical Director of the Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Center at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital –Stubbs Road. We spoke with him about sore backs and recent improvements in treatment.

- Dr Clarence Leung

Why are our spines so susceptible to injury?

Because the spine is the single bony component with the most numbers of joints, and it sustains about 80 percent of our body weight.

What is meant by a “slipped disc”?

A slipped disc is a broad term mostly referring to the herniation of the intervertebral disc, when part of that disc protrudes into the spinal canal and compresses either the spinal cord, the nerve root or the nerve bundle known as the cauda equina. This is the back problem we see in patients most commonly from day to day. Then there are structural problems, such as lumbar discogenic pain, spondylolisthesis, lumbar stenosis, spine fracture and so on.

Back pain is very common, and can be relatively mild. At what point should a person see their doctor about it?

Most back pain resolves without treatment. But you should seek medical advice if the pain lasts more than four to six weeks, or when any of the following red flags are present:

difficulty passing urine or having a bowel movement