Osteochondrosis is a disease of the skeletal system, characterized by changes in cartilage tissue. As a result of the development of the disease, a person's ability to work decreases, blood circulation and the integrity of the vertebral discs are disturbed. Most of the time, the disease develops as a result of obesity, physical inactivity, spending frequent time at the computer or driving a car.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, as it develops, is characterized by the following symptoms:
Neck pain with cervical osteochondrosis
- Continuous headaches. Osteochondrosis patients often experience headaches, which are aggravated by a sharp turn of the neck or a sudden movement of the head.
- Pain in the neck that can radiate to the shoulder area. It often appears in the morning, immediately after sleep, decreases or disappears completely after heating the neck muscles.
- Cervical lumbago, characterized by acute pain in the neck, hardening of the muscles of the affected area and limited mobility.
- Pain in the sternum or gallbladder. Patients generally suspect that they have a pathology of the cardiovascular system, but taking nitroglycerin does not relieve pain. When cervical osteochondrosis is manifested by pain in the sternum, patients complain of decreased muscle strength in the arms.
- In almost all patients with osteochondrosis, you can hear a characteristic crackle if you ask a person to tilt their head in different directions.
- Hoarseness of voice.
- Osteochondrosis of the neck can be manifested by numbness of the tongue, fingertips (a symptom occurs as a result of the compression of nerves and vessels located near the intervertebral discs.
- Increase in blood pressure.
- Paresis of the limbs, decreased muscle strength in the limbs.
The cause of the above symptoms is damage to connective tissue and intervertebral discs with their subsequent deformation. As a result of pathological processes, the disks become covered by bone formations, forming osteophytes, which compress and damage blood vessels and nerve pathways.
Stages of the disease
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine develops in several stages. The more the patient's disease progresses, the more the symptoms become and the more serious the complications of the disease become.
Grade 1 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the pulpous nucleus of the intervertebral disc. When metabolism is disturbed in the body, the pulpous nucleus, which is a structure of biopolymer compounds, is destroyed. At the beginning it loses water, dries little by little, therefore decreases in size. Your strength decreases significantly and it becomes more difficult for your spine to handle physical activity. At this stage of the disease, the person does not feel pain, does not seek medical help. If you start to identify osteochondrosis at this stage, the patient will not need drug treatment.
Grade 2 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by injury to the fibrous ring in the intervertebral disc. Cracks and tears appear on the disc surface as a result of a strong and uneven load on the spine. Due to the fact that the fibrous ring becomes thinner, the core is completely squeezed into the resulting cracks and tears, expanding them. As a result, the disc increases in size and begins to protrude beyond the edges of the vertebrae. This phenomenon is called disc protrusion. 2nd degree cervical osteochondrosis is the stage of the disease in which the person feels pain for the first time.
Grade 3 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by the formation of a hernia. The fibrous annulus not only becomes thinner, but breaks, so that the pulposus nucleus "flows" into the subglottic space, forming a herniated disc. As a result of the development of the process, all surrounding tissues suffer - ligaments and muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
Over time, the skeletal system of the vertebrae changes: the edges of the vertebrae change shape, become ribbed and even pointed. The muscles around the altered bone system contract involuntarily, thus limiting the mobility of the spine. All nerve fibers that pass through the spinal cord are impaired, the conduction of nerve impulses from the brain to organs and tissues is interrupted. It is important that the symptoms of osteochondrosis appear depending on the location of the osteochondrosis.
Grade 4 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by degenerative reconstruction of the spine. After destructive processes in the body, recovery processes begin to prevail. The duration of the fourth stage is about one year. During this time, the nature of bone growth in the deformed vertebrae changes. The bone begins to grow in width, due to which the area of the vertebra increases. These growths in medicine are called osteophytes. Thanks to them, the mobility of the injured spine is reduced and the processes of its destruction are suspended. Over time, the sedentary vertebra completely becomes a static bone pillar.
And if the pain syndrome subsides, the pinched nerves and blood vessels remain in place, they are pressed not only by the discs and vertebrae, but also by the formed osteophytes. These processes must be treated appropriately to prevent the consequences of the disease.
Complications of cervical osteochondrosis
The main consequences of the development of cervical osteochondrosis are:
- Vascular diseases (compression of arteries);
- Formation of hernias of varying severity;
- Spinal cord injury;
- Formation of osteophytes;
- Restricted spinal mobility.
What complications can cervicothoracic osteochondrosis cause? The most dangerous consequence is the deterioration of the brain's blood supply. As a result of the compression of the arteries, less blood enters the brain and the gray matter is poorly supplied with oxygen.
If a patient develops a vertebral artery syndrome - when the main blood route to the brain is compressed, the person suffers from dizziness and fainting.
In addition to impaired consciousness, patients with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine have impaired vision and hearing. In addition to limb numbness, it is possible to develop Dupuytren's syndrome, which is characterized by stiffening of the hands. As a result of the development of the syndrome, the mobility of the fingers is lost.
Hypertension and vegetative-vascular dystonia (DVV) are considered frequent complications. A cosmetic defect resulting from the development of osteochondrosis is the formation of the withers ("pile" of cartilage tissue at the back of the head)
Treatment methods
The choice of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis depends on the stage of the disease. Medical treatment consists of the prescription of non-steroidal drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics by the doctor. The dosage of the medication is adjusted at the doctor's discretion.
Physiotherapy is often prescribed for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae. With the help of exercises, you can not only remove the pain, but also reduce inflammation, strengthen your back muscles and reduce your risk of complications.
Massage has a general strengthening effect. After a massage course, a patient with osteochondrosis will lose tension and pain, and the blood supply will increase.
When medication doesn't help, doctors need to prescribe surgery. During surgery, doctors remove parts of the intervertebral disc that compress nerve roots.
The best treatment is a combination of several methods. Medical treatment should be combined with massage, exercise therapy and gymnastics.
Some doctors believe that acupuncture and herbal remedies are an effective method of treatment.
Prevention
To reduce pain and prevent the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, you can use simple methods. To begin with, each person must be constantly in a position that relieves the load on the spine. It is necessary to remember the exercises that knead the muscles and support the metabolic processes of the spine. To obtain a positive result, it is necessary to follow the doctor's recommendations.
Main recommendations:
- Distribute physical activity evenly across the spine. To do this, limit vertical loads, avoid sudden movements and exercises that can damage the spine. Avoid falling or jumping from great heights.
- Do not carry heavy objects by stretching your arms in front of you. Before picking up an object from the floor, you should not bend forward, but crouch.
- Do not move objects with one hand, it is advisable to distribute the load on both members. If this is not possible, the load must be placed in a wheeled suitcase or backpack.
- If you need to carry a heavy load, you should put on a wide belt or buy a special corset before work.
- Wear comfortable shoes.
- The best prevention of the disease is swimming, regular gymnastics, contrast bathing.
- Stressful situations should be avoided.
- You need to remember the rules of a balanced diet.
- Get rid of bad habits.
It is necessary to understand that it is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure it for a long time and persistently. If the operation is not necessary in the early stages of the disease, the later stages of osteochondrosis require surgical intervention.