Is it okay to have lumbar surgery at the age of 29?

Most elderly people have problems with their lumbar spine, mainly because their aging causes a loss of water around the lumbar vertebrae, resulting in lumbar stiffness. In fact, lumbar spondylosis may be caused by improper living habits in some young people. Most cases of lumbar spondylosis do not require surgery, but a few people with severe lumbar spondylosis need surgery. So is it good for a 29-year-old to have lumbar surgery?

Medically speaking, before the age of 25, the water content of the spine is very high, and after 25, it slowly begins to dehydrate. Due to long-term sitting, incorrect sitting posture, lifting heavy objects, etc., the lumbar intervertebral disc will slowly protrude from the spinal canal. After the nerve is compressed, the patient will experience symptoms such as numbness in the lower limbs, limited toe movement, and in severe cases, incontinence.

Sitting places more pressure on the lumbar intervertebral discs than standing. This is because when standing, the weight of the head, torso, and upper limbs is transmitted downward through the lumbar spine and ultimately to the arch of the foot. When sitting, the weight of the head, torso and upper limbs is transferred to the waist and then to the hips. The spine has a forward curvature at the lumbar vertebrae. If the sitting posture is incorrect and the waist is not adequately supported, the weight of the upper body will be concentrated entirely on the lumbar intervertebral disc. If the lumbar spine maintains a bad posture for a long time, the healthy curvature of the lumbar spine will be changed, causing the lumbar spine to become straight or even arched.

Young people with lumbar disc herniation should not undergo surgery if they can avoid it

For many young people suffering from lumbar disc herniation, the disease has not been going on for long, the symptoms are not too serious, and the annulus fibrosus is not ruptured. Basically, non-surgical treatments can be used to relieve and treat the disease. For young patients with first onset or short course of illness, if the symptoms are mild, they will generally resolve on their own after more rest. If imaging examinations show no obvious spinal stenosis, patients can choose non-surgical treatments, mainly including bed rest, traction therapy, and appropriate physical therapy, massage and other therapies. Only patients with severe conditions or those who have failed conservative treatment will undergo surgical treatment based on the doctor's advice.

Lumbar disc surgery is divided into two types: minimally invasive surgery and open surgery:

Minimally invasive surgery is characterized by small trauma, light pain and quick recovery. It eliminates part of the nucleus pulposus tissue that compresses the nerves through tiny incisions.

The advantage of open surgery is that it is less likely to recur after a successful operation and can eliminate most of the tissue structures that compress the nerves.

However, any surgery carries certain risks and recurrence rates. In particular, minimally invasive surgery will leave some nucleus pulposus tissue, and the remaining nucleus pulposus tissue is the pathological basis for the recurrence of lumbar disc herniation, so the recurrence rate of minimally invasive surgery will be higher than that of general open surgery. Once recurrence occurs, the difficulty of secondary surgery will be greatly increased.

Open surgery is more risky than minimally invasive surgery because it causes great trauma, requires the removal of more tissue structures, can easily destroy the stability of the lumbar spine, and requires more stringent postoperative care and rehabilitation.