Osteochondrosis is a condition in which a number of disorders are observed in the joint cartilage of a dystrophic nature. Osteochondrosis can appear in different joints, but most often osteochondrosis affects the intervertebral discs. If we consider the location of the disease, then osteochondrosis is customary to be divided into chest, cervical, lumbar. Osteochondrosis is a disease that causes pain in the back in about 80% of cases. In the case of complication of osteochondrosis, hernias of intervertebral discs sometimes occur in the head, limbs, and other organs. The most common is lumbar osteochondrosis that provokes pain in the legs. Many people complain of manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis, in which hands and head hurt. In the chest form of the disease, the pain occurs in the internal organs.
The causes of osteochondrosis
The initial cause of osteochondrosis of the spine is the ease of a person. There are many diverse theories regarding the causes of osteochondrosis. Such, for example, are a predisposition of a hereditary nature, injury, and a violation of metabolic processes in the body. The determination of the causes of this disease is complicated by the fact that the disease is manifested in people of different ages, different physique and physical level of development.
There is also a theory that the cause of osteochondrosis is the deposition of salts in the spine. However, experts argue that it is to a certain extent a delusion. And it is the correct analysis of the causes of the disease that is the main effective treatment of the disease.
При остеохондрозе характер болезни является невоспалительным, дегенеративно-дистрофическим. In the process of developing the disease, fabric nutrition is disturbed, its structure is reborn. People who constantly have active physical activity have more durable and elastic bone tissue. This is due to the fact that the discs of the spine in an adult of a person do not have their own vessels, therefore, oxygen and nutrients in the discs come from the tissues that are located nearby. A similar process can be full only in the case of active blood circulation, which is possible only in the process of constant intensive muscle operation.
Каждый межпозвонковый диск составляют две части. In the center of the disk is a gelatinous nucleus, which makes the disk elastic, and surrounds its fibrous durable ring. If the food of the intervertebral discs becomes worse, then the structure of bio -polymer compounds can be destroyed. Вследствие уменьшения содержания влаги в диске он становиться хрупким. And if the spine is overloaded, the jacket is divided into fragments. В результате его упругость значительно снижается. Волокнистые кольца также теряют прочность. Such phenomena become a starting point for manifestation of osteochondrosis in humans. The manifestation of degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine is calcified by damaged discs, ligaments, capsules. Подобное явление – последняя стадия процесса развития заболевания.
Unfortunately, the reverse process after such changes in the spine is almost impossible. Therefore, the main task of treating osteochondrosis is to maintain current standing.
Basically, manifestations of osteochondrosis become more pronounced in people after reaching thirty -five years of age. Moreover, the older a person becomes, the more manifestations of the disease are observed. However, recently, with complaints of back pain, more and more young people are addressing doctors.
The causes of such an early occurrence of osteochondrosis are primarily very weak physical activity, problems with posture, as well as a twisted spine, flat feet and obesity. To date, the main causes of osteochondrosis are considered to be the following: the following:
- predisposition of a hereditary nature;
- problems with metabolic processes, intoxication, infection;
- the presence of excess weight, irrational nutrition (small fluid consumption deficiency of trace elements);
- the presence of spinal injuries, its curvature, improper posture, flat feet;
- existence in bad ecological conditions;
- inactive lifestyle;
- regular weight lifting, work in uncomfortable poses for a long time, an activity in which a person often repeats sudden movements, turns and flexion of the body;
- too strong physical activity, overload of the spine due to diseases of the foot, inconvenience in the process of wearing shoes, as well as load during pregnancy;
- The sudden termination of constant training by people who play sports, stress, malicious smoking.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
In people who are sick with osteochondrosis, tangible back pains appear first of all. Sometimes such pain is accompanied by numbness, as well as the sensations of aches in the limbs. If therapy of osteochondrosis does not begin on time, then the person quickly loses weight, he has atrophy of the limbs. With physical exercises and load, as well as in the process of raising too heavy objects, in the process of sneezing and coughing, the pain can become more intense. In the patient, osteochondrosis decreases the volume of movements, muscle cramps are manifested.
Cervical osteochondrosis is manifested due to the features of the structure of the cervical spine. The vertebrae of the cervical region have significantly smaller sizes than the vertebrae of other spine. Accordingly, cervical osteochondrosis is manifested due to constant load on the neck. Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are expressed as follows: pain manifest in the hands, neck, shoulders, headaches can occur. This type of disease is characterized by the syndrome of the vertebral artery. With the manifestation of this syndrome, a person feels the presence of noise in his head, "flies" flashes before the eyes, and a head is spinning. Multi -colored spots can occur before your eyes, in parallel a person feels severe pain in a pulsating character. Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis sometimes resemble signs of angina pectoris, but the patient does not have a change in the heart in the study.
In patients with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the patient feels pain in the chest. Pain can be given to the region of the heart, as well as to other internal organs. The pains of the lumbosacral spinal osteochondrosis feel the lower back pain, which can give to the feet, sacrum, to the pelvic organs. Their nerve roots are affected, sensitivity is disturbed, reflexes can decrease and hypotension can appear.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
The specialist establishes a preliminary diagnosis of osteochondrosis already during the initial examination of the patient. As a rule, an inspection is carried out by a doctor-neuropathologist. Typically, the patient comes to reception with complaints of pain, as well as deformation or limitation of mobility. The patient’s spine is carried out in the standing position, lying and sitting, the doctor examines him both in movement and at rest. During the examination, the doctor necessarily pays attention to the posture of a person, the features of his physique, the features of the spine, the relief of the muscles that are located near the spine. You can supplement the patient's inspection results with information about whether the spinal deformation, where the pain is, as well as determine the degree of its intensity. In the process of feeling, it is also determined how tense the muscles are next to the spine, because the muscle tone accompanies most diseases and injuries. In order to determine the amplitude of the movements of the different parts of the spine, the possibilities of bending are studied. Upon diagnosis of osteochondrosis, computed tomography, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging is often used. These methods allow you to find out what the level of damage to the spine, to determine whether there are hidden pathologies and specify the diagnosis. The doctor can determine what the tactics of therapy to choose to be the most highly efficient tactics to be the most highly effective.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
The treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, as well as other forms of the disease and their complications, is carried out using conservative methods, the purpose of which is to eliminate pain, restore the functions of cerebrospinal roots, as well as to prevent dystrophic phenomena in the structures of the spine.
If all methods of conservative treatment do not bring the proper effect, and there are special indications for this, then surgical methods of treatment of osteochondrosis are sometimes prescribed to patients. The volume of surgical intervention directly depends on how affected by the spine and intensive symptoms of the disease are intense. The severity of the disease also depends on the duration of therapy. As a rule, the active phase of treatment using conservative methods occupies mainly about 1-3 months. After surgery, the patient is restored about one year. After the onset of conservative treatment, many patients with osteochondrosis have an increase in pain. This is a reaction of muscles and other formations to treatment.
If the pain syndrome is too severe, it can be stopped relatively quickly using physiotherapeutic methods, drugs and the use of a complex of specially designed exercises for patients with osteochondrosis. It is important to take into account that an important factor that affects the effectiveness of treatment is the correct behavior of the patient, his adequate attitude to the need to adhere to the developed treatment method. For this, perseverance, patience and desire to defeat the disease are important. It is proved that the most effective is the conduct of conservative treatment and recovery after surgery in sanatoriums, as well as in medical centers that specialize in the treatment of this disease. In the presence of the necessary equipment, as well as qualified doctors, complex treatment will be the most effective and effective.
The complex therapy in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis necessarily includes physiotherapy exercises, massage, physiotherapy, manual therapy, reflexology, and the use of drugs.
One of the most important methods of impact on the state of the human musculoskeletal system is physiotherapy exercises. The patient regularly performs a certain amount of exercises, during which decompression of the nerve roots gradually occurs, the correction of the muscle corset, the flexibility of the ligaments and muscles increases. Special exercises for cervical osteochondrosis also allow us to ensure effective prevention of the further development of the disease. The main condition is the regularity of all exercises.
When using physiotherapy, osteochondrosis is treated with the help of physical factors - magnetic fields, low frequency, ultrasound, etc. This technique allows you to reduce the rehabilitation period after surgery, as well as strengthen the effects of different drugs. With the help of massage, you can relieve muscle tension, improve the blood flow, and the strengthening effect in general.
To remove sharp pain, manual therapy is used. This technique also allows you to adjust posture. The pain is also relieved using spinal elimination - the procedure carried out on special equipment. With reflexology, the reflexogenic zones of the human body are exposed and can significantly improve the effects of other methods.
During the exacerbation of the disease, treatment is used with the help of drugs with which inflammation is removed, pain is stopped, metabolic processes are activated. Medicines are administered intravenously or intramuscularly.
The most tangible treatment results are observed when using several methods in the complex. However, in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis and other forms of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe them.