Treat your back pain like a King

Back pain is so severe that having it makes us feel like we are being persecuted or even tortured. Well, if it is any consolation, it happens to everyone, even a king.?

?Jordan’s King Abdullah II traveled to Germany last week for surgery on a herniated disc in his thoracic spine. The now 60-year-old King suffered an injury while parachute jumping as a part of a military training exercise when he was younger.?

The Thoracic spine is the part between your neck and low back. Disc injuries are much less common in the thoracic spine than in the low back, but they have the same mechanism. A tear in the tough outer part of the disc allows the softer, inner part to ‘herniate’ out. The soft disc material, shown here in dark blue, is irritating to the nerve root and causes pain.?

?In the lower back nerve root pain goes down the leg; so, the pain goes down the leg. In the thoracic spine, nerves follow the ribs and wrap around the chest wall, so the pain wraps around the chest wall.?

If you or someone you love has a spinal problem that requires surgery, make sure you treat yourself like a King.

We do not know the details of the surgery King Abdullah underwent, but thoracic discectomy is done using a microscope or sometimes thoracoscopically. The procedure takes less than an hour. Recovery is 1-2 weeks.?The Palace did release that the King is back in Jordan with the support of his wife Queen Rania.?

If you or someone you love has a spinal problem that requires surgery, make sure you treat yourself like a King. Find a Neurosurgeon or orthopedic spine surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive surgery even if you need to fly to another country to see them. Everyone is entitled to have proper care for themselves when they are in pain, and you owe it to yourself to get the best. ?

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