Osteochondrosis is a condition in which several disorders in the articular cartilage of a distribution nature are observed. Osteochondrosis may appear in different joints, but more frequently osteochondrosis affects intervertebral discs. If we consider the location of the disease, then the osteochondrosis is usual to divide into the thorax, cervical, lumbar. Osteochondrosis is a disease that causes back pain in approximately 80% of cases. In the case of the complication of osteochondrosis, the hernias of the intervertebral discs sometimes occur in the head, the extremities and other organs. The most common is lumbar osteochondrosis that causes leg pain. Many people complain about manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis, in which the hands and head hurt. In the form of the disease of the disease, pain occurs in internal organs.
The causes of osteochondrosis
The initial cause of the osteochondrosis of the column is the ease of a person. There are many diverse theories regarding the causes of osteochondrosis. Such, for example, are a predisposition of hereditary nature, injuries 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 is manifested in people of different ages, different physicists 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 an illusion to some extent. And it is the correct analysis of the causes of the disease that is the main treatment of the disease.
With osteochondrosis, the nature of the disease is non -inflammatory, discrete degenerative. In the disease development process, fabric nutrition is disturbed, its structure is reborn. People who constantly have active physical activity have a more durable and elastic bone tissue. This is due to the fact that the column discs in an adult of a person do not have their own vessels, therefore, oxygen and nutrients in the discs come from the tissues that are close. A similar process can only be full in the case of active blood circulation, which is possible only in the constant intensive muscle operation process.
Each intervertebral album is two parts. In the center of the disc there is a gelatinous nucleus, which makes the disc elastic, and surrounds its durable fibrous ring. If the food of the intervertebral discs worsens, then the structure of the biopolymer compounds can be destroyed. Due to a decrease in moisture on the disc, it becomes fragile. And if the column is overload, the jacket is divided into fragments. As a result, its elasticity is significantly reduced. Fibrous rings also lose strength. Such phenomena become a starting point for the manifestation of osteochondrosis in humans. The manifestation of the degenerative changes in the spine is calculated by discs, ligaments, damaged capsules. A similar phenomenon is the last stage of the development of the disease.
Unfortunately, the reverse process after such 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 of age. In addition, the greater a person becomes, more manifestations of the disease are observed. However, recently, with back pain complaints, younger and more they go to doctors.
The causes of such an early occurrence of osteochondrosis are mainly very weak physical activity, problems with posture, as well as a twisting spine, flat feet and obesity. To date, the main causes of osteochondrosis are considered the following: the following:
- predisposition of hereditary nature;
- Problems with metabolic processes, poisoning, infection;
- the presence of excess weight, irrational nutrition (deficiency of small liquid consumption of trace elements);
- the presence of column injuries, its curvature, inadequate posture, flat feet;
- existence in poor ecological conditions;
- inactive lifestyle;
- Regular weightlifting, work in uncomfortable postures for a long time, an activity in which a person often repeats sudden movements, turns and body flexion;
- Physical activity too strong, column overload due to foot diseases, inconveniences in the process of wearing shoes, as well as loading during pregnancy;
- The sudden termination of constant training by people who practice sports, stress, smoking maliciously.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
In people who are sick of osteochondrosis, tangible back pain appear in the first place. Sometimes, such pain is accompanied by numbness, as well as by the sensations of pain in the limbs. If osteochondrosis therapy does not start on time, then the person quickly loses weight, has extremities atrophy. With physical exercises and load, as well as in the process of raising too heavy objects, in the process of sneezing and coughing, pain can become more intense. In the patient, osteochondrosis decreases the volume of movements, muscle cramps manifest.
Cervical osteochondrosis manifests due to the characteristics of the structure of the cervical column. The vertebrae of the cervical region have significantly smaller sizes than the vertebrae of another spine. Consequently, cervical osteochondrosis manifests due to constant neck load. The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are expressed as follows: pain in the hands, neck, shoulders, headaches can occur. 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, the "flies" flash before the eyes and a head is turning. Multicolored points can occur before their eyes, in parallel, a person feels severe pain in a pulsating character. The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis sometimes resemble signs of angina pectoris, but the patient does not have a change in the heart in the study.
In patients with osteochondrosis of the thoracic column, the patient feels chest pain. Pain can be given to the heart region, as well as other internal organs. The pain of lumbosacral spinal osteochondrosis feel low back pain, which can give to the feet, sacred, to the pelvic organs. Its nerve roots are affected, sensitivity is disturbed, reflexes can decrease and hypotension may appear.
Osteochondrosis diagnosis
The specialist establishes a preliminary diagnosis of osteochondrosis already during the patient's initial exam. As a general rule, a doctor-neurologist carries out an inspection. In general, the patient reaches the reception with pain complaints, as well as the deformation or limitation of mobility. The patient's backbone is carried out in standing position, lying and sitting, the doctor examines it both in motion and at rest. During the exam, the doctor necessarily pays attention to the position of a person, the characteristics of his physique, the characteristics of the column, the relief of the muscles that are near the spine. You can complement the results of the patient inspection with information on whether the spinal deformation, where the pain is, as well as determine the degree of intensity. In the feeling process, it is also determined how tense are the muscles next to the spine, because the muscle tone accompanies most of the 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, computerized tomography, X -rays, magnetic resonance are often used. These methods allow you to discover the level of damage to the spine, to determine if there are hidden pathologies and specify the diagnosis. The doctor can determine what are the tactics of the therapy to choose to be the most efficient tactics to be the most effective.
Osteochondrosis treatment
The treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, as well as other forms of the disease and its complications, is carried out using conservative methods, whose purpose is to eliminate the pain, restore the functions of the brain spinal roots, as well as to prevent distributing phenomena in the back structures.
If all conservative treatment methods do not provide the proper effect, and there are special indications for this, then the surgical methods of treatment of osteochondrosis are sometimes prescribed to patients. The volume of surgical intervention depends directly on how affected by the column and the intensive symptoms of the disease are intense. The severity of the disease also depends on the duration of the therapy. As a general rule, the active phase of treatment using conservative methods mainly occupies approximately 1-3 months. After surgery, the patient is restored about one year. After the start of conservative treatment, many patients with osteochondrosis have an increase in pain. This is a reaction of the muscles and other formations to treatment.
If pain syndrome is too severe, it can be stopped relatively fast using physiotherapeutic methods, medications and the use of a complex of exercises specially designed for patients with osteochondrosis. It is important to keep in mind that an important factor that affects the effectiveness of treatment is the correct behavior of the patient, its adequate attitude towards the need to meet the method of treatment developed. For this, perseverance, patience and desire to defeat the disease are important. It is demonstrated that the most effective is conservative treatment and recovery after surgery in sanatoriums, as well as in medical centers that specialize in the treatment of this disease. In the presence of the necessary equipment, as well as qualified doctors, complex treatment will be the most effective and effective.
The complex therapy in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis necessarily includes physiotherapy exercises, massages, physiotherapy, manual therapy, reflexology and the use of medications.
One of the most important impact methods in the state of the human musculoskeletal system are physiotherapy exercises. The patient regularly performs a certain amount of exercises, during which the decompression of nerve roots occurs gradually, the correction of the muscle corset, the flexibility of the ligaments and the muscles increases. Special exercises for cervical osteochondrosis also allow us to guarantee the effective prevention of the additional development of the disease. The main condition is the regularity of all exercises.
When using physiotherapy, osteochondrosis is treated with the help of physical factors: magnetic fields, low frequency, ultrasound, etc. This technique allows you to reduce the rehabilitation period after surgery, as well as strengthen the effects of different medications. With the help of massage, you can relieve muscle tension, improve blood flow and strengthening effect in general.
To eliminate acute pain, manual therapy is used. This technique also allows you to adjust the posture. The pain is also relieved by the elimination of the column: the procedure carried out in special equipment. With reflexology, the reflexogenic areas of the human body are exposed and can significantly improve the effects of other methods.
During the exacerbation of the disease, the treatment is used with the help of medicines with which inflammation is eliminated, pain is stopped, metabolic processes are activated. Medications are administered intravenously or intramuscularly.
The most tangible treatment results are observed when several methods are used in the complex. However, in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis and other forms of the disease, only the treating doctor must prescribe them.