Osteochondrosis disease: what is it and how is it expressed?This is a fairly common pathology, most often appearing in older people, but today its incidence is often observed among young people.To select the correct treatment for osteochondrosis, it is necessary to establish the cause of its occurrence and the stage of damage to the body.Well, to recognize this disease, you need to have an idea of what type of disease it is and everything related to osteochondrosis in general.And how to get rid of osteochondrosis and alleviate the patient's condition?
What is osteochondrosis?
The diagnosis of osteochondrosis is a degenerative-destructive disorder of the spine.The basis of this disease is a change in the trophism of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, leading to a disruption of the normal tissue structure.The cartilaginous disc becomes inelastic, changes its shape and consistency.The width of the intervertebral spaces narrows and the damaged section of the spine loses its stability.Damage to the correct relationship between the vertebrae is associated with compression of the nerve endings extending from the spinal cord and strain in the back muscles.As a result, neurological symptoms of osteochondrosis and pain appear.
Dystrophic disc disorders lead to a decrease in the annulus fibrosus.In this regard, the patient often develops dangerous complications (vertebral herniation, protrusion).
Subsequently, osteochondrosis, as a degenerative disorder, spreads to small joints of the spinal crest, intervertebral ligaments and bony outgrowths of the vertebrae.The patient can barely bend or straighten up;in other words, flexibility disappears, vertebral subluxations and spinal curvatures (scoliosis, kyphosis) appear.
Depending on the location, the pathology affects:
- cervical region;
- chest;
- lumbar.
The first signs of osteochondrosis do not wake up immediately, but gradually.These degenerative lesions of bone and cartilage tissues quickly lead to physiological aging of the body.What is osteochondrosis and how to treat it can be seen below.
What is back pain?
Back pain is a rather complex syndrome that occurs in various diseases.It can be associated with both back diseases and other disorders of internal organs.
Most often it is formed as a result of osteochondrosis, spondylosis, herniated disc and severe scoliosis.This syndrome manifests itself as slight pain in the damaged area of the back.
Causes of disease
What are the causes of osteochondrosis?The exact causes of osteochondrosis have not yet been established.There are many predisposing circumstances for osteochondrosis, including:
- genetic predisposition;
- changes in metabolic flux in the body;
- poisonings, infectious pathologies;
- smoking and stress cause blood vessels to narrow and spasm;
- foot diseases that cause overload of the spine (flat feet);
- overweight, obesity;
- microtrauma of the spine (blows, falls, sharp jolts) and macrotrauma (bruises, fractures);
- age-related changes;
- hypothermia, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet lead to a lack of fluids and vitamins;
- metabolic disorders;
- unique climate (high humidity, low air temperatures).
Osteochondrosis has other causes, and any of them can appear as a result of an incorrect lifestyle.
There is a popular belief that many diseases originate from the nerves.Suspicious and capricious people often suffer from diseases of the joints and spine.
Psychological causes of osteochondrosis can also be noted:
- insomnia, depression;
- stress, nervous breakdowns;
- feeling of loneliness, feeling of fear;
- sad mood;
- psychological pathologies;
- problems in sex life.
The psychology of this disease is not fully established.
Symptoms
In the case of osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment will depend on the location of the lesion and the stage of damage.
Symptoms of spinal osteochondrosis affecting the cervical spine appear as follows:
- pain in the parietal, occipital and temporal areas, increasing with turns and movements of the neck;
- tinnitus, hearing loss;
- dizziness, flickering eyes, fainting;
- visual impairment;
- changes in blood pressure;
- hoarse voice, snoring;
- numbness.
Symptoms of back osteochondrosis affecting the thoracic region:
- numbness of the skin in the chest, back and abdomen;
- pain when raising arms, breathing deeply and exhaling;
- aching, pressing, often sharp, sharp pain in the region of the heart;
- discomfort and difficulty turning the body in one direction or the other;
- severe pain in the spine.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis in women and men with lesions of the lumbar region:
- feeling of numbness, tingling, goosebumps in the legs, buttocks;
- high sweating;
- pain in the lumbar region, transmitted to one or both legs;
- varicose veins on the lower limbs;
- feet freeze even in hot temperatures;
- Women have irregular periods, men have potency disorders.
When the treatment of osteochondrosis and the symptoms are already long and advanced, the damaged vertebrae fuse, the patient is tormented by the impossibility of movements in one or another area of the spine, and the pain usually decreases or disappears completely.How to treat osteochondrosis of the spine?
Diagnosis
If you suffer from osteochondrosis, what should you do and how to get rid of it?Before starting treatment for osteochondrosis of the back, the attending physician must correctly establish the diagnosis by initially examining and interviewing the patient.And yet, how to recognize osteochondrosis?
To confirm the pathology, you must undergo the following examination methods:
- computed tomography, which recognizes the condition of the intervertebral discs, their structure, their shape, compression of nerve endings, deformations;
- MRI, which reveals the smallest injuries in the spine, is used when CT scan could not reveal the exact result;
- radiography, it establishes the degree of damage to the vertebrae, their location and the bony appearance;
- Doppler ultrasound detects the degree of change in blood flow in the capillaries that saturate the spinal cord and other organs.
Sometimes a thorough examination can reveal associated pathologies that arise in case of complications of this disease (hernia, radiculitis, protrusion, kyphosis).
The diagnostic feature is of the greatest importance, since many symptoms and signs are very similar to the symptoms of other diseases, and the centers of pain can be the spinal process, as well as a damaged intervertebral disc.
How to treat osteochondrosis of the spine?
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine is a rather long process that involves the complex use of medications;you will also need a specific treatment regimen for osteochondrosis and an individual attitude towards each patient.The choice of the necessary treatment regimen for any patient is determined by the nature of pathological disorders, the condition of the person and the presence of complications of the disease.
Staged treatment is also an important condition for treating osteochondrosis.First of all, during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis, treatment is aimed at eliminating pain.The patient is recommended to rest, use special collars and corsets designed to automatically unload the spine.External and internal treatment with medications and physical procedures will be necessary.
Procedures will then be necessary to prevent the formation of new exacerbations (therapeutic exercises, reflexology, manual therapy, massages).
Drugs
Is it possible to cure osteochondrosis with medication?Medicines should be used in case of exacerbation of the disease.They help to reduce symptoms and influence individual etiological factors in the development of the disease.
The most commonly used medications to treat osteochondrosis are:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.They have an analgesic effect, quickly relieve inflammation and can reduce the increase in temperature of damaged spinal tissues.These products are used in the form of injections, ointments, gels and tablets.
- Muscle relaxers.They fight against increased muscle tone, which can often appear with this pathology.
- Chondroprotectors.They reduce the processes of cartilage destruction and lead to their restoration.
- Painkillersfor local effects (pepper patch, compresses).
- Vitamins E, B1, B2, B6.Increases metabolism, restores damaged tissues.It is best to use them in the form of injections.
- Vasodilator drugs.Designed to eliminate vascular spasms.
- Glucocorticoids.Relieves swelling, inflammation, increases the effect of muscle relaxants, NSAIDs.
- Angioprotectors.Restore blood circulation, metabolism, muscle tone of capillaries.
Therapeutic exercise
In case of spinal disease, the symptoms can be pronounced, so only a specialist can advise you on what to do with osteochondrosis.
Exercise therapy or physiotherapy is an effective treatment for osteochondrosis, since gymnastics aimed at strengthening the back muscles leads to the development of a muscular corset, which makes it possible to equally distribute the load on the spine.Thanks to constant procedures, blood circulation is restored, tissue nutrition is restored and movements become easier.
For example, special breathing exercises reduce muscle spasms and relieve pain.But swimming can significantly relax and relieve the spine.
However, for the effectiveness and safety of physical therapy, exercises should be performed only after eliminating the acute symptoms of the disease.
Physiotherapeutic treatment
In addition to medications, the treatment of osteochondrosis of the back also involves physiotherapeutic measures.They help to speed up the recovery process and continue to be used throughout the entire period of remission outside of exacerbations.There are many methods of physiotherapy and many of them are practiced specifically for the treatment and osteochondrosis of the back, for example:
- Magnetotherapy– restores metabolic processes, reduces inflammation, tissue swelling and pain.
- Electrophoresis.The drugs used during this procedure promote analgesic results, improve blood circulation in damaged tissues and normalize metabolism.
- Manual therapy– reduces pain, joint mobility may occur.
- Laser therapy– normalizes blood circulation, reduces inflammation, pain, stimulates tissue regeneration.
- Acupuncture.Special needles can relieve pain, relieve inflammation and stimulate metabolic processes.
- Massage.Osteochondrosis of the spine can be cured with the help of therapeutic massage, which eliminates pain, restores muscle tone, as well as nerve conduction.
- Tractionfor the disease of osteochondrosis of the spine in adults.Helps to normalize mobility, blocks the progression of the disease and the manifestation of complications.
It happens that a doctor prescribes a whole series of such procedures to one patient at a time.It usually depends on how osteochondrosis manifests itself and associated diseases.The course duration is 10 to 15 days.It is recommended to repeat them 3 to 4 times a year.In this regard, it is possible to reduce the rate of progression and the frequency of complications several times.
Surgical treatment
Is osteochondrosis treated surgically?For osteochondrosis of the spine, treatment is possible in this way.The reason for this intervention may be a late visit of the patient to the doctor, the presence of complications or the failure of conservative treatment.
Any type of surgery helps eliminate pressure on the spinal cord and roots.When a person has an intervertebral herniation, the damaged disc and the herniation itself are completely removed.
The surgical method carries a certain degree of risk and is carried out in emergency situations.
Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of osteochondrosis forever, but with the help of medications, physiotherapeutic measures and massage, you can forget about the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for a while.