Everyone has experienced back pain, many live with this pain all the time. In 2/3 of the cases, the cause of back problems is spinal osteochondrosis. With osteochondrosis, the bone, the cartilaginous tissue of the spine - cervical, thoracic, lumbar, is destroyed. With age, the risk of tissue wear increases, with every second inhabitant of the planet over 30 years old showing signs of osteochondrosis.
Spinal disorders cause back injuries, constant stress during hard physical work. Genetic predisposition, intense training, inadequate diet, sedentary lifestyle play an important role - most urban residents are at risk.
How to recognize osteochondrosis
In osteochondrosis, symptoms are general, specific, characteristic of degenerative changes in articular cartilage, discs, spinal tissues.
Osteochondrosis will manifest itself with constant back pain, numbness of the affected vertebral sections, restriction of movement, increased pain with sudden movements, lifting of weights.
Specific signs of osteochondrosis:
- the cervical type leads to disturbances in blood circulation, headache, tinnitus, "flies" in front of the eyes. There are problems with the nutrition of the brain, which leads to constant stress;
- with osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, intercostal neuralgia develops, chest pains, ribs appear;
- Lumbar spine disease causes the progression of diseases - lumbago, sciatica (sciatica), lumbar sciatica.
In sciatica, the sciatic nerve is affected. Symptoms are pain in the buttocks, hypotension in the calf, gluteal muscles.
Lumbago is recognized by sharp pain in the lower back caused by dislocated vertebrae, spinal disc prolapse.
With sciatica, low back pain appears in the gluteal region, given to the back of the thigh, leg, foot, popliteal fossa.
Osteochondrosis Treatment
The clinical manifestations of osteochondrosis of the spine are different, sometimes it is necessary to visit several doctors to understand the cause of the disease. The correct diagnosis will be made by a neurologist, an orthopedist, in a few private clinics - a vertebrologist, a vertebroneurologist, doctors who treat spinal diseases.
The doctor will report the primary diagnosis on the first exam when feeling the patient's back. After X-ray, CT scan, MRI, treatment is prescribed.
Treatment of spinal osteochondrosis aims to remove pain, preventing tissue destruction and spinal deformity.
Vertebral osteochondrosis is a chronic disease, there are stages of exacerbation, remission. Treatment of spinal disease during exacerbation includes bed rest for 1-2 weeks, analgesics are taken for severe pain.
With cervical osteochondrosis during exacerbation, the use of a special limiter collar is recommended. If the thoracic and lumbar regions are affected, a corset for the spine will help with exacerbations. Corset varieties:
- for the thoracic region - a bandage that resembles a vest. It is used to straighten the spine;
- for fractures of the spine - plaster, extension corset;
- a rigid corset is worn after spinal surgery, injuries. Helps support internal organs when muscles are weakened;
- wide belt-shaped corset for the lumbar spine. Recommended for hernias, dislocations.
Treatment of spinal osteochondrosis should be comprehensive: drug treatment, exercise therapy, manual therapy, diet - conservative treatment. Sometimes surgery.
drug treatment
The doctor will prescribe medication for osteochondrosis. Drug groups have different treatment goals.
In the early stages, anti-inflammatory drugs are taken. If back pain persists for more than 2 weeks but less than 3 months, pain relievers are also taken. If the back pain is more than 3 months old, antidepressants are added.
Medicines, the dosage is set by the attending physician, the activity itself is destructive - medicines have side effects.
Treatment with folk remedies
The treatment of the disease with folk remedies is in addition to the main one, it does not replace pills. With spinal osteochondrosis, home treatment methods reduce pain and inflammation.
Revenues:
- A teaspoon of dried burdock leaves in a cup of boiling water. The compress is placed on the painful site, kept for 20-30 minutes. The wound is then wrapped in a warm handkerchief.
- Three teaspoons of crushed medicinal marshmallow roots are placed in a glass of cold boiled water. Insist 8 hours, make compresses.
During the period of remission, herbal infusions are taken orally - they provide the prevention of osteochondrosis flare-ups.
manual therapy treatment
An effective means of conservative treatment of the disease is manual therapy for spinal osteochondrosis. It pays to find a highly qualified specialist. A good chiropractor will alleviate the pain syndrome, remove muscle spasm and improve intervertebral joint mobility. An insufficiently qualified therapist will cause irreparable damage to the spine.
In order for manual therapy to help with dystrophic changes, it is important to follow the rules. Before the massage, it is worth warming up the tense muscles, stretching them gently so that the patient does not feel pain. Then, the muscle is relaxed, after half a minute, in a deep breath, the patient is stretched as much as possible until a slight pain appears. The muscle in this state is fixed for half a minute and then relaxed. Due to irritation of the nerve endings, a therapeutic effect occurs.
exercise treatment
Spinal exercises with osteochondrosis with other methods improve metabolism, spinal mobility, strengthen muscles, and repair damaged intervertebral discs.
Morning exercises for spinal osteochondrosis include exercises:
For the cervical spine:
- keep your head and shoulders straight. Slowly turn your head all the way to the right, to the left;
- we throw our head back, our right ear trying to reach our left shoulder. We repeat on the left.
For the thoracic region:
- we sat in a chair, hands between our knees. As we inhale we lean to the side, as we exhale we straighten. We repeat in the other direction;
- we sit in a chair with a low back so that our shoulder blades rest on it. Slowly bend back to see the back wall.
For the lumbar spine:
- We lie on our backs, bend our knees and press them to our chests. We rock back and forth - from the back to the sacrum, for 1, 5-2 minutes. We stretch out, lie down in silence.
Complex exercises for exercise therapy for osteochondrosis of the spine, treatment complexes should be found on the Internet, ask an orthopedist.