Osteochondrosis refers to degenerative diseases of the spine, including
dystrophy, deformation and gradual erasure of vertebral discs.This can lead to pain, a number of unpleasant consequences and, in advanced cases, even disability.It is important to pay attention to your health and immediately consult a doctor if suspicious symptoms appear.
The cervical and thoracic column is affected less frequently than the lumbar column, but the appearance of osteochondrosis in these areas can have serious consequences.Due to the proximity of the cervical column at the head, sometimes an interruption of the blood supply to the brain is produced, which entails many complications.In addition, changes can cause damage to nerve roots, causing the patient to feel intense pain and numbness.
Reasons for appearance
Osteochondrosis affects a large number of people, especially today, when cities inhabitants lack adequate physical activity, nutrition and posture.The reasons that can cause the development of osteochondrosis of cervical and thoracic regions include:
- changes related to age;
- genetic predisposition;
- sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity;
- posture disorders;
- serious excess weight;
- injuries;
- overload;
- flat feet and other imperfections of the musculoskeletal system;
- stress and bad habits;
- back hypothermia and prolonged exposure to cold.
Recently, osteochondrosis has increasingly begun to be observed in young people, which is mainly associated with an unhealthy lifestyle.
Symptoms of cervicotoric osteochondrosis.
Like most chronic diseases, osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic regions is quite insidious and does not appear immediately.In the early stages, the patient may not notice anything other than periodic discomfort in the spine, but as the disease progresses, the symptoms worsen:
- Head or neck pain, which sometimes reaches the scapular waist and the upper limbs and, depending on the course of the disease, can be acute and painful or painful, deaf, manifesting in periods;
- dizziness, visual and hearing impairment, coordination of movements;
- numbness, burning or tingling in the upper extremities;
- asthenia, fatigue, loss of normal work capacity;
- Intercostal neuralgia, heart pain, pressure drop.
Most of the negative symptoms are caused by the fact that the deformation areas of the spine squeeze the blood vessels and nerve roots, as a result, their normal functioning is disturbed.Subsequently, such complications can lead to malfunctions in the body and even disability, if timely treatment is not started.
Diagnosis and treatment
The doctor begins to suspect the osteochondrosis in the patient on the basis of his complaints and the anamnesis collected.To confirm or refute the diagnosis, the specialist prescribes diagnostic measures, the main one of which is the radiography of the column in a direct and lateral projection.For more detailed information, CT and MRI are carried out: they help track complications over time.
With the osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic column, the treatment is prescribed integral.As a rule, it includes several main addresses:
- Pharmacological therapy is mainly analgesic and anti -inflammatory, which allow to reduce pain;In addition to them, muscle spasms, condoprotectors to strengthen cartilaginous tissue and B vitamins are often prescribed to eliminate nervous tissue state;
- Physiotherapy includes massages and other procedures (ultrasound, magnetotherapy, etc.) aimed at improving the condition of the spine and eliminating limitation of mobility;
- Therapeutic physical education allows you to activate blood flow, strengthen the muscles, thus eliminating excess load in the column, bring the body in tune and adjust the posture;It also helps reduce pressure on nerve roots.
The procedure to stretch the spine is applied periodically, with the aim of returning it to its original shape.