Osteochondrosis is a condition in which several disorders are observed in the articular cartilage of a dystrophic nature. Osteochondrosis may appear in different joints, but most often osteochondrosis affects intervertebral discs. If we consider the location of the disease, osteochondrosis is habitual to be divided into the chest, cervical and lumbar. Osteochondrosis is a disease that causes back pain in about 80% of cases. In case of complication of osteochondrosis, intervertebral disc hernias sometimes occur in the head, limbs and other organs. The most common is lumbar osteochondrosis that causes pain in the legs. Many people complain of manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis, in which their hands and head hurt. In the chest form of the disease, pain occurs in the internal organs.
The causes of osteochondrosis
The initial cause of spine osteochondrosis is the ease of a person. There are many diverse theories about 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 manifests itself in people of different ages, different physical 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 some extent an illusion. And it is the correct analysis of the causes of the disease which is the main effective treatment of the disease.
With osteochondrosis, the nature of the disease is noninflammatory, degenerative-distribution. In the process of disease development, tissue 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 vertebral spine discs in an adult of a person do not have their own vessels; Therefore, oxygen and nutrients on the discs come from the tissues located nearby. A similar process may be full only in the case of active blood circulation, which is possible only in the constant intensive muscle operation process.
Each intervertebral disc has two parts. In the center of the disc there is a gelatinous core that makes the elastic of the disc and involves its fibrous durable ring. If the food of intervertebral discs worsens, the structure of the bio -political compounds may be destroyed. Due to a decrease in disk moisture, it becomes fragile. And if the spine is overloaded, the jacket will be divided into fragments. As a result, its elasticity is significantly reduced. The fibrous rings also lose strength. Such phenomena become a starting point for the manifestation of osteochondrosis in humans. The manifestation of degenerative-distribution changes in the spine is calcified by damaged discs, ligaments, capsules. A similar phenomenon is the last stage of disease development.
Unfortunately, the reverse process after these changes in the spine is almost impossible. Therefore, the main task of treating osteochondrosis is to maintain the current position.
Basically, the manifestations of osteochondrosis become more pronounced in people after reaching thirty -five years old. Moreover, the older a person becomes, the more manifestations of the disease are observed. However, recently, with complaints of back pain, more and younger are addressing doctors.
The causes of such an early occurrence of osteochondrosis are mainly very weak physical activities, problems with posture, as well as a twisted spine, flat feet and obesity. To date, the main causes of osteochondrosis are considered as follows: the following:
- predisposition of a hereditary nature;
- Problems with metabolic processes, intoxication, infection;
- the presence of overweight, irrational nutrition (deficiency in small liquids of small elements);
- the presence of lesions in the spine, its curvature, inadequate posture, boring feet;
- existence in poor ecological conditions;
- inactive lifestyle;
- Regular weight survey, work on uncomfortable poses for a long time, an activity in which a person usually repeats sudden movements, curves and body flexion;
- Very strong physical activity, spine overload due to foot diseases, inconvenience in the process of wearing shoes and load during pregnancy;
- The sudden end of constant training of people who play sports, stress, malicious smoking.
Osteochondrosis symptoms
In people who are sick with osteochondrosis, tangible back pain appear first of all. Sometimes this pain is accompanied by numbness, as well as the sensations of member pain. If osteochondrosis therapy does not start in time, then the person loses weight quickly, he has members atrophy. With exercise and load, as well as in the process of raising very heavy objects, in the process of sneezing and cough, pain can become more intense. In the patient, osteochondrosis decreases the volume of movements, muscle cramps are manifested.
Cervical osteochondrosis manifests due to the characteristics of the cervical spine structure. The vertebrae of the cervical region have significantly smaller sizes than the vertebrae of another spine. Consequently, cervical osteochondrosis manifests itself due to the constant load in the neck. The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are expressed as follows: the pain manifests in the hands, neck, shoulders and headaches. This type of disease is characterized by vertebral artery syndrome. With the manifestation of this syndrome, a person feels the presence of noise in his head, "flies" blinks at his eyes and a head is spinning. Multi -colored points can occur before your eyes, parallel to a person feels intense pain in a pulsating character. Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis sometimes resemble signs of angina pectoris, but the patient has no heart change in study.
In patients with thoracic spine osteochondrosis, the patient feels chest pain. Pain can be given to the region of the heart as well as to other internal organs. The pains of lumbosacral spinal osteochondrosis feel lumbar pain, which can give to the feet, sacred, pelvic organs. Its nerve roots are affected, sensitivity is disturbed, reflexes may decrease and hypotension may appear.
Osteochondrosis diagnosis
The expert establishes a preliminary diagnosis of osteochondrosis already during the initial examination of the patient. As a rule, an inspection is performed by a medical-lawologist. Usually, the patient comes to reception with pain complaints, as well as deformation or limitation of mobility. The patient's column is performed in the standing position, lying down and sitting, the doctor examines it both in motion and at rest. During the exam, the doctor necessarily pay attention to the posture of a person, the characteristics of his physique, the characteristics of the spine, the relief of the muscles located near the spine. You can complement the results of the patient inspection with information on whether the deformation of the spine, where the pain is, as well as determining the degree of intensity. In the process of feeling, it is also determined how tense the muscles are close to the spine, because muscle tone follows most diseases and injuries. To determine the amplitude of the movements of the different parts of the spine, the possibilities of flexion are studied. After the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, computed tomography, x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging is often used. These methods allow you to find out the level of damage to the spine, to determine if there are hidden pathologies and specify the diagnosis. The doctor may determine which therapy tactics choose to be the most efficient tactics to be the most effective.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, as well as other forms of the disease and its complications, is performed using conservative methods, whose purpose is to eliminate pain, restore the functions of cephalraquidal roots, as well as avoid dystrophic phenomena in the spine structures.
If all conservative treatment methods do not bring the appropriate effect, and there are special indications for this, surgical methods of osteochondrosis treatment are sometimes prescribed for patients. The volume of surgical intervention depends directly 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 mainly occupies about 1-3 months. After surgery, the patient is restored about a year. After onset of conservative treatment, many osteochondrosis patients have an increase in pain. This is a reaction of the muscles and other formations to treatment.
If pain syndrome is very serious, it can be interrupted relatively using physiotherapeutic methods, medications and the use of a specially designed exercise complex for osteochondrosis patients. It is important to consider that an important factor that affects the effectiveness of treatment is the correct behavior of the patient, his proper attitude towards the need to adhere to the developed treatment method. For this, perseverance, patience and desire to defeat the disease are important. It is proven that the most effective is conservative treatment and recovery conduct after surgery in sanatoriums, as well as medical centers specializing in the treatment of this disease. In the presence of necessary equipment, as well as qualified doctors, complex treatment will be the most effective and effective.
Complex therapy in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis necessarily includes physical therapy, massage, physiotherapy, manual therapy, reflexology and drug use exercises.
One of the most important impact methods in the state of the human musculoskeletal system is physical therapy exercises. The patient regularly performs a certain amount of exercises, during which decompression of nerve roots occurs, the correction of muscle corset, the flexibility of the ligaments and muscles increases. Special exercises for cervical osteochondrosis also allow us to ensure effective prevention of the additional development of the disease. The main condition is the regularity of all exercises.
When using physical therapy, osteochondrosis is treated with the help of physical factors - magnetic fields, low frequency, ultrasound etc. This technique allows to reduce the rehab period after surgery, as well as strengthening the effects of different medications. With the help of massage, you can relieve muscle tension, improve blood flow and the effect of strengthening in general.
To remove acute pain, manual therapy is used. This technique also allows you to adjust the posture. The pain is also relieved using the elimination of the spine - the procedure performed 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 medications with which inflammation is removed, pain is interrupted, metabolic processes are activated. The medications are administered intravenously or intramuscularly.
The results of the most tangible treatment are observed when using various methods in the complex. However, in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis and other forms of the disease, only the assistant doctor should prescribe them.