Cervical osteochondrosisis a disease that is a process of malnutrition or gradual destruction of the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral joints and neck discs.
How to keep your head on your shoulders with ease?
If you find it difficult to turn your head when someone calls you on the street, if your neck literally does not support you and only causes you pain, then it's time to check yourself for osteochondrosis.
It is the part of the cervix that is most susceptible to injury, as it is more mobile and at the same time has a weak muscle belt.The body creates a large load on small moving beads.And the spinal canal itself is quite narrow.It easily snaps under any pressure on it.
Thousands of people feel a weight in the back of their head or tingling in their hands every day.And, unaware of the danger, they call such physiological manifestations fatigue, and sometimes even the common cold.The neck area contains many blood vessels and nerve endings.With osteochondrosis, the vertebral artery is compressed, which provides nutrition to the cerebellum, medulla oblongata and the posterior parts of the brain.As a result, the coordination of a person's movements becomes ineffective, a sense of balance can be lost, vision decreases, hearing deteriorates, and sometimes this phenomenon leads to a stroke.
Fact.According to WHO statistics, people aged 30 to 40 are increasingly suffering from cervical osteochondrosis.Doctors explain this trend with a massive decline in physical activity.And the prevalence of this disease in industrialized countries is equal to 60-80%.
Syndromes and symptoms of osteochondrosis
- Stenosis (spinal canal narrowing syndrome): compression of spinal cord vessels by herniated intervertebral discs, osteophytes (growth of bone tissue) or thickened spinal ligament.As a result, blood circulation in the affected area is interrupted.The person begins to feel tight and experiences noticeable pain in the cervical spine.Numbness and tingling sensations are detected in the upper and lower extremities
- Radicular syndrome: compression of the nerve roots by the intervertebral disc.This leads to headaches, expressed by pain, burning or pulsating impulses, sometimes the sensations are similar to the symptoms of hypertension.With this syndrome, speech defects and disturbances in the sense of smell, hypertrophy of the facial muscles, damage to the sensitivity of the tongue muscles and the feeling of "closing" the lumpy throat can appear.Breathing is interrupted, a person suffers from snoring, and his nose often, seemingly for no reason, "stuffs up".
- Vertebral artery syndrome: formed by compression (squeezing) of the vertebral artery.Its main companion is throbbing pain.Attacks can involve the parietal lobe, the area above the eyebrows, the temporal and occipital lobes.
- Cardiac syndrome:it resembles angina attacks, but their duration is much longer.Pain is reflected in the diaphragm.This phenomenon in some individual cases is associated with high blood pressure and arrhythmia.
The main causes of the development of the disease
- Problems with metabolism;
- Lifestyle with low physical activity;
- Hereditary predisposition;
- Age-related ossification;
- Clamps in the muscles, as a result of which the posture changes;
- Lack of fluids and vitamins in the daily diet;
- Staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time, which increases the pressure on the discs and the spine;
- Excess weight or strain on the spine due to wearing heels;
- All types of spinal injuries;
- Regular weight lifting;
- Autoimmune diseases (the process of self-destruction of the immune system), which lead to cartilage tissue degeneration;
- Stress, which leads to muscle spasms and impaired blood flow in the intervertebral discs;
- Hypothermia.
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis
The doctor can make the initial diagnosis of "osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic region" or simply of the cervical region during the initial examination of the patient.The expert will determine:
- Human body type;
- Standing position;
- Line of spinous processes;
- Lateral contours of the cervix and the angle of the shoulder blades;
- Localization of pain points and level of pain;
- Range of spinal flexibility
- Muscle relief.
All this together will tell you exactly how the disease progresses.Then, the doctor will order a number of examinations:
- Digital radiography;
- CT (computed tomography);
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging);
- Doppler ultrasound of the main arteries of the brain: a special ultrasound sensor determines the state of blood flow and vessel walls.
Method of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis
The doctor will help you choose the most optimal solution for the problem.And he will offer a variety of treatment methods: medication in combination with physiotherapy, or he will prescribe an operation that is gentle on your body.
Conservative treatment– This is first of all drug therapy.It relieves pain, relieves muscle tension and reduces inflammation.For such purposes, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics are prescribed.The list of prescriptions also includes chondroprotectors for activating regenerative processes in joint cartilage tissue, as well as B vitamins and external preparations: gels and ointments containing NSAIDs.
Physiotherapy, in turn, saturates the nutrient medium of the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc and promotes cartilage regeneration.The doctor will also prescribe exercises for therapeutic gymnastics - to strengthen the muscle corset and develop the flexibility of the ligament apparatus.He can conduct an introductory lesson with you so that you can perform the exercises yourself correctly in the future.
Surgical treatmentIt is appropriate if medication and physical intervention are unavoidable.People turn to him if the patient's spinal canal is catastrophically narrowed.The surgical intervention was called anterior cervical discectomy.The surgeon immobilizes the affected segment of the spine and removes the intervertebral hernia, which is pressing on the spinal nerve.Over time, the vertebrae between which the disc was removed fuse.This is called spondylodesis.For greater adhesion, a specialist can perform an operation with stabilization with a cage - that is, the intervertebral space is filled with an artificial insert.
After 3-5 days, the operated patient leaves the hospital for outpatient treatment.Rehabilitation lasts about 3 months on average and depends on the installed implant and the professional activity of the patient.
What is the best way to build a lifestyle for a person diagnosed with neck osteochondrosis?
The daily routine should include mandatory walking, while jumping and running should be avoided.Spending time in a sitting position for a long time is contraindicated;swimming is useful - it not only strengthens muscle tone, but also relieves spasms that limit the body.In the evening, it would be good to take a hot shower (with the exception of the period of treatment of the cervical spine during an exacerbation of the disease).It is also important to watch your diet.Eat foods rich in magnesium and calcium - nuts, dairy and seafood, legumes.You will have to give up alcohol.
Is it possible to visit the sauna during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis?
Warming usually benefits the patient, but after intense steaming you should avoid immersion in cold water.You also shouldn't run in the cold.Otherwise, the disease will worsen.Cervical osteochondrosis is sensitive to any temperature changes, including climatic ones.For example, the autumn cold can negatively affect a person's well-being.
What complications can appear after cervical osteochondrosis?
If you do not start a course of treatment in time, when the first signs of the disease appear, then your neck may not listen to you in the literal sense of the word.And the complications of this disease are quite serious.There is a risk of protrusion - the so-called "protrusion" of the intervertebral disc beyond the spine, which can then take the form of a hernia.Nerve roots in the neck area can be injured.Or osteophytes (bony growths on the vertebrae) may appear.Complications often include muscle weakness or paresis - a condition where the head begins to hang sideways or forward.In this section, in the processes of the cervical vertebrae, there are vertebral arteries that supply the brain with blood.Disruption of this blood circulation is one of the most serious phenomena.Reluctance to undergo treatment can lead to neuralgia, deafness and even loss of vision.But if you treat the issue at an early stage of its development, the disease can be prevented.
Why do you need a Shants collar?
This is an orthopedic brace made of flexible material, which is used to immobilize the neck in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis.But you can't wear such a device for fixing the neck for a long time, as the muscles can weaken over time and you will get used to involuntarily tilting your head to the sides without additional support.The Shants collar does not allow the vertebrae to move and maintains the corrective effect after a massage session.It takes the weight of the head and distributes it evenly across the collarbone and the base of the neck.At the same time, the head remains in the correct position.