Osteochondrosis Treatment

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, magnetotherapy, mud and balneotherapy, ultrasound therapy, ultraviolet irradiation (UFO). After successfully relieving the exacerbation, massage and physical therapy exercises are shown.

woman undergoing physiotherapy for osteochondrosis

UFO:under the influence of UVA rays, vitamin D is formed in the skin, which helps to absorb calcium. The method is performed with irradiators with bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic action.

Ultrasound and phonophoresis therapy:during ultrasound therapy, the body is exposed to high-frequency sounds (20 kHz or more). Due to its effect, the method relieves pain in several locations. This method is associated with the introduction of anti-inflammatories and analgesics (ultraphonophoresis) for their better penetration into the affected tissues.

Shockwave therapy:the method consists of transmitting an acoustic wave to a painful area of the body. This type: eliminates pain, improves microcirculation, improves metabolism.

Holder Therapy:the method consists of lengthening the spine with the patient's body weight.

Laser Therapy:the method has a curative effect using helium-neon lasers. Due to the activation of bioelectric processes in nervous system tissues, laser therapy has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Laser radiation is carried along the inflamed spinal roots. With osteochondrosis, an effect on the paravertebral areas of the affected spine is used.

Electrotherapy:Electrotherapy has a multifaceted effect on the body: it eliminates 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 its 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), ampli- tude therapy (SMT), interference therapy, transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS), UHF electrical field.

Magnetotherapy:Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis includes the use of magnetotherapy, which has a decongestant, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effect. Inductors are placed in the spine and affected limbs.

Balneotherapy and mud therapy:Balneotherapy for osteochondrosis consists of using mineral water (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.

In mud treatment, the effect on the body occurs under the influence of the temperature and chemical composition of the curative mud. Mud is used in the form of applications.

Balneotherapy stimulates metabolism, improves blood circulation and relieves inflammation and pain.

Combined physiotherapy methods: Combined physiotherapy methods for osteochondrosis are most often prescribed. For example, in cases of severe pain, diadynamic therapy and electrophoresis (diadynamophoresis) with the use of novocaine are used. For a one-step effect on biological active points, the laser puncture method of acupuncture is used. Its action is to activate points with acupuncture needles and laser radiation.

Mud therapy is often used with electrotherapy (slurry solution electrophoresis, mud inductothermia, galvanic mud therapy).

joint treatment

All joint diseases can be divided into two main groups - joint damage, which arises 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,whether it is arthritis, arthrosis, rheumatism, or another illness, 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 starts with drug therapy.

The patient is prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs that help restore joint cartilage, strengthen the immune system. Joint treatment 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.

Furthermore, when the main symptoms of the acute stage are safely eliminated, treatment continues with the help of a complex of physical therapy procedures, exercise therapy exercises and massage. In particular, the treatment of joints with physiotherapeutic methods has now found very wide application.

Pulse currents (DDT, SMT), magnetotherapy, EHF-therapy, laser therapy, electrophoresis with medicinal substances, ultrasound and phonophoresis are used. When the flare stops, balneotherapy (various types of baths) and mud therapy are connected. Physiotherapy and massage are prescribed.

Back Pain Treatment

There are many reasons for these pains. First, terrible pain may appear due to a herniated (protrusion) of the intervertebral disc, osteochondrosis, and nervous system pathology. Most of the time, back pain occurs in 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 ligaments, joints and intervertebral 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 spinal diseases. 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 need to move more, monitor your weight, and do at least minimal gymnastics (15 minutes a day is enough).

Proper nutrition is also very important - it's 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 protein 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 - their source is nuts , oily sea fish and olive oil.

When back pain gets worse, treatment begins with medications—usually pain relievers, diuretics, and medications that relieve muscle spasms. However, there are no medications without side effects, they are only used for a limited time and, most importantly, they do not eliminate the cause of back pain and do not prevent the disease from relapse. In the acute period, treatment methods such as traction, in addition to the use of collars and corsets, are also used, which allows for the relief of the sick 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 ligament malnutrition, muscles and joints and prevent movement disorders.

Modern physiotherapy is a branch of medicine that has a powerful arsenal of treatment instruments, where two great blocks are distinguished - physiotherapy exercises with massage and electrotherapy. Massage therapy is one of the most effective methods of treating osteochondrosis and back pain, as it improves blood circulation in the deep tissues and removes muscle blockages ("tweezers"), 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 delivery of drugs to a diseased organ, which improves the blood supply to the 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 alleviate the swelling associated with inflammation and, consequently, the pain that occurs in edematous tissues and pills.

Magnetotherapy is used in the form of permanent or alternating magnetic fields, it is also able to quickly stop 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 dissolve scars, increasing tissue elasticity.

Physical therapy plays a special role in physical therapy. Its importance is often underestimated and, after all, without a complete muscular corset, it is impossible to cure back pain and prevent the recurrence of osteochondrosis.

Physical therapy is of particular importance in trauma and postoperative care. Its use will help prevent the recurrence of back pain that occurs due to so-called "motor stereotypes". For example, an office worker who sits at a computer all day or a salesperson whose main workload falls on his feet. Regular gymnastics to improve health, yoga, Pilates and other types of exercise can also become a very effective way to combat "motor automatisms".

Neck Pain Treatment

Pain can be caused by a variety of reasons, from muscle spasm to herniated disc in the cervical spine. If neck pain appears once (due to a sudden turn of the head, an uncomfortable posture while sleeping), it is likely to go away by itself in a few days.

To reduce pain, just reduce the static load on the neck muscles (don't keep your head tilted for a long period of time), don't get carried away with excessive physical effort, don't make sudden movements of the neck.

If neck pain is constant or recurrent, accompanied by headache, numbness in the upper limbs, a complete examination is required.

Cervical pain physiotherapy aims to relieve the painful syndrome, improving blood circulation and microcirculation of the affected segment, providing anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects, eliminating metabolic and dystrophic disorders and reducing movement disorders.

Physical factors are used in the stages of hospital and outpatient treatment, after the patient's hospital discharge, as well as in early postoperative rehabilitation. In the acute period: after 4-5 days (as the severity of the process decreases), laser therapy, pulse currents (SMT, DDT, interference currents), magnetotherapy, segmental zone UFO, darsonvalization of the cervical collar zone of the spine vertebral and occipital region of the head, electrophoresis of substances are prescribed local anesthetic, ganglion blocking action in pain zones.

In the subacute period: drug phonophoresis, magnetotherapy, drug electrophoresis, microwave electromagnetic fields (SMV, UHF), laser therapy are used.

In the remission phase: thermotherapy is turned on, including ozoke and mud therapy for the cervical area, balneotherapy (bromine iodine, turpentine baths, laurel baths, bischofite baths), underwater massage shower, therapeutic massage.

Treatment for low back pain

The sensation of pain in the lumbar region arises from an imbalance of the muscle-ligament system. In this case, microtraumatization of the soft tissues occurs, as a result of which chemical irritants (pain mediators) are released in excess. They cause muscle spasm and back pain.

The origin of lumbodynia is mainly associated with osteochondrosis, which is located in the lumbar region. Lumbodynia is characterized by low back pain with moderate or traumatic lumbodynia factors: physical fatigue, systematic or excessive physical exertion; sharp movements; constant work in a "non-physiological" position or prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position; bruise on 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 must be flat and firm. "Resting" on such a surface allows the back muscles to relax.
  • Medical treatment of lumbago involves the use of sedatives and analgesics and the use of novocaine blocks (with increased severe pain).

    Of the physiotherapy methods, one can use analgesic electrophoresis, impulse currents, ultraviolet irradiation of segmental zones. In an acute period, the patient may be given nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of pills, injections, suppositories, or ointments that relieve muscle spasm. Warming creams can only be used during the rehabilitation period (on the third day of exacerbation). In the acute period, they can cause swelling and increase pain.

  • After the acute pain has been eliminated, lumbago treatment 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 lumbago exercises help to normalize metabolism, improve blood circulation and nutrition to the intervertebral discs, relieve muscle tension, increase intervertebral space, and relieve the spine.

  • In addition, in the remission phase, 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.

    physiotherapeutic treatment

    Physiotherapy (from the Greek physis - nature and therapy), a branch of medicine that studies the healing properties of physical factors and develops methods for their use for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. In modern physiotherapy, low, high, ultra-high and ultra-high frequency magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields, artificial light radiation (from infrared to ultraviolet and coherent monochromatic), mechanical vibrations (from infrasonic to ultrasonic), etc. . they're used.

    Physical factors have affected human beings throughout their evolution, therefore, physical therapy procedures have a greater physiological effect on the body than many medications.

    Physical therapy treatment can be used either independently or in combination with drug therapy, manual therapy, massage, and physical therapy exercises. The variety of factors and techniques used in physiotherapy determines the possibilities of individual impact on the body and a directed influence on the pathological process without negative side effects.

    The use of physiotherapy is possible in almost all areas of medicine: otolaryngology, gastroenterology, gynecology, urology, pulmonology, orthopedics and traumatology, neurology, surgery, cardiology and others.

    There is a very wide range of physiotherapeutic treatments, namely mud therapy, hydrotherapy (various mineral and aromatic baths, underwater massage), magnetotherapy, laser therapy, various types of current (galvanic, pulsed, high frequency), UHF electromagnetic waves, microwave , EHF, medicinal herbs for inhalation, halotherapy, vibration and traction apparatus, physiotherapy room, qualified masseuse personnel.

    Also in the department of physical methods of treatment therapeutic methods of acupuncture, electrical stimulation for various neurological diseases are carried out. All physical therapy treatment is prescribed by the service's physical therapist, taking into account the patient's illness and general condition.

    Rehabilitation

    Medical rehabilitation is a complex of therapeutic and prophylactic measures, aimed at the maximum possible restoration of the patient's lost capacities after various illnesses.

    Rehabilitation is also aimed at restoring the patient's muscle strength, as well as preventing recurrences or complications. Today, medical rehabilitation is not just about prescribing any type of exercise after hospital discharge or a course of physiotherapy at the end of the hospital stay.

    Rehabilitation is a complex of activities that includes the participation of doctors from different areas - physiotherapists, massage therapists, psychologists, speech therapists and others. As a result, it is a complex rehabilitation that allows the patient to recover completely, not partially. The success of the treatment depends on both the correct diagnosis and the ideally selected and carried out treatment, as well as the correct and timely rehabilitation of the patient.

    Rehabilitation has a single goal - the most complete restoration of lost functions in the patient, based on the existing consequences of the injury or illness and the treatment provided.

    Depending on the application area, rehabilitation can be: Orthopedic - it is performed 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, as the greatest number of specialists are involved in its implementation - neurologists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.

    This rehabilitation is necessary after injuries and operations in the nervous system (brain, spinal cord), with diseases of the peripheral nervous system (nerve bundles), strokes, paresis and paralysis. Cardiology rehabilitation - rehabilitation after an acute heart attack with heart and blood vessel disease.

    The goal of rehabilitation is the rapid regeneration of muscles with their atrophies associated with prolonged physical inactivity, in order to restore limb strength and tone, restore full range of motion in joints after immobilization (after fractures), accelerate limb regeneration. cartilaginous tissue, improves the trophism of organs and bone tissues, increases mobility with adhesions in the abdominal cavity after abdominal operations, increasing the patient's general tone 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, bruises and sprains).

    It is important to note 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 lymph circulation.

    Medical rehabilitation methods include the following methods: corrective gymnastics, massage, kinesiotherapy, physical therapy treatment, manual therapy, electromyostimulation (consists of improving the conduction of nerve impulses to skeletal muscles), psychological care, speech therapy.

    It is noteworthy that one of the key points in any rehabilitation is the physical therapy methods, which aim to restore lost functions and stimulate the patient's movements, accelerating the repair processes in tissues and organs, especially in the musculoskeletal system, nervous system and circulatory system.

    One of the advantages of physiotherapeutic methods is the non-use of medication, which means that there is no risk of allergic reactions and side effects, drug dependence does not develop, and treatment methods are generally non-invasive.

    A correctly selected complex from the rehabilitation program will help the patient to recover as quickly as possible after an illness, injury or operation, will restore the feeling of freedom of movement and the ability to communicate with people around him without any restrictions.