Osteochondrosis is a progressive degenerative change affecting the intervertebral discs. The pathology can appear in any part of the spine, but most often affects the cervical spine.
The problem cannot be neglected, because over time the symptoms become more pronounced and the pathology itself can lead to serious health problems.
What is
The human spine consists of individual vertebrae, between which there is a specific spacer - the intervertebral disc. It is formed from cartilaginous tissue and acts as a shock absorber, protects the bone tissue of the vertebra from abrasion and destruction, but at the same time it flattens and wears out.
Normally, such processes occur with the aging of the human body and begin no earlier than 50-55 years. But every year the pathology becomes younger, cases of premature wear of cartilage tissue have been recorded even among young people (25-30 years old).
The high percentage of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, compared to, for example, the lumbar spine, is associated with loads on this particular part, caused by the need to maintain the skull in an upright position.
The weight of an adult's head can reach 3-5 kg: the weight of the skull bones is about 1400 g, about the same weight is the weight of the brain, about 500 g is the mass of bloodcirculating in the skull.
A feature of the cervical spine is the proximity of the vertebrae to each other and the smaller thickness of the intervertebral discs, which leads to complications even with minor changes in them.
Reasons for development
Factors contributing to the development of pathological changes in cartilage tissue:
- sedentary lifestyle;
- forced tense postures during work (driving, in front of the computer);
- Overweight;
- state of nervous tension;
- neck injuries;
- muscular weakness.
The neck muscles try to compensate for the load caused by these factors, causing spasms. Blood circulation, nutrition of cartilage tissue and metabolic processes are disrupted, which leads to a change in its structure.
The following also play a role in premature aging of intervertebral discs:
- hereditary predisposition;
- autoimmune diseases causing degeneration of cartilage tissue;
- congenital pathologies of spinal development.
Stages and symptoms of the development of pathology
Degenerative changes go through several stages, which are accompanied by specific symptoms:
Step 1. The symptoms are still practically invisible. At this stage, you can stop or slow down the pathological process without the help of medications (diet, exercise). The patient may feel:
- discomfort in the neck and shoulder muscles, their tension, hardness;
- slight pain when turning or tilting the head;
- infrequent, low-intensity headaches (most often appearing after static or intense work, nervous experiences).
2nd step. The height of the intervertebral discs decreases, compression of the nerve endings occurs, which leads to severe pain in the neck, especially when performing movements and turns. Muscle spasms disrupt blood supply to the skull, adding symptoms associated with vascular insufficiency. The person notices:
- cracking in the neck joints when turning the head;
- decreased visual acuity;
- tinnitus;
- dizziness;
- frequent headaches for no apparent reason;
- numbness of the face and neck, loss of sensitivity of the skin of the hands and cervical collar;
- shooting pain that radiates towards the shoulder blade;
- sleep disorders.
Step 3. A herniated disc is formed (its core protrudes into the spinal canal), which leads to disruptions in the functioning of the nervous system. Symptoms may include:
- numbness of the hands, paralysis of the upper limbs is possible;
- the pain affects the entire cervical collar area and can radiate to the heart area;
- "floaters" appear in the eyes, nausea and vomiting;
- feeling of a lump in the throat or pain, like a sore throat;
- the skin of the upper body may not be felt at all;
- dizziness occurs with almost every movement;
- the headaches are migraine in nature.
Step 4. Characterized by complete destruction of the disk:
- tinnitus may be permanent;
- dizziness may be accompanied by loss of consciousness;
- Coordination disorders occur when blood supply to the cerebellar region of the brain is reduced.
Single intervertebral discs are extremely rarely affected. Usually the process involves the entire department. The destruction of individual disks can take place in different stages.
Diagnostic
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis includes instrumental examinations and assessment of all symptoms.
Among the instrumental methods, the main information will be provided by:
- x-ray - will show changes in the structure of the spine, but in advanced stages of pathology;
- computed tomography - shows changes in the vertebrae, but intervertebral hernias and compression of the spinal cord are difficult to distinguish;
- magnetic resonance imaging - allows you to see intervertebral hernias and the direction of their growth;
- Duplex ultrasound - shows the speed of blood flow in the area suspected of osteochondrosis.
To make a diagnosis, the doctor relies on the syndrome manifested in the patient. A syndrome is a combination of symptoms of a disorder.
With cervical osteochondrosis, the following syndromes may develop:
Vertebral- indicates that the pathological process involves bone and cartilage tissue. Manifest :
- limited neck mobility;
- pain when turning the neck;
- structural changes in the vertebra or intervertebral disc (shown by x-ray).
Vertebral artery syndrome– means that the vertebral artery, which supplies blood to the brain, is involved in the pathological process. Main symptoms:
due to lack of blood circulation:
- noise in the ears;
- dizziness;
- nausea and vomiting;
- water hammer;
due to irritation of the nerve endings of the artery:
- severe headache (migraine);
- numbness of the skin of the scalp;
- "floaters" in the eyes or temporary blindness;
due to lack of oxygen;
- fainting;
- lethargy;
- loss of ability to concentrate on anything;
- depression;
- panic attacks.
Cardiac.Signs similar to problems with the cardiovascular system:
- pain in the breastbone (sometimes like a burning sensation);
- shortness of breath and fatigue;
- acceleration of heart rate.
Koreshkovy.Associated with impaired conduction of nerve impulses depending on damage to a specific pair of roots innervating the cervical region:
- 1st-2nd pairs of roots – pain or numbness in the back of the head;
- 3rd pair – numbness of the tongue, difficulty chewing food;
- 4th pair – pain in the collarbone, lump in the throat, difficulty swallowing food;
- 5th pair – difficulty moving the arms with the problem concentrated at shoulder level;
- 6th pair – discomfort in the shoulder blades and forearms;
- 7th pair – numbness of the hands, more often the middle and index fingers;
- 8th pair – numbness of ring and little fingers.
Treatment options
Only an integrated approach is applicable to the treatment of osteochondrosis. The fight against pathology can even last for many years.
Drug therapy
The use of drugs for cervical osteochondrosis is aimed at:
- ease the pain;
- relieve inflammation and swelling;
- reduce muscle tension in the neck;
- improve blood circulation;
- protect cartilaginous tissue from destruction and promote its restoration.
To diagnose and treat cervical osteochondrosis, you should contact a neurologist. If the clinic has a vertebrologist who directly deals with spinal diseases, you can contact him immediately.
Your doctor may prescribe the following medications:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - relieve inflammation and swelling, reduce pain.
- B vitamins – help improve the functioning of nervous tissue.
- Chondroprotectors – protect cartilage tissue from destruction and restore its structure.
- Medicines that improve blood circulation.
- Muscle relaxers are medications that relieve muscle spasms.
Physiotherapeutic methods
Physiotherapy methods can quickly alleviate the patient's condition and are combined with medications:
- Electrophoresis– exposure of the affected area to low intensity electric current. Delivers medicinal substances directly to the problem area. It is usually prescribed with an anesthetic to relieve pain or with medication to improve blood flow to the cervical region.
- Ultrasound– has anti-inflammatory properties, improves blood circulation and metabolic processes.
- Magnetotherapy– helps to quickly relieve tissue swelling and improve metabolic processes.
- Laser therapy– helps improve blood circulation at the site of exposure and also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Massage
During drug and physiotherapeutic treatment, it is best to have the cervical collar area massaged by a specialist.
Self-massage can only be used very carefully in the future, without trying to repeat the depth of impact demonstrated by a professional massage therapist.
When performing the procedure, the specialist uses classic massage techniques:
- stroking – activates the superficial layers of the skin;
- press – connects the deeper layers of the skin;
- rubbing – warms the muscles and relaxes them, improves blood circulation;
- kneading - affects very deep tissues, so they are used with caution;
- vibration - tapping and shaking that completes the procedure.
Manual therapy
Sometimes, in cases of cervical osteochondrosis, it is recommended to consult a chiropractor. But this technique causes contradictory reviews: in some cases it certainly helps, in others it almost makes the situation worse. The whole thing is this:
- There is no doubt that a chiropractor must be a highly qualified physician with medical training and qualifications as a neurologist or orthopedic traumatologist.
- Manual therapy for cervical osteochondrosis has many contraindications. Two people with similar symptoms may receive different answers about the need for manual therapy: one can and should do it, the other absolutely cannot.
To contact a chiropractor, there must be strict indications and no contraindications. They are determined by the treating physician and provide guidance for this type of therapy.
A highly trained chiropractor will not work with a patient without studying the results of the x-ray.
Home treatment
Traditional treatment recipes or the use of home remedies should be discussed in advance with the doctor, because in each specific case they can either help or aggravate the situation.
This applies, for example, to the needle applicator used. It consists of plastic spikes attached to a wide adhesive tape that a person applies to the painful area (you can lie on it). The spines cause irritation of skin receptors and increase local blood circulation. But it cannot be used for infectious and vascular diseases.
It is also common to warm the diseased area with mustard plaster or a bag of salt or sand. But in the case of vascular diseases it can also be dangerous.
Therapeutic exercise (physiotherapy)
Therapeutic exercises are the safest method of treating cervical osteochondrosis. It is recommended to do this during the period of exacerbation and in the future - to prevent the disease.
The patient should not feel pain when performing the exercises. Doing it "through pain" not only will not bring any benefit, but can also harm your health.
The simplest but most effective movements are turns, bends and head rotations. It is strictly forbidden to do this at high speed and amplitude. The movements should be barely noticeable. Despite such low mobility, exercise ensures blood circulation and improves its circulation in the neck area.
Shant necklace
The Shants collar is a rigid headrest that relieves tension in the neck muscles and prevents movements that can cause pain. It is recommended to wear it both during treatment and for the prevention of cervical osteochondrosis.
The necklace is worn constantly. The vertebrae are fixed in the correct position and do not put pressure on each other, as well as on blood vessels and nerve endings. As a result, pain disappears, blood circulation is normalized, and many symptoms of pathology disappear.
If 5-7 cervical vertebrae are unstable, a bandage cannot be used, since it will not be possible to fix it in the correct position. It is also not recommended to wear a necklace if the thyroid gland is enlarged.
Application of an orthopedic pillow
Very often, osteochondrosis is aggravated by compression of the cervical artery and nerve roots when sleeping on an uncomfortable pillow. An orthopedic pillow ensures a uniform horizontal position of the spine at night.
By itself, it will not cure osteochondrosis, but it will alleviate the disease, and will also be a good measure to prevent the development of degenerative processes in the spine.
Prevention
There are simple rules that, if followed, will help prevent early aging of the intervertebral discs:
- watch your weight: exceeding the norm of 10 kg creates a critical load on the entire spine;
- try not to lift or carry heavy objects;
- if you have to carry a heavy bag, hold it alternately in your right and left hand (or it is better to use a backpack that will evenly distribute the load across your entire back);
- each half hour of static work should alternate with light exercises to relieve muscle tension and improve blood circulation;
- It is useful to engage in physical education and sports exercises, for example, swimming, but running, jumping and weightlifting are harmful to the spine;
- for sleeping, use an orthopedic mattress and pillow.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can significantly worsen a person's quality of life. The disease can be treated at an early stage, but even as it develops, daily performance of a set of exercises, compliance with the rules of prevention, massage and other measures prescribed by the doctor allow youto lead a comfortable life.