Cervical osteochondrosis

Prompt treatment of illness can increase the chances of a quick and successful recovery. But in any case, it is better to prevent the development of a disease, especially one as serious as cervical osteochondrosis.

Definition of cervical osteochondrosis

Cervical osteochondrosis is a fairly common disease that recently affects younger people more and more. The disease affects the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. Often the development of the pathological process of degenerative-dystrophic changes is facilitated by an incorrect body position, for example, due to long work at the computer.

Among other things, the problem can be triggered by genetic predisposition, poor posture, an uncomfortable sleeping place, and a sedentary lifestyle. Despite the fact that this type of osteochondrosis develops rather slowly, it tends to progress.

In elderly patients, this disease is mainly combined with other degenerative processes, for example:

• interspinous osteoarthritis;
• spondylosis;
• uncovertebral osteoarthritis and so on.

Symptoms

As for the most characteristic symptoms, first of all, you can notice the appearance of sharp pains that arise from pinching of nerve endings. The pain is often concentrated in the lumbar, cervical, and back regions. Also, you can find other syndromes:

• heart syndrome: consists of several symptoms that are similar in manifestation to angina pectoris. This syndrome develops during irritation of the roots of the pectoralis major muscle or the phrenic nerve. Due to this, a person experiences painful sensations of a pressing nature in the area of ​​the heart muscle, which can periodically arise and continue for several hours. Sneezing or jerking head movements often make the pain worse. Also, during painful attacks, changes in the cardiogram cannot be detected;
• radicular syndrome- occurs when the nerve endings in the cervical spine are pinched. At this time, pain is felt, which can be administered not only in the forearm, shoulder or shoulder blade, but also in the lumbar region. The patient may feel a slight tingling or more pronounced sensations, depending on how much osteochondrosis has started;
• irritant reflex syndrome: manifested by a burning sensation in the occiput and neck. These symptoms often appear after waking up from sleep, during sharp turns of the head, coughing and sneezing. Also, pain can manifest itself not only in the shoulder area, but also in the chest area;
• vertebral artery syndromeis ​​one of the typical manifestations of the disease, characterized by the appearance of a burning or throbbing headache, more localized in the temporal or occipital region. Often with this syndrome, it is constant pain that occurs, but sometimes it can come and go.

Pay attention!In the presence of symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, experts note an increase in fatigue in a person, which can cause hearing and vision problems.

As for the other main symptoms of the disease, these include:

• Compression of blood vessels, which causes an increase in blood pressure;
• severe headaches that occur due to impaired blood circulation in the brain. This type of pain can cause the patient to use pain relievers regularly;
• vision and hearing problems;
• painful, quite severe in the neck and shoulders, which can sometimes be exacerbated by an acute and very unpleasant "lumbago";
• grind and crack when tilting head or turning sideways;
• decreased muscle strength in the arms due to pain in the chest area;
• dizziness.

Important!As soon as the first symptoms of this disease have been observed, it is necessary to seek the help of a neurologist as soon as possible.

Reasons

The main causes of osteochondrosis are the following:

1. Metabolic disorders that negatively affect the normal state of cartilage in the intervertebral discs.
2. Insufficient mobility of the cervical vertebrae, resulting in a loss of fluid, which, in turn, adversely affects the elasticity of the cartilage.
3. Microtrauma of the cervical spine, during bends, turns, etc.
4. Poor inheritance, so disk safety margin is very small.

Treatment

The therapy process depends directly on the stage of the disease and is based on an integrated approach. On average, the treatment lasts from 1 to 3 months, after which it is necessary to support the elimination of symptoms with preventive measures for about 1 more year.

The main treatment is carried out in 2 directions, depending on the patient's state of health and the level of neglect of the disease. As for conservative treatment, this includes taking medication and getting some exercise. Treatment by surgery is carried out only if the conservative did not give any effect.

It is importantto follow a diet and ensure that you adhere to the recommendations for therapeutic exercises.

Conservative treatment aims to relieve pain, restore and normalize spinal function, and prevent adverse changes. In such therapy, a whole range of therapeutic measures are used:

• spinal traction (traction). With the use of special medical equipment, the spine is stretched to increase the distance between the vertebrae;
• drug therapy. The use of medications during this disease is primarily aimed at relieving pain, relieving inflammation, and generally normalizing metabolic processes in the body;
• physical therapy. Thanks to such procedures, it is possible not only to reduce pain, but also to improve the effect of taking drugs. These methods are also used during the rehabilitation period. In this case, lasers, ultrasonic waves, low-frequency current, work with magnetic fields, etc. are often used.
• kinesitherapyand exercise-based exercise therapy;
• manual therapy. Said treatment is selected individually for each patient;
• massage. Thanks to massage, you can accelerate blood circulation in the tissues, eliminate clamps and muscle spasms, in general, improve blood flow to tissues throughout the body.

Although medications alone cannot cure osteochondrosis, they can help restore blood supply to tissues. The therapy must be comprehensive, only in this case can we talk about the effectiveness of the treatment. In addition to taking medications, it is imperative to participate in physiotherapy, follow a diet and give up bad habits.

In the absence of pain or pronounced dystrophic changes, it is not appropriate to take non-prescription drugs. The following types of medications are used to treat this disease and relieve pain:

• means for regeneration, as well as for the prevention of degeneration of cartilage tissue: hyaluronic acid and analogues;
• to relieve inflammation;
• preparations to improve blood supply to tissues: B vitamins;
• antispasmodics;
• antioxidants: vitamins N, E and C.

Medications can be prescribed not only as tablets and capsules for oral administration, but also as injections or topical ointments / creams. If there are acute complications, medications are used to block the nerve endings.

Along with drug therapy, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition is very important. Drink at least 1. 5 liters of water a day.

One and a half liters of water a day is the recommended norm for joint and whole body health.

Naturally, you can also use herbal teas, fruit drinks, dried fruit compotes or mineral water. Coffee, strong black tea, alcohol and carbonated drinks should be eliminated from the daily diet.

Prevention

The main causes of osteochondrosis are ignoring the body's requirements, heavy loads, and improper nutrition. That is why prevention should be based on the complete elimination of negative effects on the spine and prevention of the occurrence of pathological changes. For these purposes, it is enough to adhere to the usual rules of a healthy lifestyle (healthy lifestyle):

• only moderate physical activity during sports: morning exercise, gymnastics, athletics, if the types of fighting, then non-contact, swimming is an excellent option;
• in the case of a long stay in a position, for example, when doing sedentary work, it is very important to take breaks, at least once every 45-60 minutes. During this period, you should give your body 5 to 15 minutes for a little warm-up, which will restore normal blood circulation. Likewise, it is very important to pay attention to the correct choice of office chairs or armchairs, giving preference to those that will support the spine, control the correct position of the hands on the table and the feet on the floor. Try to control your posture independently (the shoulders should be in a relaxed position and the back should be straight);
• It is important to try to control your emotionality in case a spasmodic reaction occurs during stress. For these purposes, you must learn relaxation techniques and systematically attend massages for the general strengthening of the body;
• For sleeping, it is best to choose an orthopedic mattress with a flat surface. Of course, it will not be as soft as a feather bed, but its elasticity will ensure the correct position of the body;
• Drinking plenty of water and proper nutrition helps not only maintain metabolism, but also strengthen the whole body:

Mental state also has a negative effect on the state of the joints.

• if it is necessary to move or lift heavy things, it is very important to do it as smoothly as possible, without sudden lunges and jerks from the semi-squat position. It will not be superfluous to use a special support belt;
• an important point is the selection of high-quality orthopedic shoes without high heels, with sufficient foot width. It is also possible to reduce the load on the spine by timely replacement of worn shoes, which is especially important for women. In the summer, in the country, the sea, if possible, you need to walk barefoot on different surfaces, thereby strengthening the muscles of the foot.

It is important to rememberthat prevention is much better and easier than later treatment of the disease.

Exercises

In no case should you start physical activity and exercise without a prescription or before the pain syndrome is relieved. The specialist must first relieve the acute symptoms. In the presence of pain symptoms, gymnastics will be painful.

There are some really effective and simple exercises. They can be performed not only at home, but also anywhere, including work or even on the road.

Starting to perform the exercises, in all cases the initial posture is sitting on a chair, hands crossed on the knees:

It's worth starting with a warm-up:

1. In the starting position, you should slowly turn your head to one side until it stops and then to the other. At this point, you should feel your neck muscles stretch. As soon as the neck is completely turned to the side, it is necessary to turn it a few more degrees as carefully as possible, avoiding sudden movements, and fix it in this state for 5 seconds. Experts recommend starting any exercise with a warm-up to strengthen your neck muscles. It is enough to perform 5 turns in each direction to develop the strength and flexibility of the neck.
2. Next, you need to tilt your head so that your ear is closer to your shoulder. It is worth noting that at this point, the shoulder should remain immobile. At the closest approach, you should fix the position. Take care to ensure that the actions do not cause you discomfort or pain. It is enough to perform such inclinations 5 times for each side.

Next, go to the main exercises:

1. Now after the end of the warm-up, you can move on to specific exercises that can give a good result. In the starting position, you should rest your hand on your right temple. Now you should try to tilt your head to the right side, and the hand at this point should avoid it. The effort should be such that it is heavy, but the head still gradually tilts in this direction. For each side, 10 slopes will be enough. Naturally, the hand must also be changed.
2. Next, you need to grab the occipital region of the head and, creating resistance, try to tilt the head back 5 times.
3. Exactly the same exercise should be performed in the case of resting the palms of the hands on the forehead. Through resistance, you should pull your chin toward your chest. It will be enough for 5 forward curves.
4. The conclusion of the training can be the warm-up of the traps, which is carried out by lowering and raising the shoulders. At the highest point, you need to lock them for a couple of seconds, then lower them and fully relax. Enough for 10 reps.
5. Finish the exercise by stretching your neck in different directions. This set of exercises should be done every day. This is a great option for warming the neck with osteochondrosis.

In addition to strength training, neck flexibility exercises can be included. They will help not only to strengthen the neck muscles, but also the tendons. Warming up will make your neck more mobile.

The exercises are recommended by experts not only for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, but also for all people over 30 years of age. The problem is that at this age, muscle fibers lose their flexibility, so it is important to maintain them, along with the overall health of the body.

1. The chin should be stretched towards the chest and at this moment help the head with the hands.
2. Very carefully, with your hands you should tilt your head to the side to touch your shoulder with your ear.

Only the correct treatment of the first symptoms of osteochondrosis will allow you to quickly cope with this problem and return to normal life, without pain or discomfort.

Next, you need to make several circular movements of the head in one direction and then in the other direction. 8 rounds will be enough for each side. Exercise must be done very carefully. For safety reasons, you can support the head with your hands.