PANJSHIR (SW) – More and more Panjshir residents are falling prey to the he herniated disk issue at the lower back amid lack of healthcare and preventive measures in this mountainous province.
Panjshir, located in the northwest of Kabul, is a mountainous province where most of its residents are engaged in works with physical pressure that cause them suffer various disease in middle age which the common one is herniated disk.
Herniated is a type of gelatinous material that is located between the lumbar vertebrae which prevents pressure on human back. The total number of lumbar vertebrae is 33, which includes five disks.
Rize Gul, a 52-years old woman from Shotol district of Panjshir, who is suffering from lumbar disk disease and came to Parwan province for treatment, says: “I felt pain in my back and my knees. After I went to the doctor, he said that your back bones are slipped close. I request the government to build a clinic in Panjshir, doctors come and treat people voluntarily, people in Panjshir are displaced and poor, so they cannot be treated in the private clinics. I recommend them to visit doctor as soon as possible if they feel slightest of pain in their back”.
Shahla, resident of Panjshir and yet another woman who is suffering from herniated disk, says that the doctor told her that she should not lift heavy weight and her full treatment takes time.
“My legs have been hurting for a long time. I took medicine, applied ointments, and did a lot of injections to cure my legs, but nothing worked. Then the doctor examined me and saw that my back vertebrae were slipping close to each other. There is no orthopedic physicians in Panjshir, that’s why people are facing many problems. I want the government to activate the orthopedic department in Panjshir Emergency Hospital so that people’s problems can be solved,” she added.
Although herniated disk disease is caused by various factors such as lifting heavy stuff, obesity and fall, but doctors say that lack of vitamin D and having osteoporosis are known as the main causes of suffering this disease.
Abdul Khalil Haidari, an orthopedic specialist, says about this disease: “Compared to men, women suffer from herniated disk disease more often. Women spend more time at home and lack of sunlight and vitamin D causes osteoporosis in them. It also causes muscle pains that makes it difficult for women to get up in the morning, especially in the pelvis area.”
Meanwhile, Khawja Agha Ghafouri, deputy of public health department in Panjshir, confirms the increase in number of patients suffering from herniated disk disease in this province and says that most of the patients are women. According to him, there is no specialist / expert doctor and medical equipment in clinics in Panjshir for treating of patients who suffer from this disease.
Mr. Ghafouri adds: “Cases of back pain have increased among people who age 55 to 60 in Panjshir where most of the patients are women. We do not have a provincial hospital, there is no neurosurgeon and orthopedic specialist in Panjshir. We try to refer the patients to a well-equipped medical center that can solve the patients’ problems in a correct and fundamental way.”
According to orthopedic experts, in some situations, there is possibility that the herniated disk puts more pressure on the nerve fibers and due to not being diagnosing on time for treating or surgery, may cause the patient to become completely paralyzed.
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