Cervical hernia occurs when the soft part in the middle of the cartilage disc between the vertebrae tears the outer layer and protrudes. If the protruding disc material herniates from the middle part of the spinal canal, it can put pressure on the spinal cord, and if it herniates from the side of the canal, it can put pressure on the nerves going to the arm. In hernias originating from the midsection, the patient may feel pain in the neck, shoulders and back towards the shoulder blades. In lateral herniations, the patient may feel pain in the arm and numbness in the hand. When the pressure is excessive, weakness may occur in the patient's arm.
The diagnosis of cervical hernia can be easily made with MRI imaging. Medication, especially cortisone therapy, is useful when there is pressure on the nerve root. Neck brace treatment can be used in cases where there is extreme pain in moving the head and neck movements due to severe pain. In mild cases, a neck brace should not be given as it will cause muscle weakness. In cases where these treatments are not effective, physical therapy is the first treatment method of choice. Although in most cases results can be achieved with medication and physical therapy, sometimes recovery may take time. Surgery is rarely required. In patients whose pain is severe despite treatment, more effective and faster treatments should be implemented. The most important of these is ozone therapy, with its increasing use in recent years, especially in herniated discs.
Ozone is a gas consisting of three oxygen atoms. Although it is called ozone therapy, the applied gas actually contains a large amount of oxygen and a small amount of ozone. Since ozone is an extremely effective gas, even very small doses are sufficient for treatment.
How is ozone treatment applied?
Ozone is injected into the muscles on both sides of the neck at the level of the herniated disc. It is applied with. There is no need for a special anesthesia procedure. This application is applied for 5-10 sessions, at least once a week and most frequently every other day. More applications may be made in severe cases. Neck ozone application involves some technical difficulties compared to the waist area. The neck is relatively small compared to the waist area and the nerves are closer to the skin. For this reason, ozone application to the neck should be done by physicians experienced in this field.
Which type of neck is ozone treatment for? Suitable for hernia patients?
Ozone therapy can technically be applied to all cervical hernia patients. However, it gives much faster and more successful results in patients with non-chronic, that is, not long ago, pain and numbness in the shoulder and arm.
Is ozone injection painful?
Since thin needle tips are used during ozone injection, the needle itself does not cause much pain. However, the patient may feel burning and pain due to the applied ozone. It is not possible to predict the degree of pain because individual response varies. However, post-injection pain passes quickly within a few minutes. As a physician who has been applying ozone in lumbar and neck hernias for a long time, I can say that I have not had any patients who discontinue the treatment due to pain.
When does the effect begin?
The most important feature of ozone therapy. It reduces hernia pain very quickly, right after the first injection. Pain relief sometimes takes 5-6 days. It may last until after the sessions. With repeated applications, the patient's complaints quickly decrease and disappear.
Ozone therapy has become a strong alternative to conservative treatments in the treatment of cervical disc herniation, especially in experienced hands, as it has almost no side effects and has an extremely rapid effect.
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