Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis, depending on the patient's condition, is used both in combination with drug therapy and independently. For osteochondrosis, the following types of physiotherapy are used: laser therapy, Detenzor therapy, electrotherapy, shock wave therapy, magnet therapy, mud and balneotherapy, ultrasound therapy, ultraviolet irradiation (UFO). After successfully relieving the exacerbation, massage and physiotherapy exercises are shown.
UFO:Under the influence of UVA rays, vitamin D is formed in the skin, which helps to absorb calcium. The method is carried out using irradiators that have bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Ultrasound therapy and phonophoresis:During ultrasound therapy, the body is exposed to high-frequency sounds (20 kHz or higher). Due to its effect, the method relieves pain in various locations. This method is combined with the introduction of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs (ultraphonophoresis) for their better penetration into the affected tissues.
Shock wave therapy:The method consists of transmitting an acoustic wave to a painful area of the body. This type: Eliminate pain, improve microcirculation, improve metabolism.
Detentive therapy:The method consists of stretching the spine using the patient's body weight.
Laser therapy:the method has a healing effect using helium-neon lasers. Due to the activation of bioelectric processes in the tissues of the nervous system, laser therapy has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Laser radiation is carried out along the inflamed spinal roots. With osteochondrosis, an effect is used in the paravertebral zones of the affected spine.
Electrotherapy:Electrotherapy has a multifaceted effect on the body: it removes pain and discomfort, improves nutrition and trophism of affected tissues. Impulse currents have a very effective therapeutic effect. Its mechanism of action in the body is determined by the effect on nerve receptors. Low-frequency impulses contribute to the extinction of acute pain and are prescribed as first aid for severe pain syndrome. The following types of currents are used: diadynamic therapy (DDT), amplipulse therapy (SMT), interference therapy, transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS), UHF electric field.
Magnetotherapy:Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis includes the use of magnetotherapy, which has a decongestant, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effect. Inducers are placed on the affected spine and limbs.
Balneotherapy and mud:Balneotherapy for osteochondrosis consists of the use of mineral waters (local and general baths, swimming pools, showers) for treatment and rehabilitation purposes. During the procedure, minerals penetrate the skin and act on receptors and nerve centers.
When dealing with mud, the effect on the body occurs under the influence of temperature and the chemical composition of the healing mud. The mud is used in the form of applications.
Balneotherapy stimulates metabolism, improves blood circulation, and relieves inflammation and pain.
Combined methods of physiotherapy - Combined methods of physiotherapy for osteochondrosis are most often prescribed. For example, with severe pain, diadynamic therapy and electrophoresis (diadynamophoresis) are used with the use of novocaine. For a one-step effect on active biological points, the acupuncture laser puncture method is used. Its action is to activate points with acupuncture needles and laser radiation.
Mud therapy is often used with electrotherapy (mud solution electrophoresis, mud inductothermy, galvanic mud therapy).
Joint treatment
All joint diseases can be divided into two main groups: joint injuries, arising from metabolic disorders, and joint inflammation. Of course, in each case, the joint treatment is carried out according to its own special program.
Joint treatment,be it arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatism or another ailment, it must necessarily be complex, and the main task to be solved by treatment is to eliminate the cause of the disease and, consequently, the painful symptoms.
Treatment with modern techniques aims to eliminate or minimize pain, signs of local or general inflammation, and restore the affected joints. Complex treatment usually begins with drug therapy.
The patient is prescribed pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that help restore joint cartilage and strengthen the immune system. Treating the joints at this stage can relieve pain symptoms. It often includes the intra-articular administration of drugs so that the therapeutic substance in the desired concentration enters directly into the cavity of the diseased joint. This increases the effectiveness of drug treatment.
Also, when the main symptoms of the acute stage are safely eliminated, treatment continues with the help of a complex of physiotherapeutic procedures, exercise therapy exercises, massage. In particular, the treatment of joints with physiotherapeutic methods has found a very wide application today.
Pulse currents (DDT, SMT), magnetotherapy, EHF therapy, laser therapy, electrophoresis with medicinal substances, ultrasound and phonophoresis are used. When the exacerbation subsides, balneotherapy (various types of baths) and mud therapy are connected. Physiotherapy and massages are prescribed.
Back pain treatment
There are many reasons for these pains. First of all, excruciating pain may appear due to a hernia (bulging) of the intervertebral disc, osteochondrosis and pathology of the nervous system. Very often, back pain occurs in those people who have been in the same position for a long time.
And yet the most common reason is lack of physical activity! This reduces blood flow to the intervertebral ligaments, joints, and discs, causing the cartilage that forms them to begin to break down. It is the weakening of the ligamentous apparatus that is the cause of all diseases of the spine. When pain appears, you should immediately consult a doctor who will determine its cause, make the correct diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
To reduce the risk of back pain, you should move more, control your weight, and do at least a minimum of gymnastics (15 minutes a day is enough).
Proper nutrition is also very important: it is one of the keys to good health and longevity, and the spine needs protein to maintain flexibility and calcium for strength. Calcium is found in large amounts in hard cheese, liver, nuts, cottage cheese, eggs, and proteins in meat and dairy products. The bones and ligaments of the spine also need microelements: phosphorus (there is a lot in bran, peas, fish), magnesium and manganese (found in sea fish, onions, potatoes), as well as fatty acids, its sources are walnuts, fatty fish and olive oil.
When back pain worsens, treatment begins with medications, usually pain relievers, diuretics, and medications that relieve muscle spasms. However, there are no drugs without side effects, they are used only for a limited time, and most importantly, they do not eliminate the cause of back pain and do not prevent a relapse of the disease. In the acute period, treatment methods such as traction are also used, as well as the use of collars and corsets, which makes it possible to relieve the diseased spine.
In addition to emergency medicine - drugs that relieve muscle spasms and pain, the most important treatment for osteochondrosis is physiotherapy, which helps to reduce pain in the acute period of the disease, improves blood circulation in tissues, prevents malnutrition of ligaments, muscles and joints. and prevent movement disorders.
Modern physical therapy is a branch of medicine that has a powerful arsenal of treatment tools; In it, two main blocks are distinguished: physiotherapy exercises with massage and electrotherapy. Therapeutic massage is one of the most effective methods of treating osteochondrosis and back pain, as it improves blood circulation in deep tissues and removes muscle blockages ("clamps"), which are the main cause of severe pain.
One of the most effective methods of electrotherapy is drug electrophoresis: it is a means of targeted drug delivery to a diseased organ, improving the blood supply to tissues.
Impulse currents - DDT, SMT - have a pronounced analgesic, antispasmodic and trophic effect. Also, a laser, a magnetic laser, is used to treat back pain. This method allows you to quickly relieve swelling associated with inflammation and, consequently, pain that occurs in compressed and edematous tissues.
Magnetotherapy is used in the form of permanent or alternating magnetic fields, it is also capable of quickly stopping swelling and pain.
D'arsonval currents are effective: they are "ozonized" currents used to relieve painful muscle spasms, high-frequency ultrasonic vibrations that eliminate inflammation and help to dissolve scars, increasing the elasticity of the tissues.
Physiotherapy plays a special role in physical therapy. Its importance is often underestimated, and after all, without a full muscular corset, it is impossible to cure back pain and prevent the recurrence of osteochondrosis.
Physiotherapy is of particular importance in trauma and in the postoperative period. Its use will help prevent the recurrence of back pain that occurs due to so-called "motor stereotypes". For example, an office worker who spends his entire working day sitting in front of a computer, or a salesperson whose main workload falls on his feet. Gymnastics, yoga, Pilates, and other types of common health-enhancing exercises can also be a very effective way to combat "motor automatisms. "
Neck pain treatment
Pain can be caused by a number of reasons, ranging from muscle spasms to herniated discs in the cervical spine. If the neck pain appears once (due to a sharp turn of the head, an awkward posture during sleep), it will most likely go away on its own in a few days.
To reduce pain, you only need to reduce the static load on the neck muscles (do not keep your head bowed for a long period of time), do not get carried away by excessive physical exertion, do not make sudden movements of the neck.
If the pain in the neck is constant or often recurring, accompanied by a headache, numbness of the upper extremities, it is necessary to undergo a full examination.
Neck pain physiotherapy aims to relieve pain syndrome, improve blood circulation and microcirculation in the affected segment, provide anti-inflammatory and anti-edema effects, eliminate metabolic and dystrophic disorders, and reduce movement disorders.
Physical factors are used in the stages of inpatient and outpatient treatment, after the patient's discharge from hospital, as well as in early postoperative rehabilitation. In the acute period: after 4-5 days (as the severity of the process subsides), laser therapy, pulse currents (SMT, DDT, interference currents), magnetotherapy, UFO of the segmental zone, darsonvalization of the cervical collar zone of the spine and occipital region of the head, substance electrophoresis, local anesthetic, ganglion blocking action in pain areas is prescribed.
In the subacute period - drug phonophoresis, magnetotherapy, drug electrophoresis, microwave electromagnetic fields (SMV, UHF), laser therapy are used.
In the remission stage: thermotherapy is connected, which includes ozokerite and mud for the cervical collar area, balneotherapy (iodine-bromine, turpentine baths, laurel baths, bischophyte baths), underwater shower-massage, therapeutic massage.
Low back pain treatment
The sensation of pain in the lumbar area appears due to an imbalance of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus. In this case, soft tissue microtraumatization occurs, as a result of which chemical irritants (pain mediators) are released in excess. They cause muscle spasms and back pain.
The origin of lumbodynia is mainly associated with osteochondrosis, which is located in the lumbar region. Low back pain is characterized by acute pain in the lower back with moderate or traumatic low back pain factors: physical fatigue, systematic or excessive physical exertion; sudden movements; constant work in a "non-physiological" or prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position; bruising in the lower back, hypothermia, colds, etc.
The low back pain treatment program includes the following main points:
- Bed rest for eight to ten days. At the same time, the bed should be flat and firm. "Resting" on such a surface allows the back muscles to relax.
- The medical treatment of low back pain involves the use of sedatives and pain relievers and the use of novocaine blocks (with increased severe pain).
From physiotherapy methods, you can use electrophoresis of painkillers, impulse currents, ultraviolet irradiation of segmental zones. In an acute period, the patient may be prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of tablets, injections, suppositories, or ointments that relieve muscle spasms. Thermal creams can be used only during the rehabilitation period (on the third day of the exacerbation). In the acute period, they can lead to swelling and increase pain.
- After removal of acute pain, treatment of low back pain is continued with the help of exercise therapy, massage, and manual therapy.
The main task at this stage is to strengthen the muscular corset and reduce the compression of the nerve roots. Special exercises for low back pain help to normalize the metabolism, improve blood circulation and nutrition of the intervertebral discs, relieve muscle tension, increase the intervertebral space and relieve the spine.
Also, in the remission stage, acupuncture, hydromassage, mineral baths, mud therapy and other physiotherapy are prescribed (see Treatment of back pain). Thanks to this, blood circulation is improved, an anti-inflammatory and resorbing effect is provided.
Physiotherapy treatment
Physiotherapy (from the Greek physis - nature and therapy), branch of medicine that studies the healing properties of physical factors and develops methods for their use for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Modern physiotherapy uses magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields of low, high, ultra-high and ultra-high frequencies, artificial light radiation (from infrared to ultraviolet and coherent monochromatic), mechanical vibrations (from infrasonic to ultrasonic), etc.
Physical factors have affected humans throughout their evolution, which is why physiotherapy procedures have a greater physiological effect on the body than many drugs.
Physiotherapy treatment can be used both independently and in combination with drug therapy, manual therapy, massage, physiotherapy exercises. The variety of factors and techniques used in physiotherapy determines the possibilities of individual impact on the body and the specific influence on the pathological process without negative side effects.
The use of physical therapy is possible in almost all areas of medicine: otorhinolaryngology, gastroenterology, gynecology, urology, pulmonology, orthopedics and traumatology, neurology, surgery, cardiology and others.
There is a fairly wide range of physiotherapeutic treatments, namely mud therapy, hydrotherapy (various mineral and aromatic baths, underwater shower massage), magnetotherapy, laser therapy, various types of currents (galvanic, pulse, high frequency), UHF electromagnetic waves, microwaves. , EHF, inhalation of medicinal herbs, halotherapy, vibratory traction apparatus, physiotherapy room, staff of certified masseurs.
Also in the department of physical methods of treatment, therapeutic methods of acupuncture, electrical stimulation for various neurological diseases are carried out. All physiotherapy treatment is prescribed by the department physiotherapist, taking into account the disease and the general condition of the patient.
Rehabilitation
Medical rehabilitation is a complex of therapeutic and prophylactic measures, which is aimed at the maximum possible restoration of the patient's lost abilities after various diseases.
Rehabilitation is also aimed at restoring muscle strength to the patient, as well as preventing recurrence or complications. Today, medical rehabilitation is not just about prescribing any kind of exercise after discharge from the hospital or a course of physiotherapy at the end of the hospitalization period.
Rehabilitation is a complex of activities that include the participation of doctors from different fields: physiotherapists, masseurs, psychologists, speech therapists and others. As a result, it is a complex rehabilitation that allows the patient to recover fully and not partially. The success of the treatment depends both on the correct diagnosis and on the treatment selected and carried out in an optimal way, as well as on the correct and timely rehabilitation of the patient.
Rehabilitation has a single objective: the most complete restoration possible of the lost functions in the patient, depending on the existing consequences of the injury or disease, and the treatment carried out.
Depending on the area of application, rehabilitation can be: Orthopedic: carried out after injuries and operations for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, fractures, spinal malformations and postural disorders. Neurological and neurosurgical is one of the most serious types of rehabilitation, since the largest number of specialists is involved in its implementation: neurologists, physiotherapists, masseurs, psychologists and psychiatrists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.
This rehabilitation is necessary after injuries and operations on the nervous system (brain, spinal cord), with diseases of the peripheral nervous system (bundles of nerves), strokes, paresis and paralysis. Cardiological rehabilitation: rehabilitation after an acute heart attack, with diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
The goal of rehabilitation is the rapid regeneration of muscles with their atrophies associated with prolonged physical inactivity, in order to restore strength and tone to the limb, restore full range of motion in the joints after immobilization ( after fractures), accelerate regeneration. of cartilaginous tissue, improves the trophism of organs and bone tissues, increases mobility with adhesions in the abdominal cavity after abdominal operations, increasing the general tone of the patient and improving the psycho-emotional state, relieving pain and swelling after joint injuries, restoring physical activity after strokes, paresis and paralysis, as well as postoperatively in patients after operations associated with diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system (after injuries, fractures, contusions and sprains).
It is worth noting that the rehabilitation process itself is based on stimulating the patient's own abilities under external influence. Physical exercises, modern equipment help to stimulate local and general immunity, improve tissue repair processes, restore blood and lymphatic circulation.
Medical rehabilitation methods include the following methods: corrective gymnastics, massages, kinesitherapy, physiotherapeutic treatment, manual therapy, electrostimulation (consists of improving the conduction of nerve impulses to skeletal muscles), psychological assistance, speech therapy.
It should be noted that one of the key points in any rehabilitation are physiotherapeutic methods, which aim to restore lost functions and stimulate movements in the patient, accelerating repair processes in tissues and organs, especially in the musculoskeletal system, nervous system and circulatory system. .
One of the advantages of physical therapy methods is that they do not use drugs, which means there is no risk of allergic reactions and side effects, no dependence on drugs develops, and the treatment methods used are generally non-invasive.
A correctly selected complex of the rehabilitation program will help the patient to recover as quickly as possible after illness, injury or operation, will return a feeling of freedom of movement and the ability to communicate with the people around him without any restrictions.