Osteochondrosis is a disease that is one of the most common in the world.Most people after 35 years have osteochondrosis of the cervical spine in one form or another.Recently, there has been a tendency to increase the number of suffering from a severe form of the disease and to rejuvenate the disease, a decrease in its lower age threshold.This is due to the fact that an increasing number of people around the world are engaged in sitting work and leads a sedentary lifestyle.Meanwhile, the disease is quite dangerous, and any person should know what it is - osteochondrosis, how it is manifested and how he is treated, to be able to recognize its symptoms and start treatment in a timely manner.
Causes
Osteochondrosis is one of the few diseases that are characteristic only for humans.In other animals, this disease is not found.The reason for this is such a distinctive feature of a person as straightforwardness.The vertical arrangement of the spinal column leads to the fact that the vertebrae presses on each other and the bone-chryshabi tissue of the spine is gradually degrading and deformed.
The human spine begins with the cervical region.In total, there are seven vertebrae in this department - from the first to the seventh.The vertebrae are separated from each other by intervertebral discs.The cervical spine is a particularly vulnerable part of it, which is associated, first of all, with increased mobility of the vertebrae in this area.In the cervical region, the disease is reflected, first of all, on discs, which are a weak place in the structure of the spine.
The prevalence of cervical osteochondrosis is also facilitated by such factors as the small size of the vertebrae and the relative weakness of the neck muscles.Also, the development of cervical osteochondrosis is greatly influenced by the lack of blood supply to cartilage tissue.
Thus, the development of the disease is a complex and prolonged process and does not have a single cause.Although a connection was established between the sedentary work of a person and the presence of cervical osteochondrosis in him, nevertheless, the disease is often found in trained people, especially athletes-due to increased load on the cervical spine when lifting weights.
In older people, as a rule, degradation of vertebrates is an inevitable process associated with the aging of the body and weakening of its protective forces.However, the pathological type of cervical osteochondrosis is most often found, in which external or internal negative factors play the main role.
Factors contributing to the development of osteochondrosis of the neck:
- Violation of posture
- Curvature of the spine
- Back injuries
- Overweight
- Hard physical work
- Sedentary work
- A sedentary lifestyle
- Violation of metabolic processes
- Frequent hypothermia
- In an uncomfortable pose during sleep
- Stress, overwork
- Hereditary factors
- Infectious diseases
- Individual features of the structure of the body, for example, too long or too short neck
The degree of development of cervical osteochondrosis
The disease has four stages.It is not always easy to determine the stage of the disease by the analysis of symptoms, since sometimes the degree of degradation of bone-cheese tissue may not correspond to the symptoms observed in the patient.
The first degree
Destructive processes begin in the bone-skin tissue of the vertebrae.As a rule, at this stage of osteochondrosis of the cervical region, the symptoms are weakly expressed.Patients or do not notice them at all or do not associate with diseases of the spine, but attribute to stress and overwork.
The second degree
A decrease in the height of the disk begins, cracks appear on its surface.Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis at this stage are manifested in constant pain, weakness, numbness of individual sections of the face.
The third degree
Drins of discs are formed, the cervical vessels and muscles are damaged.The patient has dizziness, pain in the occipital part of the head.
The fourth degree
Osteophytes appear - the growth of bone tissue that protect the vertebrae from the load, which leads to infringement of the nerves.This leads to the stiffness of movements and damage to the neighboring joints.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine:
- Pain in the neck and shoulders
- Muscle weakness
- Increased sweating
- Numbness of hands
- Violation of coordination
- Dizziness
- Vision and hearing deterioration
- Increasing blood pressure
- Headaches
These spinal osteochondrosis typical of osteochondrosis, symptoms can be present at all stages of the disease.In most cases, only a few symptoms are observed from the list, and the rest may be absent from a person who first encountered such signs of the disease, does not always suspect cervical osteochondrosis.Therefore, he can contact various doctors - therapists, cardiologists, neuropathologists, surgeons.And the correct diagnosis as a result can be made with a significant delay.
Syndromes for cervical osteochondrosis
With cervical osteochondrosis, several syndromes are found, that is, typical conditions that have a complex of characteristic features.They are manifested depending on what nerves and arteries are affected as a result of the disease:
- Vail artery syndrome
- Cardial syndrome
- Hypertensive syndrome
- rook syndrome
- cervical migraine syndrome
The spinal artery syndrome is one of the most unpleasant and dangerous complications with cervical osteochondrosis.It is due to the fact that the blood flow is reduced along the artery passing along the spine and the supply of the brain.The syndrome manifests itself in symptoms such as systemic or periodic dizziness, wearing and vision.In some cases, fainting may occur.Often there is a variety of syndrome, which consists in the fact that in the normal state the blood flow in the artery is normal, however, when turning the head in one direction or another, it can drop sharply.
Cardial syndrome develops when squeezing the roots of nerves that innervation of the diaphragm or chest muscle.As a result, the patient may have pain resembling cardialgia, although the heart does not occur in the heart.However, the syndrome can be characterized by such phenomena as tachycardia, hypotension and arrhythmia.
Hypertension syndrome is also one of the most dangerous complications.Unlike the syndrome of the vertebral artery, it is caused by squeezing not the arteries, but the veins, which complicates the outflow of blood from the head.The syndrome leads to an increase in intracranial pressure, which can manifest itself in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache.
The cervical migraine syndrome has little in common in its etiology with classical migraine.It manifests itself in the strongest pain in the occipital part of the head.The pains are paroxysmal in nature, last up to ten hours and are accompanied by vomiting.
Rest syndrome is the most common syndrome for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.It is caused by compression of individual roots of nerves in the cervical vertebrae.It can be expressed in pain in the neck, nape, shoulder blades, shoulders, in numbness and weakening of the tone of individual sections of the hands (up to the impossibility of performing some kind of manipulation) and neck.
Very often several syndromes or individual symptoms characteristic of different syndromes can be observed at once.
As you can see, with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, the manifestation of the disease is multifaceted and far from always the patient is able to correctly recognize the cause of their occurrence.If you are faced with similar symptoms, then this is an occasion to see a doctor.
Diagnostics
To install the diagnosis, it is recommended to contact the therapist.He will give a referral to specialists - an orthopedist, a vertebrologist, a neurologist.
The following types of research are used for diagnosis:
- Radiography
- Computed tomography
- Magnetic tomography
- Ultrasound scanning of the vessels of the neck
X -ray allows you to determine the displacement of the vertebrae, the presence of growths - osteophytes and saline deposits, disks seals.Computed tomography consists in creating a series of X -ray pictures that give a voluminous idea of the body, in this case, about the cervical spine.It allows you to detail the degree of pathological process - the nature of the compression of the nerves, the structure of osteophytes, the height of the discs, etc.Magnetic resonance imaging, based on the physical effect of nuclear magnetic resonance, gives an even more detailed structural picture of the spine.Ultrasound of the neck of the neck helps to identify changes in blood flow in the main vessels of the neck caused by the disease.
Treatment
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis and is it treated at all?To fight the disease, medicine has developed many methods.Some methods of treatment can be used at home.But this process is a long and complete cure is unlikely, especially in old age.However, it is possible to slow down and stop destructive processes in the spine at any stage of the disease.
In the initial stages of the disease, methods are usually conservative.Several ways are used to treat cervical osteochondrosis:
- Medicines
- Medical physical education
- Physiotherapy
- Massage
- Special tools for fixing the spine
If the disease has moved to the last stage, and there is a serious destruction of the bone-cheerful structure of the spine, then surgery can also be used to treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Drugs
The following types of drugs are used:
- Chondroprotectors
- Vitamins
- Analgesics
- Anti -inflammatory drugs
- Antispasmodics
In acute pain syndrome associated with osteochondrosis, the priority task is to eliminate it.As a rule, oral preparations are used, however, with their inefficiency, novocaine blockade is used in severe cases.
With muscle cramps, antispasmodics are used.They demonstrate the greatest effectiveness for osteochondrosis.As anti -inflammatory and painkillers, ointments containing non -steroidal drugs can be used.
In the presence of syndromes associated with circulatory disorders and blood supply to the brain - hypertension and syndrome of the vertebral artery, drugs that relieve undesirable effects of these syndromes are taken - drugs that lower pressure and nootropic agents.
Medical physical education
Medical physical education is the simplest and most affordable type of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis and, at the same time, quite effective.Physical education can also be carried out at home.With osteochondrosis, the intensity of classes does not play a decisive role, only their regularity is necessary.First of all, physical education is designed to strengthen the neck muscles, which make up for insufficient functionality of the spine and help it maintain weakened vertebrae.
To strengthen the neck muscles, daily classes are recommended.They can be either completely simple, consisting of turns and tilts of the head in different directions, and more complex, including the help of the neck muscles from the hands.They can be performed both at home and at work.For example, if the work is sedentary, it is useful to do such exercises after sitting at a table or monitor.However, they can only be performed outside the period of exacerbation of the disease and in the absence of pain.Otherwise, they can only worsen the condition.
No less effective is the strengthening of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, for example, using regular classes with light dumbbells.However, lifting weights (weights, rods) is contraindicated.Regular swimming, unloading the spine, is also useful.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is a treatment method that uses some physical fields and radiation to effect on the body.A positive property of physiotherapy is that it has a minimum number of contraindications.
The following physiotherapy methods are used to treat osteochondrosis:
- Ultrasound exposure
- Laser therapy
- Exposure to the magnetic field
- Effect of electric current (electrophoresis)
The magnetic field positively affects the damaged tissues of the body and has an anti -inflammatory and analgesic effect.Ultrasound improves metabolic processes in tissues, relieves swelling.The same can be said about laser therapy.Electrophoresis is most often used in a bunch of drugs, since the use of electric current accelerates their absorption by the body.
Massage
Massage reduces the increased muscle tone that causes spasm and reduces the flow of lymph that causes swelling.The procedure helps to improve blood circulation in the affected area, which stops the process of destruction of the intervertebral discs.
Other treatment methods
To reduce the load on the cervical compartment, a special device is used - a chantzz collar, which fixes the neck in a constant normal position.It is recommended to wear it during exacerbations with pain syndrome or with prolonged sitting.
In order to avoid exacerbations, you should also organize a place to sleep.The pillow should not cause curvature of the neck, and the mattress should be rigid and even.In some cases, special sleeping devices can help - orthopedic mattress and pillow.