Osteochondrosis is a disease of the skeletal system characterized by changes in cartilage tissue. As the disease progresses, a person's ability to work is reduced, and the integrity of the blood circulation and vertebral discs is impaired. Often, the disease develops as a result of obesity, physical inactivity, frequent spending time on 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
- Persistent headaches. Patients with osteochondrosis mainly have headaches, which are aggravated by a sharp turn of the neck or a sudden movement of the head.
- Neck pain that can spread to the shoulder area. It often appears in the morning immediately after sleep, decreases or disappears completely after warming up the neck muscles.
- Cervical lumbago characterized by severe pain in the neck, muscle stiffness in the affected area and limited mobility.
- Pain in the sternum or gallbladder. Patients most often suspect pathology of the cardiovascular system, but taking nitroglycerin does not relieve pain. When cervical osteochondrosis manifests itself with pain in the sternum, patients complain of a decrease in muscle strength in the arms.
- In almost all patients with osteochondrosis, if you ask a person to tilt his head in different directions, you can hear a characteristic squeaking and hissing.
- Silence of voice.
- Osteochondrosis of the neck can be manifested by the alignment of the tongue and fingertips (symptom occurs as a result of compression of nerves and blood vessels near the intervertebral discs.
- Increased blood pressure.
- Paresis of the extremities, decreased muscle strength in the limbs.
The cause of the above symptoms is damage to connective tissue and intervertebral discs with subsequent deformations. As a result of pathological processes, the discs grow with bone formation, osteophytes are formed, which constrict 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, the more symptoms, the more severe the complications of the disease.
Grade 1 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the nuclear pulp of the intervertebral disc. When the body's metabolism is disrupted, the pulposus nucleus, the structure of biopolymer compounds, is destroyed. Initially, it loses water, gradually dries out, and therefore decreases in size. Strength is significantly reduced, and the spine becomes more difficult to cope with physical activity. At this stage of the disease, a person does not feel pain and does not consult a doctor. If you start diagnosing osteochondrosis at this stage, the patient will not need medication.
Grade 2 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the ring fibrosis in the intervertebral disc. As a result of strong and uneven loading of the spine, cracks and tears appear on the surface of the disc. Due to the thinner nature of the annulus fibrosus, the nucleus is completely compressed into tears and cracks, thereby expanding. As a result, the disc increases in size and begins to protrude beyond the edge of the spine. This phenomenon is called disc protrusion. Cervical osteochondrosis grade 2 is the first stage of the disease in which a person feels pain.
Grade 3 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by the formation of a hernia. The annular fibrosis not only thins but also breaks, so the pulposus nucleus "flows" into the subglottic cavity and forms a ruptured disc. As a result of the development of the process, all the surrounding tissues suffer - ligaments and muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
Over time, the skeletal system of the spine changes: the edges of the spine change shape, become grooved and even sharp. The muscles around the altered skeletal system contract involuntarily, thereby restricting the mobility of the spine. All nerve fibers passing through the spinal cord are disrupted, and the transmission of nerve impulses from the brain to organs and tissues is disrupted. It is important that the symptoms of osteochondrosis appear depending on the location of the osteochondrosis.
Grade 4 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by degenerative spinal reconstruction. After destructive processes in the body, recovery processes begin to dominate. The duration of the fourth stage is about a year. During this time, the nature of bone growth in the deformed vertebra changes. The bone begins to grow in width, which increases the area of the vertebrae. In medicine, such growths are called osteophytes. Thanks to them, the mobility of the damaged spine is reduced and the process of destruction is stopped. Over time, the immobile vertebra becomes a completely static bone pillar.
When the pain syndrome subsides, the constricted nerves and blood vessels remain in place, compressed not only by the discs and vertebrae, but also by the resulting osteophytes. Such processes must be properly treated to prevent the consequences of the disease.
Complications of cervical osteochondrosis
The main consequences of the development of cervical osteochondrosis are:
- Vascular diseases (vasoconstriction);
- Different degrees of hernia formation;
- spinal cord injury;
- Osteophyte formation;
- Limited mobility of the spine.
What are the possible complications of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis? The most dangerous result is a deterioration of the blood supply to the brain. As a result of the narrowing of the arteries, less blood enters the brain and the gray matter is poorly supplied with oxygen.
If a patient develops vertebral artery syndrome - when the main blood flow to the brain is constricted, the person will experience dizziness and fainting.
In addition to poor consciousness, patients with cervical spine osteochondrosis experience visual and hearing impairment. In addition to numbness of the hands, it is possible to develop Dupuytren's syndrome, which is characterized by stiffness of the hands. As a result of the development of the syndrome, the fingers lose mobility.
Hypertension and vegetative-vascular dystonia (VVD) are common complications. A cosmetic defect that results from the development of osteochondrosis is the formation of dryness ("mound" 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 prescribing non-steroidal drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics by a physician. The dose of the drug is regulated by a doctor.
Physical therapy is often prescribed to treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Exercise can not only relieve pain, but also reduce inflammation, strengthen the back muscles and reduce the risk of complications.
Massage has a general strengthening effect. After a course of massage, a patient with osteochondrosis will lose tension and pain, and blood supply will increase.
Doctors should prescribe surgery when medications do not help. During the operation, doctors remove the parts of the intervertebral disc that compress the nerve roots.
The best treatment is a combination of several methods. Medical treatment should be combined with massage, physiotherapy exercises and gymnastics.
Some doctors believe that acupuncture and herbal remedies are effective.
Prevention
You can use simple methods to reduce pain and prevent the development of cervical spine osteochondrosis. To get started, everyone should always be in a position to reduce the load on the spine. You need to remember exercises that build muscle and support metabolic processes in the spine. To get a positive result, you should follow the recommendations of your doctor.
Basic Recommendations:
- Distribute physical activity evenly over the spine. To do this, limit vertical loads, avoid sudden movements and exercises that can damage the spine. You should avoid falling or jumping from heights.
- Do not carry heavy objects with your hands in front of you. Before taking anything off the floor, you should not lean forward, you should fall out.
- Do not move objects in one hand, it is recommended to distribute the load to both limbs. If this is not possible, you should put the load in a suitcase on wheels or in a backpack.
- If you need to carry a heavy load, you should wear a wide belt or a special corset before work.
- Wear comfortable shoes.
- The best prevention of the disease is swimming, regular gymnastics, contrast showers.
- Stressful situations should be avoided.
- You need to remember the rules of a balanced diet.
- Get rid of bad habits.
It is important to understand that prevention of a disease is easier than long-term and persistent treatment. If surgery is not required in the early stages of the disease, later stages of osteochondrosis require surgery.