In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of treatment and the stages of development of the disease, you will eliminate pain due to osteochondrosis of the chest, be able to normalize sleep and live life to the fullest.
It is important to understand
If osteochondrosis of the chest is detected, it is necessary to select an individual set of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of their implementation and exclude exercises that have contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important to regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo comprehensive treatment in a specialized center, and in the future it is necessary to preventively maintain your health on your own.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common and serious disease.
Its danger is that in the initial stages it does not manifest itself in any way or disguises itself as other pathologies.
This especially happens with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
In this place, the vertebrae are not so mobile 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 older people, as before. This pathology is increasingly common among young people.
This is due to lifestyle and nutrition features. After all, osteochondrosis occurs due to disruption of metabolic processes and blood circulation.
There can be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
It is a degenerative-dystrophic pathology, which is characterized by the gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs. They lose water and nutrients, the cartilage tissue dries out and begins to crack.
Because of this, the disc stops performing 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 provoke the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Furthermore, it is in this place where the disease is especially serious. After all, there are many nerve endings here that go to the internal organs.
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 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 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. Disks alone cannot be recovered. In addition, in the thoracic region this process progresses faster, since due to the low mobility of the spine, the blood supply to the tissues is worse here.
Therefore, without timely treatment, osteochondrosis can lead to serious complications. It can cause the following pathologies:
- intervertebral protrusion or 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 diseases of the spine should know how osteochondrosis manifests itself. If you do not ignore the typical symptoms, you can start treatment in time and stop the progression of the pathology.
The main sign of damage to the spine is that 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 when breathing deeply, raising your arms, twisting your torso, or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one place and then spreads to the entire chest.
Due to painful sensations, muscle spasms occur in this place and it becomes difficult for the patient to move. The pathology is often accompanied by intercostal neuralgia.
What can be confused with osteochondrosis of the chest?
This disease can only be cured in the initial stage. But the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the chest in time, its symptoms are often confused with other pathologies.
It is not always accompanied by typical symptoms. Some patients do not feel back pain or intercostal neuralgia.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself with atypical symptoms characteristic of other diseases. Very often it is confused with pathologies of internal organs.
- Basically, its manifestations are similar to those of angina pectoris. Pain in the heart that intensifies when inhaling, difficulty breathing, 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 alteration in the functioning of the heart.
- Sometimes pain occurs that resembles the symptoms of a peptic ulcer, gastritis or pancreatitis. But they worsen not after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may notice pain in their mammary glands.
- Localization 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 raise the arm or move it to the side.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the chest.
Often, to accurately diagnose a disease, it is necessary to take into account its possible causes. People with hereditary predisposition, excess weight and bad habits are susceptible to this type of pathology.
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 occurs most often in people over 45 years of age. It is at this time that metabolic processes slow down and tissues lack nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, which causes a weakening of the spinal muscular corset.
But there are other causes of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region:
- back injuries, bruises or sprains;
- regular weight lifting, intense physical activity;
- rachiocampsis;
- Sitting for a long time in an incorrect position, for example, while working at a computer or driving a car.
What are the degrees of the disease?
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a chronic pathology. It develops very slowly, but progresses constantly.
To choose appropriate 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 stage, the pain becomes more intense. In fact, due to the gradual destruction of the disc, the vertebrae become closer to each other, which can lead to pinching 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 place is very limited.
- The last stage of the pathology is characterized by the complete destruction of the disc. Osteophytes appear on the vertebrae, sometimes they completely fuse. 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 confuse mild back pain and muscle weakness with overwork. And after the break they continue with their usual lifestyle. Due to this, the disease progresses and causes serious complications.
A decrease in the shock-absorbing functions of the intervertebral discs leads to curvature of the spine. Thoracic kyphosis usually develops. Due to this, the chest becomes compressed and breathing becomes difficult.
If you do not consult a doctor in time, the intervertebral discs can completely collapse. This will lead to the convergence of the vertebrae and pinching 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 chances of completely stopping degenerative processes.
This is best done 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.
The specialists of 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 destruction of the disc and complications of this process.
How is the treatment performed?
Collection of anamnesis: analysis of the disease, limitations and contraindications are identified, explanation of the principles of kinesitherapy, characteristics of the recovery period.
Myofascial diagnosis is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor evaluates the range of joint movements, determines painful tension, swelling, hypo- or hypertonicity of 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, what movements cause pain, what weight the patient can bear. work with, how the cardiovascular system reacts vascular system. Problem areas are identified. The data is entered on the card. Accents are put on.
Based on the results of the initial examination by a doctor and functional diagnosis, a preliminary individual treatment program is drawn up.
It is advisable to take with you:
- for pain in the spine: MRI or CT scan (MRI or CT scan) of the problem area;
- for joint pain – x-rays;
- in the presence of concomitant diseases: extracts from the medical history or outpatient consultation card;
- comfortable clothing and shoes (sports)
Lessons with an instructor.
At the beginning of the treatment cycle, the doctor and the patient make a treatment plan, which includes the date and time of the treatment session and follow-up visits to the doctor (usually 2-3 times a week).
The basis of the treatment process is 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 regimen of physical activity. The treatment program is drawn up by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of the body. Supervision is carried out by qualified instructors. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct technique of movement and breathing, know your weight standards when working on exercise machines, adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations of specialists.
Joint gymnastics sessions help restore visual coordination, improve joint mobility and the elasticity (flexibility) of the spine and are an excellent self-use preventive system.
Each treatment cycle consists of 12 sessions. Each lesson 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 of performing exercises and supervises correct execution. Every 6 lessons a second consultation with the doctor is carried out, changes and extensions are made to the program, depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will it take? – individually for everyone
It's important to know:
- How long have you had this problem (stage of disease)?
- How your body is prepared for physical activity (do you do gymnastics or some type of sport).
- What result do you want to obtain?
If the disease is in its early stages and the body is ready, one course of treatment is sufficient. (example: young people 20-30 years old who play sports. We focus their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing, stretching, excluding "wrong" exercises that are harmful to problem areas. These patients receive training and receive the skill to " take care of your body", receive recommendations in case of exacerbation and continue studying on your own).