Spinal tumor

　　The etiology of spinal tumor is briefly described as follows:

　　1. A mass gradually increasing within the vertebral body that breaks through the bone cortex and invades the paravertebral soft tissue;

　　2. Compression or invasion of adjacent nerve roots;

　　3. Vertebral destruction leading to secondary pathological fracture;

　　4. Post-pathological instability of the spine after pathological fracture, especially when accompanied by osteolytic destruction of the posterior appendages;

　　5. Compression of the spinal cord. It is reported that about 5% of patients with widely metastatic cancer experience compression of the spinal cord. The infiltrative tumor foci in the vertebral bodies weaken their strength, causing partial collapse of the vertebral bodies, with tumor tissue or bone fragments侵入 the spinal canal, which is the most common cause of compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots.

　　Diseases caused by spinal tumors.

　　1, Incision infection and dehiscence. Generally, patients are in poor condition, and those with poor wound healing ability or cerebrospinal fluid leakage are prone to occur. Intraoperative attention should be paid to aseptic operation. In addition to antibiotic treatment after surgery, active improvement of the overall condition should be made, with special attention to the supplementation of protein and various vitamins.

　　2, Cerebral edema. Often caused by spinal cord injury during surgery, the clinical manifestations are similar to those of a hematoma. Treatment is mainly with dehydration and hormones, and severe cases may require reoperation and opening of the dura mater.

　　3, Extradural hematoma. Incomplete hemostasis of paravertebral muscles, vertebrae, and the venous plexus of the dura mater can lead to hematoma formation after surgery, which can worsen paralysis of the limbs. Hematomas usually occur within 72 hours after surgery, even with the presence of a drain. If this phenomenon occurs, active exploration should be carried out to remove the hematoma and achieve complete hemostasis.

　　Back pain is the most common symptom in patients with spinal metastases, often occurring weeks or months before other neurological symptoms. Two types of back pain can be seen: pain related to the tumor and mechanical pain. Pain related to the tumor is mainly manifested as night pain or morning pain, and it usually subsides during the day due to activity. This pain may be caused by inflammatory mediators or stretching the periosteum of the vertebral body by the tumor.

　　The prevention of spinal tumors should include the following measures.

　　1, Pay attention to your own health. If you feel symptoms such as numbness or pain, you should communicate with a doctor in time and get checked and diagnosed early.

　　2, Minimize the use of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones, computers, televisions, and microwave appliances. Try to use wired telephones as much as possible. When using a computer, the distance from the screen should be about an arm's length, and the time spent watching TV should not be too long.

　　3, Develop good posture habits, pay attention to keeping warm, prevent attacks of wind and cold, and protect the cervical, lumbar, and thoracic vertebrae.

　　4, Reduce and avoid radioactive radiation, especially during the period of skeletal development in adolescents.

　　5, Avoid trauma, especially in the long bone parts of adolescents during their growth and development period.

　　6, Strengthen physical exercise, enhance physical fitness, improve resistance to diseases, enhance immune function, and prevent viral infections.

　　7, It is advisable to eat more foods that have anti-bone marrow disease and osteosarcoma properties.

　　Computed Tomography (CT): For patients suspected clinically but not diagnosed by X-ray, CT examination can be performed, which can clearly show the sacroiliac joint space and is particularly useful for determining whether the joint space is widened, narrowed, rigid, or partially rigid.

　　Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT): American scientists studied 36 patients, 24 with inflammatory lower back pain and 12 with lower back pain caused by mechanical pressure. Standard X-ray examination showed normal sacroiliac joints, but MRI examination found that 54% of patients with inflammatory lower back pain and 17% with mechanical lower back pain had sacroiliitis.

　　Using SPECT examination: 38% of inflammatory low back pain patients have sacroiliitis, while there is no such finding in the mechanical cause group. The positive detection rate is significantly increased when MRI and SPECT are checked simultaneously, with 58% of inflammatory low back pain patients and 17% of mechanical low back pain patients having sacroiliitis. Therefore, researchers believe that MRI and SPECT scintigraphy of the sacroiliac joint is very helpful for early diagnosis and treatment, and from this perspective, it is significantly superior to ordinary X-ray, but it is expensive and not recommended as a routine examination.

　　A brief introduction to the pros and cons of dietary habits for spinal tumors.

　　1. Suitable Diet

　　(1) Eat more foods that have anti-myeloma and osteosarcoma effects, such as kelp, seaweed, sea asparagus, clam, kelp, almonds, peach kernels, and plums.

　　(2) People with bone pain should eat turtle shell, turtle meat, pangolin, oyster, crab, shrimp, and walnuts.

　　(3) People with spleen enlargement should eat turtle, eel, marine eel, clam, kelp, and seaweed.

　　(4) People with anemia should eat pork liver, mushrooms, sesame, bee milk, yellowfish, peanuts, sea cucumber, grass carp, and abalone.

　　2. Unsuitable Diet

　　(1) Avoid smoking, drinking, and spicy刺激性 foods.

　　(2) Avoid moldy, salted, fried, and greasy foods.

　　(3) Avoid foods that cause hair growth, such as lamb, goose meat, and pork head meat.

　　The treatment of spinal metastases mainly includes three methods: chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. The goal of internal and external medical treatment for metastases is to maximize the improvement of quality of life. Once the diagnosis of metastases is established, the role of surgery or surgery combined with other treatment methods is to relieve pain, improve or maintain neurological function, and restore the integrity of the spinal structure. Determining the treatment plan for spinal metastases requires the participation of multidisciplinary teams such as medical oncology, general internal medicine, radiology, radiotherapy, neurology, and orthopedics.