A certain Ms Chen, aged 39, recently sought treatment at an orthopedic clinic, saying that she had a pain in the area extending from her left buttock to her calf that had lasted for more than three weeks, and she had no idea what had caused it. She was diagnosed with a herniated disc causing severe low back pain. Hu Yu-feng, an orthopedic surgeon at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taipei Hospital, said that frequent heavy lifting and sedentary office work are both risk factors for herniated discs.
Hu said that low back pain is a commonly seen condition in orthopedic clinics and that, according to research, more than 90 percent of people have suffered from it at some time in their lives. In most cases, it is caused by a bulging disc pressing on nerves. It is three times more common in men than in women, and obesity, smoking, frequent bending down to lift heavy objects, sitting for long periods in an office and carrying children are all risk factors.
Hu said that, as well as low back pain, pressure on nerves leading to pain and numbness in the lower extremities is another common symptom of disc herniation. Patients with unexplained symptoms are advised to first see if physical therapy helps. For those with severe symptoms or who see no improvement after six weeks of physical therapy, or who feel so much pain after walking a few steps that they have to stop and rest, or even suffer from urinary or bowel incontinence, it is necessary to arrange to have an MRI scan and then seek decompression surgery to relieve their symptoms.
Photo: Chou Hsiang-yun, Liberty Times 照片:自由時報周湘芸
Hu explained that decompression surgery can be performed in a minimally invasive way, with only a small piece of bone needing to be removed to draw out the intervertebral disc that is pressing on the nerves, and that patients can be discharged and go home the next day. He recommended that people should routinely maintain proper sitting and standing posture and regularly get an appropriate amount exercise to help train the core muscles, so as to avoid spinal deformation and compression.
(Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)
三十九歲的陳小姐日前於骨科求診,表示左邊臀部延伸到小腿範圍莫名疼痛超過三週,經診斷為椎間盤突出導致嚴重下背痛。衛生福利部台北醫院骨科醫師胡御風表示,經常搬重物、久坐辦公室都是椎間盤突出的好發因子。
胡御風表示,下背痛為骨科門診常見的病症,根據研究統計,百分之九十以上的人都曾有過此症狀,多數原因是椎間盤突出造成神經壓迫,男性好發機率是女性的三倍,肥胖、抽菸、經常性彎腰搬重物、久坐辦公室、揹孩子等因素都是好發原因。
胡御風指出,除了下背痛外,神經壓迫導致下肢出現痛麻感也是椎間盤突出常見症狀,症狀不明顯患者建議先接受復健改善,症狀嚴重或復健超過六週未改善者,常有走沒幾步路就痛到必須停下來休息,甚至出現大小便失禁的情況,須安排核磁共振檢查,再透過減壓手術改善症狀。
胡御風說明,減壓手術可用微創方式進行,只需破壞一小塊骨頭,就可以把壓到神經的椎間盤掏出來,隔天就可以出院返家休養。建議民眾平常應保持正確的坐姿與站姿,並定期進行適量運動幫助訓練核心肌肉,避免脊椎變形與壓迫。
(自由時報)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into