Osteochondrosis is a disease that is one of the most common in the world.Most people after the age of 35 have osteochondrosis of the cervical back in one form or another.Recently, there has been a tendency to increase the number of people suffering from severe forms of the disease and renew the disease, reducing its lower age threshold.This is due to the fact that a growing number of people around the world are engaged in sitting work and lead a sedentary lifestyle.Meanwhile, the disease is quite dangerous, and every person should know what it is - osteochondrosis, how it manifests and how treated, be able to recognize its symptoms and begin treatment in a timely manner.
Causes of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is one of the few diseases that are characteristic of humans only.This disease does not occur in other animals.The reason for this is such a special feature of man as the right walk.The vertical position of the spinal column leads to the fact that the vertebrae crushes on one another and osteochondral tissue of the spine gradually degraded and deformed.
The human back begins from the cervical region.In this section there are a total of seven beads - from first to seventh.The vertebrae is separated from one another by intervertebral discs. The cervical spine is a particularly tangible part of it, which is associated, first of all, with the increased movement of the vertebrae in the area.In the cervical region, the disease is mainly reflected in discs, which are a weak point in the spine structure.
The prevalence of cervical osteochondrosis is also facilitated by factors such as the small size of the vertebrae and the relative weakness of the neck muscles.Also, the development of cervical osteochondrosis is greatly affected by insufficient blood supply to cartilage tissue.
Thus, the development of the disease is a complex and long process and there is no single cause.Although a link has been established between a person's sedentary work and the presence of cervical osteochondrosis, however, the disease often occurs in trained people, especially athletes, due to increased load on the cervix when lifting weights.
In older people, as a rule, degradation of vertebral structures is an inevitable process associated with aging and weakening its defenses.However, the most common pathological type of cervical osteochondrosis occurs, in which negative external or internal factors play a major role.
Factors that contribute to the development of neck osteochondrosis:
- Poor manner
- Curvature of the spine
- Back injuries
- Excess weight
- Hard work
- Sedentary work
- Lifestyle
- Metabolic disorders
- Frequent hypothermia
- Uncomfortable position while sleeping
- Stress, excessive work
- Hereditary
- Infectious
- Individual characteristics of body structure, for example, a neck that is too long or too short
The degree of development of cervical osteochondrosis
The disease has four stages.It is not always easy to determine the stage of the disease by analyzing the symptoms, as sometimes the degree of degradation of osteochondral tissue may not correspond to the symptoms observed in the patient.
First degree
Destructive processes begin in the osteochondral tissue of the vertebrae.As a rule, at this stage of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms are mild.Patients either do not notice them or do not associate them with spinal diseases, but attribute them to stress and excessive work.
Second rank
The height of the disk begins to decrease, and the cracks appear on its surface.Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis at this stage manifest in persistent pain, weakness and numbness in certain areas of the face.
Third -degree
The form of disc hernitions, cervical vessels and muscles are damaged.The patient experiences dizziness and pain in the back of the head.
Fourth
Osteophytes appear - increases in bone tissue that protects the vertebrae from stress, which leads to rounded nerves.This leads to the stiffness of movement and damage to the neighboring joints.
Cervical osteochondrosis: symptoms
The main symptoms of cervical back osteochondrosis:
- Pain in the neck and shoulders
- Muscle weakness
- Growing sweating
- Numb
- Loss of coordination
- Dizziness
- Deterioration of vision and hearing
- Increased blood pressure
- Headache
These symptoms, typical for cervical spine osteochondrosis, may be present at all stages of the disease.In most cases, only a few symptoms from the list are observed, and the rest may be missing.A person who encounters such signs of the disease for the first time does not always suspect that he has cervical osteochondrosis.Therefore, he can contact different doctors - therapists, cardiologists, neurologists, surgeons.And as a result, the correct diagnosis can be made with a significant delay.
syndromes
With cervical osteochondrosis, some syndromes occur, ie, typical conditions that have a complex of characteristic signs.They manifest depending on which the nerves and arteries are affected as a result of the disease:
- vertebral artery syndrome
- cardiac syndrome
- hypertensive syndrome
- radical
- migraine syndrome
Vertebral artery syndrome is one of the most unpleasant and dangerous complications of cervical osteochondrosis.It is caused by lowering the blood flow through the artery that goes along the spine and supplies the brain.The syndrome manifests itself in symptoms such as systemic or periodic dizziness, weakened hearing and vision.In some cases, dimming may occur.Often a change of syndrome is observed, in which under normal conditions blood flow to the artery is normal, but when the head turns into one direction or another, it can fall significantly.
Cardiac syndrome develops when nerve roots that include diaphragm or pectoral muscles are compressed.As a result, the patient may suffer pain that cardialgia reminiscent, although it has no direct effect on the heart.However, the syndrome can be characterized by phenomena such as tachycardia, hypotension and arrhythmia.
Hypertension syndrome is also one of the most dangerous complications.Unlike vertebral artery syndrome, it is caused by compression of the veins and not by the arteries, which impedes the blood flow from the head.The syndrome leads to an increase in intracranial pressure, which can occur in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and headaches.
Cervical migraine syndrome has little in common in its etiology with classical migraine.It manifests itself in severe pain in the back of the head.The pain is paroxysmal, lasts up to ten hours and is associated with vomiting.
Radicular syndrome is the most common syndrome in cervical osteochondrosis.Caused by compression of individual nerve roots in the cervical vertebrae.It can be expressed in pain in the neck, back of the head, shoulder blade, shoulders, numbness and weakening of certain areas of the wings (until the inability to perform any manipulation) and neck.
Very often, some individual characteristic syndromes or symptoms of different syndromes can be observed immediately.
As you can see, with cervical back osteochondrosis, the manifestations of the disease are multiple and the patient is not always able to recognize the cause of their appearance accurately.If you encounter similar symptoms, then this is a reason to consult a doctor.
Troubleshooting
To make a diagnosis, it is recommended to consult a therapist.It will give a referral to specialists - an orthopedic, an vertebologist, a neurologist.
The following types of studies are used for the diagnosis:
- Radiograph
- Calculated tomography
- Magnetic tomography
- Ultrasound scan of neck vessels
X -Ray allows you to determine the relocation of the vertebrae, the presence of growth - osteophytes and salt deposits and the compression of the disc.The calculated tomography involves the creation of a series of X-rays that give a three-dimensional view of an organ, in this case the cervical spine.This allows you to detail the degree of the pathological process - the nature of the nervous compression, the structure of osteophytes, the height of the discs, etc.The image of magnetic resonance, based on the physical effect of nuclear magnetic resonance, provides an even more detailed structural appearance of the spine.The ultrasound of the neck vessels helps identify changes in the blood flow to the large neck vessels caused by the disease.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home
How to treat the cervical back osteochondrosis at home and is it treatable at all?To combat the disease, medicine has developed many methods.Some treatments can be used at home.But this process is long and complete recovery is not likely, especially in old age.However, it is possible to slow down and stop the devastating processes in the back at any stage of the disease.
In the early stages of the disease, the methods are usually conservative.Some methods are used to treat cervical osteochondrosis:
- medicaments
- Therapeutic
- Physiotherapy
- Massage
- Special tools for adjusting the spine
If the disease has progressed in the last stage, and serious destruction of the osteochondral structure of the spine occurs, then surgical intervention can be used to treat the cervical spine osteochondrosis.
drug
The following types of medicines are used:
- Chondroprotectors
- Vitamin
- Analgesic
- Anti-inflammatory drug
- Antispasmodics
In the case of acute pain syndrome associated with osteochondrosis, the first advantage is its elimination.As a rule, oral medicines are used, but if they are ineffective, an anesthetic blockade is used in severe cases.
For muscle spasms, antispasmodics are used.Muscle relaxants demonstrate the greatest effectiveness in osteochondrosis.Ointments containing non-steroidal drugs can be used as anti-inflammatory and painkillers.
In the presence of syndromes associated with damaged circulation and blood supply to the brain - hypertensional and vertebral artery syndrome, medicines that relieve the undesirable effects of these syndromes - blood pressure lowering agents and nootropic drugs.
Therapeutic
Physical therapy is the simplest and most accessible type of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis and, at the same time, quite effective.Physical therapy can also be done at home.With osteochondrosis, the intensity of the exercise does not play a crucial role;Only regularity is needed.First of all, physical education is intended to strengthen the neck muscles, which offset the inadequate functionality of the spine and help it support weakened vertebrates.
Daily exercises are recommended to strengthen the neck muscles.They can be very simple, consisting of turning and slope of the head in different directions, or more complex, including the help of the neck muscles from the hands.They can be performed both at home and at work.For example, if the work is sitting, then it is useful to do such exercises after an hour sitting on a table or monitoring.However, they can only be performed outside the period of worsening of the disease and in the absence of pain.Otherwise, they can only exacerbate the situation.
Strengthening the shoulder band muscle is no less effective, for example, through regular light dumbbell exercises.However, the erection of heavy objects (weights, barbellat) is contraindicated.Regular swimming, which relieves stress on the back, is also useful.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a treatment method that uses certain physical fields and radiation to affect the body.A positive property of physiotherapy is that it has a minimum number of contraindications.
The following methods of physiotherapy are used to treat osteochondrosis:
- Exposure
- Laser therapy
- The impact of the magnetic field
- Exposure to electric current (electrophoresis)
The magnetic field has a positive effect on the damaged tissues of the body and has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect.Ultrasound improves metabolic processes in tissues and facilitates swelling.The same can be said for laser therapy.Electrophoresis is most commonly used in relation to medication, as the use of electric current accelerates their absorption by the body.
Massage
Massage reduces the growth of muscle tone, which causes spasm, and reduces the flow of lymph, which causes swelling.The procedure helps improve blood circulation in the affected area, which stops the process of destroying intervertebral discs.
Other treatments
What to do with cervical osteochondrosis if classic home treatment methods do not help?To reduce the load on the cervical spine, a special device is used - a shants collar, which adjusts the neck in a normal continuous position.It is recommended to wear it during pain irritation or during prolonged sitting work.
To avoid irritations, you should also arrange a place to sleep.The pillow should not cause neck bending, and the mattress should be strong and even.In some cases, special sleep aids - an orthopedic mattress and pillow - can help.