Osteochondrosis disease: what is it and how is it expressed?This is a fairly common pathology, which occurs more often in the elderly, but today the incidence is often observed in young people.To choose the right treatment for osteochondrosis, it is necessary to determine 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 kind of disease it is and everything about osteochondrosis in general.And how to get rid of osteochondrosis and relieve 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, resulting in a disruption of the normal tissue structure.The cartilage disc becomes inelastic, changes its shape and consistency.The width of the intervertebral spaces narrows and the damaged part of the spine loses its stability.Damage to the correct relationship between the vertebrae is associated with compression of the nerve endings that extend from the spinal cord and with the intensity of 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 hernia, protrusion).
Then, osteochondrosis as a degenerative disorder spreads to the small nodes of the spinal ridge, intervertebral ligaments are formed and bone growths of the vertebrae are formed.The patient can barely bend or straighten;in other words, flexibility disappears, vertebral subluxations and curvatures of the spine occur (scoliosis, kyphosis).
Depending on the location, the pathology affects:
- cervical region;
- chest;
- the middle.
The first signs of osteochondrosis do not arise immediately, but gradually.These degenerative damages to the bones and cartilage tissues quickly lead to the physiological aging of the body.What is osteochondrosis and how to treat it you can see below.
What is dorsalgia?
Dorsalgia is a rather complex syndrome that appears in various diseases.It can be associated with both back diseases and other internal organ disorders.
It is most often formed as a result of osteochondrosis, spondylosis, disc herniation and severe scoliosis.This syndrome is manifested by mild pain in the damaged area of the back.
Causes of the disease
What causes osteochondrosis?The exact causes of osteochondrosis have not yet been determined.There are many predisposing circumstances that cause osteochondrosis, some of them are:
- genetic predisposition;
- changes in the metabolic flow in the body;
- intoxication, infectious pathology;
- smoking, stress lead to narrowing and spasms of blood vessels;
- foot diseases that cause overload of the spine (flat feet);
- overweight, overweight;
- microtraumas of the spine (blows, falls, sharp blows) and macrotraumas (bruises, fractures);
- age-related changes;
- hypothermia, a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition lead to a lack of fluids and vitamins;
- metabolic disorders;
- unique climate (high humidity, low air temperatures).
Osteochondrosis has other causes and each of them can appear as a result of a wrong lifestyle.
There is a popular belief that many diseases arise from the nerves.Suspicious and temperamental people often suffer from diseases of the joints and spine.
Psychological causes of osteochondrosis can also be observed:
- insomnia, depression;
- stress, nervous breakdown;
- feeling of loneliness, feeling of fear;
- sad mood;
- psychological pathologies;
- problems in sex life.
The psychology of this disease has not been fully proven.
Symptoms
In the case of osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment will depend on the location of the lesion and the stage of the 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, eye twitching, fainting;
- visual impairment;
- changes in blood pressure;
- hoarse, snoring voice;
- numbness
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the back affecting the chest region:
- numbness of the skin on the chest, back, abdomen;
- pain when you raise your arms, take a deep breath, as well as exhale;
- pain, squeezing, often sharp, sharp pain in the heart area;
- discomfort and difficulty when turning the body in one direction or another;
- severe pain in the spine.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis in women and men with damage to the lumbar region:
- feeling of numbness, tingling, lumps in the legs, buttocks;
- excessive sweating;
- pain in the lumbar region, transmitted to one or both legs;
- varicose veins in the lower extremities;
- feet freeze even in warm temperatures;
- Women have irregular menstruation, men have potency disorders.
When the treatment and symptoms of osteochondrosis are already long and advanced, the damaged vertebrae are joined together, the patient suffers from the inability to move in one or another area of the spine, and the pain usually decreases or disappears completely.How to treat spinal osteochondrosis?
Diagnosing
If you have osteochondrosis, what should you do and how to overcome it?Before starting treatment for osteochondrosis of the back, the attending physician must correctly establish the diagnosis by first examining and interviewing the patient.And yet, how to recognize osteochondrosis?
To confirm the pathology, you must undergo the following examination methods:
- computerized tomography, which recognizes the condition of intervertebral discs, their structure, their shape, compression of nerve endings, deformations;
- MRI, detects the smallest injuries in the spine area, is used when CT cannot reveal the exact result;
- x-ray, determines the degree of damaged vertebrae, their location and the appearance of the bones;
- Doppler ultrasound reveals the rate of change in blood flow through the capillaries that supply the spinal cord and other organs.
Sometimes, a complete examination can reveal accompanying pathologies that arise in case of a complication of this disease (hernia, radiculitis, elongation, kyphosis).
The diagnostic feature is of greater importance, since many symptoms and signs are very similar to the symptoms of other diseases, and the center of pain can be the spinal process, as well as a damaged intervertebral disc.
How to cure spinal osteochondrosis?
Treatment of spinal osteochondrosis 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 each patient is determined by the nature of pathological disorders, the condition of the person and the presence of complications of the disease.
Also, an important condition for the method of treatment of osteochondrosis is treatment in stages.First of all, during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis, the treatment is aimed at eliminating pain.The patient is recommended to rest, use special collars and corsets designed to self-unload the spine.External and internal treatment with medications and physical procedures will be required.
Then procedures will be needed that can prevent the formation of new irritations (therapeutic exercises, reflexology, manual therapy, massages).
Drugs
Is it possible to cure osteochondrosis with drugs?Medicines should be used at the time of worsening of the disease.They help reduce symptoms and influence individual etiological factors in the development of the disease.
The most common medications used to treat osteochondrosis are:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.They have an analgesic effect, quickly relieve inflammation and can reduce the increased temperature of damaged tissues of the spine.These products are used in the form of injections, ointments, gels and tablets.
- Muscle relaxants.They fight against the increase in 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, compress).
- Vitamins E, B1, B2, B6.Increased metabolism, restoration of damaged tissues.It is better to use them in the form of injections.
- Vasodilator medications.Designed to remove vascular spasms.
- Glucocorticosteroids.It relieves swelling, inflammation, increases the effect of muscle relaxants, NSAIDs.
- Angioprotectors.Restores blood flow, metabolism, capillary muscle tone.
Therapeutic exercises
In case of spinal disease, the symptoms can be pronounced, so only a specialist can advise what to do about osteochondrosis.
Exercise therapy or physical therapy is an effective treatment for osteochondrosis, since gymnastics to strengthen the muscles of the back leads to the development of a muscular corset, and this makes it possible to evenly distribute the load on the back.Thanks to continuous 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 ease the spine.
However, for the effectiveness of physical therapy and safety, exercises should be performed only after getting rid of the acute symptoms of the disease.
Physiotherapy treatment
In addition to medications, the treatment of osteochondrosis of the back also includes physiotherapeutic measures.They help speed up the recovery process and continue to be used throughout the remission period outside of flare-ups.There are many methods of physical therapy and many of them are practiced specifically for osteochondrosis and back treatment, for example:
- Magnetotherapy- restores metabolic processes, reduces inflammation, tissue swelling and pain.
- Electrophoresis.Medicines 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.Spinal osteochondrosis can be cured with the help of therapeutic massage, which eliminates pain, restores muscle tone, and nerve conduction.
- Withdrawalfor the disease of osteochondrosis of the spine in adults.It helps to normalize mobility, blocks the progression of the disease and the manifestation of complications.
It happens that a doctor prescribes a whole range of such procedures for a patient at once.This usually depends on the way osteochondrosis appears and on accompanying diseases.The duration of the course is from 10 to 15 days.It is recommended that they be repeated 3-4 times throughout the 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 the late visit of the patient to the doctor, the presence of complications or the failure of conservative treatment.
Any type of surgical intervention helps to eliminate pressure on the spinal cord and roots.When a person has an intervertebral hernia, then the damaged disc and the hernia itself are completely removed.
The surgical method involves a certain degree of risk and is performed in emergency situations.
Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of osteochondrosis forever, but with the help of medicines, physiotherapeutic measures and massages, you can forget the unpleasant symptoms of the disease for a certain period of time.