Osteochondrosis generally refers to degenerative changes in any articular cartilage. Therefore, this pathological condition can occur in all joints of the musculoskeletal system. However, the most pronounced symptoms, for example, headaches and headaches, as well as heart aches, are observed in the case of cervical osteochondrosis, that is, damage to the cartilage tissue between the vertebrae of the cervicobrachial spine.
According to WHO statistics, around 60% of Europeans suffer from osteochondrosis to one degree or another. In men, the disease manifests itself approximately 10 years earlier than in women. Representatives of the more severe sex face symptoms around the age of 45. The female half is between 55 and 60 years old, respectively. At the same time, experts are sounding the alarm about the ongoing rejuvenation of this disease. If you do not take the appropriate measures, literally within the next decade, the number of patients in their 30s with osteochondrosis will increase significantly.
Causes of osteochondrosis
Dystrophic changes in the pulp occur for several reasons. The natural aging of cartilage tissue must be put first, which, unfortunately, is an objective and irresistible circumstance. However, as mentioned above, this disease is getting younger and younger, which is no longer associated with aging, but with other reasons.
In young patients, the disease occurs as a result of metabolic disorders associated, as a rule, with poor nutrition. The abundance of fat and the reduced content of vitamins in foods are the reason why cartilage literally begins to "starve" and reaches a state of dystrophy.
Another triggering factor is physical inactivity. Read the forums on which people who have encountered this disease communicate, and you will see that most of them are still relatively young residents of megacities, who, as a rule, are engaged in mental work that involves a long sitting position. The low motor activity of the cervical vertebrae leads to a loss of elasticity of the cartilage in the intervertebral discs.
As a result of poor nutrition and related metabolic disorders, as well as due to physical inactivity, the pulp begins to degenerate, becoming more and more dense. In the later stages of osteochondrosis, a complication arises, manifested in the replacement of cartilaginous tissue of the bone and thickening of the intervertebral discs. This leads to compression of the nerve roots and blood vessels located here. The participation of the elements of the nervous and vascular systems in the pathological process determines the specific course of osteochondrosis.
Specificity of the disease
The difficulty of facing this disease lies in its late diagnosis, which is explained by the disguise of osteochondrosis under other pathologies. People waste precious time and do not treat this pathology, because they are not aware of its presence. And you can't blame the patients for this. If the pressure increases, we treat the hypertension. Stabbed heart - let's go to cardiology. The head hurts regularly and now a person cannot fall asleep without ibuprofen or analgin. It doesn't even occur to us that we need to see a neuropathologist.
Meanwhile, just a couple of visits to a specialist of this profile will allow you to start the process of restoring the cartilage of each cervical vertebra, which will gradually eliminate false hypertension, and suspicions of angina pectoris, andpersistent headaches, and other symptoms that are associated with the condition of the cervico-shoulder region. the spinal column, it seems to us, does not appear to be connected.Timely detection of pathology prevents further pulpal dystrophy and allows you to treat osteochondrosis at home and on an outpatient basis, without hospitalization. Unfortunately, most patients turn to a neuropathologist who already has sufficiently severe injuries to the intervertebral discs, when the neck begins to ache unbearably.
Diagnostic methods
The diagnosis of osteochondrosis is a complex job. The research can take a long period of time, but its costs are justified, as early treatment of this disease avoids the worst-case scenario: surgery to replace the ossified intervertebral disc, during which the pinched nerve roots are released and installed. full-function implants or simple height compensators. element removed from the spine. The orthopedist determines what type of solution is required for a particular patient after a comprehensive diagnosis.
Since the disease, as stated above, is masked, it is first necessary to ensure that the symptoms are not associated with problems in other organs. For example, in case of pain in the heart, you need to undergo a cardiological examination and confirm the absence of heart disease. Comprehensive diagnostics will allow not only to confirm suspicions of osteochondrosis, but also to find out the general condition of the body along the way.
The final diagnosis is made based on the results of the X-ray examination of the cervicobrachial spine in frontal and lateral views. A more informative method is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It allows you to more accurately determine the location of dystrophic changes. Thanks to this, the doctor has the opportunity to literally prescribe a timely treatment.
Treatment with folk remedies at home
The advantage of osteochondrosis, if this word is used in this case, is that the patient can be treated at home, without mandatory hospitalization. The course of treatment includes taking special drugs and performing exercises from the exercise therapy complex.
Medications (their types) used for the treatment of osteochondrosis at home are presented in the table below.
| Painkillers | In most cases, they are tablets, sometimes capsules. These funds are designed to relieve pain in the cervical spine. |
| Anti-inflammatory | Hormonal drugs that stop the inflammatory process resulting from changes in the intervertebral cartilage. It also relieves pain. |
| Chondroprotectors | Medications that contain components for the restoration of cartilage tissue, such as hyaluronic acid. Designed for extended wear. |
| muscle relaxants | Means to relax muscle tension. These drugs are taken only under the supervision of a treating physician. Limited use due to the large list of contraindications. |
| Exterior | Ointments, gels, etc. Anti-inflammatories, pain relievers, and warmers are used. Before using these funds, you should consult a specialist. |
| Vitamins | Prepared with vitamins that improve the conductivity of nerve fibers and the functioning of the peripheral nervous system in general. These are group B vitamins, as well as A and C. In some cases, vitamin D is prescribed. |
It should be understood thatour list of drug types does not provide reasons for self-medication. A specific agent with an indication of the dose and taking into account the pathogenesis in each individual case can be prescribed only by a certified neurologist. The thoughtless adherence to television advertisements that "recommend" the best drugs for osteochondrosis is not fraught with a cure for this disease, but, on the contrary, with an aggravation of the situation. BE CAREFUL!
Injection therapy
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, in addition to taking pills and applying ointments, injection of drugs is used. There is a wide range of injectable medications. Treatment courses include all types of injections, including the following:
- subcutaneous;
- intramuscular;
- intravenous;
- epidurals.
Injections are more effective compared to drugs taken by mouth and all kinds of home remedies. The blood flow quickly carries the agent to the sore spot, which explains the rapid healing effect. And, for example, with an epidural injection, the drugs are injected directly into the spinal cord and begin to work instantly.
Vitamins and other supportive medications are generally injected subcutaneously. Anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective drugs are injected intramuscularly. For example,injections of an anti-inflammatory drug, which are so popular with patients, are injected into muscle tissue. Medications that speed up brain circulation are injected into a vein. This is necessary in the case of compression of the intervertebral discs of blood vessels, through which the blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Epidural injections are done with the goal of blocking severe pain sensations when other methods of pain relief are ineffective. With this injection, the needle passes between the vertebral processes and delivers the anesthetic directly to the spinal cord. This procedure is performed only by a trained professional anesthesiologist.
Injections are fully effective only with the condition of regular exercise in medical gymnastics. That is, the administration of drugs by itself is not enough for the complete treatment of osteochondrosis. Only in combination with exercise therapy is it possible to alleviate the symptoms of the disease and, in the future, restore the affected cartilage tissue.
What to do during exacerbations?
Although osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is chronic and more or less imperceptible for long periods of time, sometimes patients face exacerbations. In each patient, they occur at different intervals and can occur unpredictably. During these periods, it is important to take timely measures to avoid a significant deterioration of the condition.
Triggers of exacerbation
Exacerbations in osteochondrosis, as in any other disease, do not occur, as they say, out of nowhere. Typically, acute illnesses are triggered by the following factors:
- stress;
- non-professional massage;
- meteorological phenomena;
- visit to a thermal bath (sauna);
- excessive physical activity after prolonged physical inactivity.
In women, osteochondrosis often worsens during menstruation. Alcohol abuse is also a powerful trigger.
Symptoms of exacerbation
The symptoms of exacerbations of osteochondrosis in each patient manifest in different ways and are determined by the general clinical picture of the pathogenesis. For example, all patients experiencehead and neck pain in acute conditions, and not all experience loss of sensation up to numbness of the face during exacerbations, but it does occur quite frequently. And, of course, during this period, the symptoms of those diseases under which osteochondrosis is masked are exacerbated. These are heart aches, dizziness, tinnitus, hot flashes, etc. Exacerbations are especially dangerous, during which inflammation of the cervical spine occurs.
Relief measures for exacerbations
In the period of aggravated osteochondrosis, you should first consult your doctor. There is no need to ignore this rule, as delay in this matter can do you a disservice. The neurologist will assess the patient's condition and recommend steps for an effective and most importantly safe exit from the crisis.
Usually, during acute conditions with osteochondrosis, injections of analgesics and anti-inflammatories are prescribed. But gymnastics during this period should be interrupted. Rather, the patient must remain calm. It is unacceptable to knead the neck, this can aggravate the condition. It is advisable to transfer the aggravation to the supine position and fix the head at the same time, placing a roller or at least a rolled sheet underneath.
An important place in reducing the frequency of exacerbations is played by their prevention, which is reduced to maintaining the correct motor regime in daily life.A patient with osteochondrosis must control posture, keep his head upright, avoid sudden movements. In humid and cold climates, it is necessary to protect the cervical vertebrae from hypothermia. And, of course, you should not forget about medical gymnastics for a minute; you should do it regularly. This is the key to the course of osteochondrosis without exacerbations.
2 degrees of disease
Neuropathologists distinguish 3 degrees of osteochondrosis: 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. In most patients, the disease is registered in the second stage. This is due to the following points. 1-degree disease is characterized by brief pain in the neck, similar to an electric shock. In the initial stage, the annulus fibrosus, which supports the central part of the intervertebral disc, begins to collapse. The guideline for the diagnosis of 1st degree osteochondrosis is the dilation of the pupils, which is not associated with other bodily phenomena.
The number of patients with grade 1 osteochondrosis is not very large. The disease in this stage is transitory and is eliminated (with timely treatment) or passes quickly to the second phase, if the moment is missed. The situation in the number of patients with grade 3 osteochondrosis is similar. It is also small. This is due to the fact that most often doctors manage to initiate timely treatment and prevent the transition of the pathology from the second to the third stage. The disease of this grade is characterized by symptoms such as acute neck pain, which does not go away even after taking painkillers, partial loss of control of the upper limbs, constant dizziness, and often fainting. Third-degree osteochondrosis is treated, as a rule, by surgery, since drug therapy is often ineffective.
Because most patients suffer from second-degree osteochondrosis, this form of the disease is of greater interest from a clinical point of view, and it is in the treatment of the disease at this stage that the greatest accumulation has occurred. experience. According to statistics, the proportion of patients with stage II osteochondrosis among all patients with this pathology is approximately 75%.
The specificity of this form of the disease is its chronic course with short periods of exacerbation.The second degree differs from the first by the continuous decrease of the space between the vertebrae. That is, the intervertebral disc has not yet collapsed, as in the case of the third stage, but it becomes significantly thinner, which leads to pinching of the nerve roots and causes all the classic symptoms of osteochondrosis.
Since second-degree pathology is the most widespread, then, speaking of the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in general, they imply the implementation of therapeutic measures in relation to this particular form of the disease. And they, we repeat, include drug therapy and physical therapy exercises. Correctly performed treatment allows you to eliminate the disease and prevent its transition to the third stage with an almost inevitable operation to replace the intervertebral discs.
Main symptoms and appropriate treatment
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a degenerative lesion of the intervertebral discs that is difficult to diagnose. Most of the time, 45-50 year olds find it, but in recent years the pathology has gotten "younger" and now neuropathologists often admit 30-year-old patients.
The difficulty of detecting osteochondrosis is explained by the "simulative" nature of the course of the disease, when it is disguised as other pathologies. The cause of the disease is the deterioration of the elasticity of the cartilage tissue, which forms a cushioning pulp between the vertebrae.. Cartilage becomes thinner and denser. As a result, the nerve roots are compressed (the so-called root infringement), which leads to the following symptoms:
- headaches and heart aches;
- increased blood pressure;
- decreased sensitivity of the facial area (up to numbness);
- partial paresis of the upper extremities.
All of these symptoms are certainly accompanied by pain in the neck. Often this pain is mild and does not require the patient to take pain relievers. Ignoring the slight neck pain, the patient does not sound the alarm about osteochondrosis, but tries to treat other pathologies, for example, angina or hypertension, which he probably does not have.
Treatment methods
According to modern approaches, osteochondrosis progresses in waves. At first, it manifests itself in the form of exacerbation (acute period). Then the symptomatology weakens and a subacute period is established. The third stage is remission, the state of which continues until the next exacerbation. The task of treating osteochondrosis is to quickly stop the acute phase, alleviate the patient's condition in the subacute period, and ensure a long-term remission.
During the acute and subacute phases, the patient takes pain relievers and anti-inflammatories. In these stages, an effective solution is the use of a gauze collar from Shants, which gives the head a position in which the neck muscles relax, eliminating pain. During the remission period, drug treatment with chondroprotectors that improve the quality of cartilage tissue and a set of physical exercises, exercise therapy is indicated. Gymnastics is even more important than hyaluronic acid injections because healthy physical activity stimulates the formation of collagen fibers in cartilage naturally.
Type of cervicothoracic pathology
Strictly formally speaking, cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis are two different forms of the disease. However, they are often combined. This is due to the fact that the cervical and thoracic spine are closed to each other, which connects these two types of pathology of the intervertebral discs. That is, with dystrophic changes in the cervical vertebrae, practically the same violations are observed in the thoracic region. Therefore, these two forms of the disease are combined, especially since their symptoms are very similar to each other. The main symptom is pain. With cervical ostechondrosis, the pain is localized in the neck, in the case of a cervicothoracic injury, pain in the sternum is added to them.
Common symptoms include the following:
- facial numbness;
- head and anguish;
- blood pressure instability;
- strong tinnitus.
In case of damage to the thoracic vertebrae, the list is supplemented by impaired coordination of movements, activation of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joints, numbness of the hands.
Treatment of the cervicothoracic spine
Treatment is prescribed after a complete diagnosis by X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Treatment of osteochondrosis is complex: medication and physiotherapy. Drug therapy involves the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers.An important part of the treatment is the use of chondroprotectors that directly restore the cartilage tissue in the intervertebral space. Physical therapy measures include compresses and the use of all kinds of ointments, as well as physical therapy exercises.
If osteochondrosis is detected in the thoracic spine, professional massage is indicated. The effects of massage trigger the natural regeneration processes of cartilage tissue. Massage is more effective in eliminating disease in the thoracic vertebrae than gymnastics, since the spine in this place is not flexible, and therefore, when performing exercises, it is not always possible to provide a normal range of motion for the vertebraeindividual. A masseur, on the other hand, can have a precise effect on a diseased intervertebral disc. Only you should contact a certified spine massage specialist. Also, the masseur must have a license.
Timely measures to eliminate cervicothoracic osteochondrosis will avoid surgery to replace a destroyed intervertebral disc with a stent. Early diagnosis of pathology and discipline in outpatient treatment with medicines and folk remedies will save you money. If you have the slightest suspicion of osteochondrosis, see a neurologist. But better . . .
Be sure to consult your doctor before treating illnesses. This will help to account for individual tolerance, confirm the diagnosis, ensure correct treatment, and exclude negative drug interactions. If you use prescriptions without consulting a doctor, then it is at your own risk. All information is presented for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical aid. All responsibility for the application rests with you.