Osteochondrosis is a disease that is one of the most common in the world.Most people after 35 years have an osteochondrosis of the cervical column in one way or another.Recently, there has been a tendency to increase the number of suffering in a serious way of the disease and rejuvenate the disease, a decrease in its lowest age threshold.This is due to the fact that an increasing number of people around the world is dedicated to the work sitting and leads a sedentary lifestyle.Meanwhile, the disease is quite dangerous, and anyone should know what it is: osteochondrosis, how it manifests and how it is, in order to recognize its symptoms and begin treatment in a timely manner.
Causes
Osteochondrosis is one of the few diseases that are characteristic only for humans.In other animals, this disease is not found.The reason for this is such a distinctive characteristic of a person as simplicity.The vertical disposition of the spine leads to the fact that the vertebrae is pressed with each other and the bone-chryshabi tissue of the column is degraded and deforms gradually.
The human column begins with the cervical region.In total, there are seven vertebrae in this department, from the first to seventh.The vertebrae are separated from each other by intervertebral discs.The cervical column is a particularly vulnerable part, which is first associated, with a greater mobility of the vertebrae in this area.In the cervical region, the disease is reflected, first, on discs, which are a weak place in the structure of the spine.
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.In addition, the development of cervical osteochondrosis is very influenced by the lack of blood supply to the cartilage tissue.
Therefore, the development of the disease is a complex and prolonged process and does not have a single cause.Although a connection between the sedentary work of a person was established and the presence of cervical osteochondrosis in it, however, the disease is often found in trained people, especially Due athletes to increase the load in the cervical column by raising weights.
In the elderly, as a rule, the degradation of vertebrates is an inevitable process associated with body aging and the weakening of their protective forces.However, the pathological type of cervical osteochondrosis is found more frequently, in which external or internal negative factors play the main role.
Factors that contribute to the development of neck osteochondrosis:
- Posture violation
- Curvature of the column
- Back injuries
- Overweight
- Hard physical work
- Sedentary work
- A sedentary lifestyle
- Violation of metabolic processes
- Frequent hypothermia
- In an uncomfortable pose during sleep
- Stress, excess work
- Hereditary factors
- Infectious diseases
- Individual characteristics of the body structure, for example, 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 through the analysis of the symptoms, since sometimes the degree of degradation of the bone cheese tissue may not correspond to the symptoms observed in the patient.
The first grade
The destructive processes begin in the bone skin tissue of the vertebrae.As a general rule, at this stage of the osteochondrosis of the cervical region, the symptoms are expressed weakly.Patients or not notice them at all or are not associated with spine diseases, but attribute to stress and excess work.
The second grade
A decrease in disc height begins, cracks appear on its surface.The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis at this stage are manifested in constant pain, weakness, numbness of the individual sections of the face.
The third grade
Drine of discs are formed, the cervical vessels and the muscles are damaged.The patient has dizziness, pain in the occipital part of the head.
The fourth grade
Osteophytes appear: the growth of bone tissue that protects the vertebrae of the load, which leads to nerve violation.This leads to the rigidity of the movements and the damage to the neighboring joints.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of the osteochondrosis of the cervical column:
- Neck pain and shoulders
- Muscle weakness
- Increase in sweating
- NO NUMBER
- Coordination violation
- Dizziness
- Deterioration of vision and hearing
- Increased blood pressure
- Headaches
These spinal osteochondrosis typical of osteochondrosis, symptoms may be present at all stages of the disease.In most cases, only a few symptoms of the list are observed, and the rest may be absent from a person who first found such signs of the disease, does not always suspect cervical osteochondrosis.Therefore, you can contact several doctors: therapists, cardiologists, neuropathologists, surgeons.And the correct diagnosis as a result can be done with a significant delay.
Syndromes for cervical osteochondrosis
With cervical osteochondrosis, there are several syndromes, that is, typical conditions that have a characteristic characteristics complex.They manifest depending on which nerves and arteries are affected as a result of the disease:
- Vail artery syndrome
- Cardial syndrome
- Hypertensive syndrome
- syndrome
- Cervical Migraine Syndrome
Spinal artery syndrome is one of the most unpleasant and dangerous complications with cervical osteochondrosis.It is due to the fact that the blood flow is reduced along the artery that passes along the column and the supply of the brain.The syndrome manifests in symptoms as systemic or periodic dizziness, use and vision.In some cases, fainting may occur.Often there is a variety of syndrome, which consists in the fact that in the normal state the blood flow in the artery is normal, however, when turning the head in one direction or another, it can fall abruptly.
The cardial syndrome develops when squeezing the nerves roots that innervation of the diaphragm or chest muscle.As a result, the patient may have pain similar to carditia, although the heart does not happen in 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 the vertebral artery syndrome, it is caused by tightening not the arteries, but the veins, which complicates the blood exit from the head.The syndrome leads to an increase in intracranial pressure, which can manifest in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache.
Cervical Migraine syndrome has little in common in its etiology with classical migraine.It manifests itself in the strongest pain in the occipital part of the head.The pains are paroxysmal, they last up to ten hours and are accompanied by vomiting.
Rest syndrome is the most common syndrome for the osteochondrosis of the cervical column.It is caused by the compression of individual nerve roots in the cervical vertebrae.It can be expressed in pain in the neck, neck, shoulder blades, shoulders, numbness and weakening of the tone of individual sections of the hands (until the impossibility of performing some type of manipulation) and neck.
Very often, several syndromes or individual symptoms characteristic of different syndromes at the same time can be observed.
As you can see, with the osteochondrosis of the cervical column, the manifestation of the disease is multifaceted and far away the patient can correctly recognize the cause of his occurrence.If you face similar symptoms, this is an occasion to see a doctor.
Diagnosis
To install the diagnosis, it is recommended to contact the therapist.He will give a reference to specialists: an orthopedist, a vertebrologist, a neurologist.
The following types of research are used for diagnosis:
- Radiography
- Computed tomography
- Magnetic tomography
- Ultrasound scan of the neck vessels
X -Ray allows you to determine the displacement of the vertebrae, the presence of growth: osteophytes and saline deposits, disc stamps.Computed tomography consists in creating a series of X -ray images that give a voluminous idea of the body, in this case, on the cervical column.It allows you to detail the degree of pathological process: the nature of nerve compression, the structure of the osteophytes, the height of the discs, etc.Magnetic resonance, based on the physical effect of nuclear magnetic resonance, provides an even more detailed structural image of the spine.The neck ultrasound helps identify changes in blood flow in the main neck vessels caused by the disease.
Treatment
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis and is treated at all?To combat the disease, medicine has developed many methods.Some treatment methods can be used at home.But this process is a long and complete cure is unlikely, especially in old age.However, it is possible to reduce speed and stop destructive processes in the spine at any stage of the disease.
In the initial stages of the disease, methods are usually conservative.Several ways are used to treat cervical osteochondrosis:
- Medications
- Medical Physical Education
- Physiotherapy
- Massage
- Special tools to fix the spine
If the disease has moved to the last stage, and there is a serious destruction of the bone structure of the spine, then surgery can also be used to treat the osteochondrosis of the cervical column.
Drugs
The following types of drugs are used:
- Condroprotectors
- Vitamins
- Analgesics
- Anti -inflammatory drugs
- Antispasmodics
In acute pain syndrome associated with osteochondrosis, the priority task is to eliminate it.As a general rule, oral preparations are used, however, with its inefficiency, the novocaine block is used in severe cases.
With muscle cramps, antispasmodics are used.They demonstrate the greatest effectiveness for osteochondrosis.As anti -inflammatories and analgesics, ointments that contain non -steroidal medications can be used.
In the presence of syndromes associated with circulatory disorders and blood supply to the brain: hypertension and vertebral artery syndrome, drugs are taken that relieve the undesirable effects of these syndromes, drugs that reduce pressure and nootropic agents.
Medical Physical Education
Medical physical education is the simplest and most affordable type of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis and, at the same time, quite effective.Physical education can also be carried out at home.With osteochondrosis, the intensity of classes does not play a decisive role, only its regularity is necessary.First, physical education is designed to strengthen the neck muscles, which make up insufficient functionality of the spine and help you maintain weakened vertebrae.
To strengthen neck muscles, daily classes are recommended.They can be completely simple, which consist of turns and head inclinations in different directions, and more complex, including the help of the muscles of the neck of the hands.They can be done both at home and at work.For example, if work is sedentary, it is useful to do such exercises after sitting at a table or monitor.However, they can only be performed outside the period of exacerbation of the disease and in the absence of pain.Otherwise, they can only worsen the condition.
No less effective is the strengthening of shoulder waist muscles, for example, using regular classes with light weights.However, the lifting of weights (pesos, rods) is contraindicated.Regular swimming, downloading the spine, is also useful.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a treatment method that uses some physical fields and radiation to perform the body.A positive property of physiotherapy is that it has a minimum number of contraindications.
The following physiotherapy methods are used to treat osteochondrosis:
- Exposure to ultrasound
- Laser therapy
- Exposure to magnetic field
- Effect of electric current (electrophoresis)
The magnetic field positively affects the damaged tissues of the body and has an anti -inflammatory and analgesic effect.Ultrasound improves metabolic processes in tissues, relieve swelling.The same can be said about laser therapy.Electrophoresis is used more frequently in a lot of medications, since the use of electric current accelerates its body absorption.
Massage
Massage reduces the increase in muscle tone that causes spasm and reduces the flow of lymph that causes swelling.The procedure helps improve blood circulation in the affected area, which stops the process of destruction of intervertebral discs.
Other treatment methods
To reduce the load in the cervical compartment, a special device is used: a chantzz necklace, which fixes the neck in a constant normal position.It is recommended to use it during exacerbations with pain syndrome or a long session.
To avoid exacerbations, you must also organize a sleeping place.The pillow should not cause neck curvature, and the mattress must be rigid and even.In some cases, special sleep devices can help: orthopedic mattress and pillow.