Slip discs, sciatica cases rise in the quest to lose weight after lockingdown — Ahmedabad Mirror

If you have a lazy lifestyle and have recently started working out to lose the extra weight that you have gained since the lockdown, beware. Anyone who tries to do their own exercise through lifting weights have injured their spine and caused problems like mechanical back discomfort as well as slip discs and sciatica.

It was discovered that the weight of Daivat Patel, 36 years old from Satellite has increased by 9kg over the past few months. Due to too much training in fitness, this resulted in spinal injury, which was later diagnosed as a slip disc.

The same thing happened to the 46-year-old Kusum Agrawal, who hails from Shahibaug. Kusum was suffering from back discomfort for an extended period. In order to lessen the weight gain during lockdown she stopped doing exercises. In the process her pain, it grew to the point that she needed to go to hospital, in which she was discovered to have sciatica and required an spine endoscopy.

Dr M M Prabhakar, ex-superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and well-known spine surgeon, stated, “We have seen people who live a sedentary life gain weight after the lockdown. The people suddenly began to exercise. This resulted in an increase in the number of cases of ligament tears in the limbs and backbone injuries as well as slip discs and sciatica. A timely diagnosis and treatment for spinal injury is crucial.”

When physical back pain is common in the 15-55 age range Lumbar spondylitis can be most commonly seen in the 35 to 55 age group. The delay in treating can cause the needing surgery.

A pain and spine specialist, Dr Agam Gargiya stated, “Too much exercise or lifting weights can lead to slip discs as well as sciatica and may cause damage to the spinal cord. Legs cramps as well as inability to stand and walk for long durations are signs of a slip discs or sciatica. It is essential to identify the signs.”

He stated, “Patients tell us that they started lifting weights and skipping to shed weight after the lockdown . we’ve seen a lot of instances of this, which are referred to as an intervertebral disc prolapse. It is diagnosed by an X-ray, or MRI. We’ve had to handle numerous cases over the course of several months.”

There have been numerous developments on the subject. There was a time when there was discectomy, which was an open surgery. It was then performed using a microscope. Now, the procedure is performed with spine endoscopy. This procedure doesn’t require anesthesia, and allows the patient to be discharged next day. The procedure can be completed by a tiny hole of 1 centimeter according to Dr. Gargiya.