In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of treatment and the stages of development of the disease, you will get rid of the pain of thoracic osteochondrosis, be able to normalize your sleep and live life to the fullest
It is important to understand
If thoracic osteochondrosis is detected, it is necessary to select an individual set of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of performing them and exclude exercises that have contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important to regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo complete treatment in a specialized center and, in the future, maintain your health preventively on your own.
Osteochondrosis is a very common and serious disease.
The danger is that in the initial stages it does not manifest itself in any way or disguises itself as other pathologies.
This happens especially frequently in osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
In this place, the vertebrae are not so movably connected, so degenerative processes rarely develop here.
But if osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine appears, it causes pronounced symptoms and severe pain.
Pathogenesis of osteochondrosis
Recently, osteochondrosis has been diagnosed not only in elderly people, as was the case before. This pathology is becoming increasingly common among young people.
This is due to lifestyle and nutritional characteristics. After all, osteochondrosis occurs due to disruption of metabolic processes and blood circulation.
The reasons may be diverse, but one of the most common is the lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
This is a degenerative dystrophic pathology, characterized by the gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs. They lose water and nutrients, the cartilaginous tissue dries up and begins to crack.
Because of this, the disc ceases to perform shock-absorbing functions, the vertebrae move closer together and also begin to collapse.
In the thoracic region, these processes rarely develop, since the load on the discs here is small. But various injuries, metabolic and circulatory disorders can lead to the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Furthermore, this is where the disease is especially serious. After all, there are many nerve endings going to the internal organs here.
Possible complications
The danger of thoracic osteochondrosis is that it begins unnoticed. Often, in the first stage, there are almost no painful sensations, and those that do arise can be confused with pain in the stomach or heart.
Therefore, many patients are unsuccessfully treated for gastritis or angina for a long time until they undergo a complete examination. An x-ray of the spine will help identify the narrowing of the intervertebral space and suspect the development of osteochondrosis.
If this is not done and treatment is not started, the disease will progress rapidly. The destruction of the cartilaginous tissue of the discs can only be stopped by special methods. The disks themselves cannot be recovered. In addition, in the thoracic region this process is faster, since here, due to the low mobility of the spine, the blood supply to the tissues is worse.
Therefore, without timely treatment, osteochondrosis can lead to serious complications. It can cause the following pathologies:
- protrusion or intervertebral hernia;
- spinal cord compression;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- biliary dyskinesia;
- disorders of the intestines, liver or pancreas;
- heart diseases.
Typical symptoms and signs of thoracic osteochondrosis
Every person susceptible to spinal diseases should know how osteochondrosis manifests itself. If you do not ignore typical symptoms, you can start treatment on time and stop the progression of the pathology.
The main sign of a spinal injury is that the pain is associated with physical activity. In the initial stages they are not strong and appear at night, and after rest they disappear.
Additionally, the pain intensifies with deep breathing, raising the arms, rotating the torso or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one place, only later spreading throughout the chest.
Due to painful sensations, muscle spasms occur in this place and it becomes difficult for the patient to move. Often the pathology is accompanied by intercostal neuralgia.
What can be confused with thoracic osteochondrosis?
This disease can only be cured at the initial stage. But the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose thoracic osteochondrosis in time, its symptoms are often confused with other pathologies.
It is not always accompanied by typical symptoms. Some patients do not experience back pain or intercostal neuralgia.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself with atypical symptoms characteristic of other diseases. Most often it is confused with pathologies of internal organs.
- Basically, its manifestations are similar to angina pectoris. Heart pain that intensifies when inhaling, shortness of breath and inability to raise the arm force patients to take heart medications. But there is no relief and the ECG also does not reveal any disturbances in the functioning of the heart.
- Sometimes pain occurs that resembles the symptoms of peptic ulcers, gastritis or pancreatitis. But they worsen not after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may experience pain in their mammary glands.
- The location of the pathology in the upper part of the thoracic region can cause a lump in the throat and difficulty swallowing.
Osteochondrosis of the chest can cause nausea, difficulty breathing or even suffocation.
There is often numbness or tingling in the upper extremities, muscle weakness, and an inability to lift the arm or move it to the side.
Causes of chest osteochondrosis
Often, to accurately diagnose a disease, it is necessary to take into account its possible causes. People with a hereditary predisposition, overweight and bad habits are susceptible to such pathologies.
It is also recommended to examine the spine in patients with various endocrine and metabolic disorders, diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine most often occurs in people over 45 years of age. It is at this time that metabolic processes slow down, tissues lack nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, which leads to weakening of the muscular corset of the spine.
But there are other causes of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region:
- back injuries, bruises or sprains;
- regular lifting of weights, intense physical activity;
- rachiocampsis;
- sitting for a long time in an incorrect position, for example, when working at a computer or driving a car.
What are the degrees of the disease?
Chest osteochondrosis is a chronic pathology. It develops very slowly, but progresses constantly.
To choose the right treatment methods, doctors distinguish several stages of the disease. They have characteristic symptoms and require a special therapeutic approach.
- The first degree of osteochondrosis causes almost no pain. If they occur, it occurs after physical activity.
- In the second phase, the pain becomes more intense. In fact, due to the gradual destruction of the disc, the vertebrae move closer to each other, which can cause compression of the nerve roots. In this case, neurological symptoms and signs of dysfunction of internal organs appear.
- In the third stage of osteochondrosis, an intervertebral hernia often appears. A ruptured disc puts pressure on blood vessels and nerves, causing severe pain and other health problems. The mobility of the spine in this location is quite limited.
- The last stage of the pathology is characterized by complete destruction of the disc. Osteophytes appear on the vertebrae, sometimes they fuse completely. Every movement of the patient causes him pain, so the disease at this stage often leads to disability.
Why should you see a doctor immediately?
Some patients ignore the first symptoms of the disease. They mistake mild back pain and muscle weakness for overwork. And after rest they continue to lead their usual lifestyle. Because of this, the disease progresses, leading to serious complications.
A decrease in the shock-absorbing functions of intervertebral discs leads to curvature of the spine. Thoracic kyphosis usually develops. Because of this, the chest becomes compressed and breathing becomes impaired.
If you do not consult a doctor in time, the intervertebral discs can completely collapse. This will lead to convergence of the vertebrae and compression of the nerve endings. With each movement, the situation will be aggravated by the fact that the vertebrae will begin to collapse due to friction. This can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the body below the damaged vertebrae.
Disease prevention
To prevent serious complications of pathology, it is necessary to consult a doctor in time. The sooner treatment is started, the greater the opportunity to completely stop degenerative processes.
The best way to do this is with the help of kinesiotherapy. At the initial stage of pathology, as well as during its prevention, this method will help strengthen the muscular corset of the spine and improve blood supply to the disc tissue.
Specialists from a modern kinesiotherapy center will help prevent the development of degenerative processes in people with a predisposition to them. After all, moderate physical activity is necessary to maintain a healthy spine.
An individually designed daily regimen with special exercises and diet will help avoid disc destruction and complications from this process.
How is the treatment performed?
Collection of anamnesis - analysis of the disease, identification of limitations and contraindications, explanation of the principles of kinesiotherapy, characteristics of the recovery period.
Myofascial diagnosis is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor evaluates the range of joint movements, determines painful stiffness, swelling, hypo or hypertonicity of the muscles and other changes.
Functional diagnosis (carried out in the rehabilitation room) - the doctor explains how to perform certain exercises on the equipment and observes: how the patient performs them, what range of motion he can work with, which movements cause pain, what weight the patient can work with, how the cardiovascular system reacts. Problem areas are identified. The data is entered on the card. The accents are defined.
Based on the results of the initial medical examination and functional diagnosis, a preliminary individual treatment program is drawn up.
It is advisable to have with you:
- for back pain - magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography) of the problem area;
- for joint pain – x-rays;
- in the presence of concomitant diseases - extracts from the medical history or outpatient card;
- comfortable (sports) clothes and shoes
Instructor-led classes
At the beginning of the treatment cycle, the doctor and patient create a treatment plan, which includes the date and time of the treatment session, follow-up visits to the doctor (usually 2 to 3 times a week).
The basis of the treatment process are treatment sessions in the rehabilitation room using simulators and sessions in the gym.
Rehabilitation simulators allow you to accurately dose the load on individual muscle groups, providing an adequate regime of physical activity. The treatment program is drawn up by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of the organism. Supervision is carried out by qualified instructors. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct movement and breathing technique, know your weight patterns when working on exercise machines, follow the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations of specialists.
Joint gymnastics sessions help restore visual coordination, improve joint mobility and elasticity (flexibility) of the spine and are an excellent self-use preventative system.
Each treatment cycle consists of 12 sessions. Each class is supervised by an instructor. The duration of a treatment session is from 40 minutes to 1. 5 hours. The instructor draws up a program taking into account concomitant diseases and the patient's condition on the day of the class. He teaches the technique for performing the exercises and monitors their correct execution. A second consultation with the doctor is held every 6 classes, and changes and additions are made to the program, depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will be needed? – individually for everyone
It's important to know:
- How long have you had this problem (stage of the disease)
- How prepared your body is for physical activity (do you do gymnastics or a sport).
- what result do you want to get.
If the disease is in the early stages and the body is prepared, one course of treatment is sufficient. (example - young people 20-30 years old who go in for sports. We focus their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing, stretching, excluding "wrong" exercises that are harmful to problem areas. Such patients undergo training and receive the ability to "take care of your body", receive recommendations in case of exacerbation and continue studying on your own).