Osteochondrosis- This is a disease of the spine, or rather, its ligamentous apparatus.
Simply put, a violation of metabolism in intervertebral cartilage.
The name osteochondrosis comes from the Greek words Osteon - "bone" and chondros - "cartilage". The essence of osteochondrosis is a dystrophic process in bone and cartilage, followed by their aging. Osteochondrosis of the spine in the classical medical sense is a degenerative lesion of the cartilage of the intervertebral disc and reactive changes from the adjacent bodies of the spine. It is generally accepted that it all starts with malfunctions in the disk, but the pain syndrome occurs already due to the neurological complications of this process.
There is an opinion that osteochondrosis is a disease, it occurs as a result of the effects of many factors - both hereditary and acquired. People begin to feel manifestations of osteochondrosis most often after 35 years. The development and exacerbation of osteochondrosis of the spine is facilitated by its macro- and microtrauma, static and dynamic overloads, as well as vibration.
A useful, optimal load on vertebrae and intervertebral discs is when we hold the spine in its natural position, which is conceived for us by nature. When this position changes, there is an improper distribution of the load on the spine, which leads to a change in cartilage in the places of excess pressure.
This can be caused:
- work associated with frequent changes in the position of the body;
- lifting heavy cargo;
- Forced pose for a long time (for example, among schoolchildren and students)
- the wrong pose in the standing position, sitting, lying and when carrying weights;
- physical education and sports without taking into account the influence of large physical exertion;
- injury, heavy physical labor
Most often, several factors lead to the development of osteochondrosis. A certain place among them is occupied by stress, hypothermia, adverse weather conditions (low temperature in combination with high humidity), various chemicals that enter the body with food and breathing. People with an excess body mass. The causes of the development of osteochondrosis can be congenital deficiency of connective tissue (weakness of the ligamentous apparatus), an exchange-hormonal, autoimmune diseases, trophic disorders in the joints, etc.
Osteochondrosis- degradation and destruction of the intervertebral discs. It is osteochondrosis that is the cause of back pain in 80% of cases.
The mechanism of the appearance of pain can simplify this way: the intervertebral disk does not withstand the load and its protrusion is formed. Around the intervertebral disc are nervous processes, vessels and spinal cord. The hernia of the disk, affecting any of the nervous processes causes its inflammation, which leads to pain.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is distinguished by a variety of symptoms. There is an unpleasant sensation in the hand, spreading from the shoulder and forearm to the outer surface of the shoulder and the forearm to the fingers, numbness of this zone, an increase or decrease in sensitivity, sometimes you have to get up at night and knead the muscles of the hands. Pain can be acute, cutting and accompanied by a feeling of electric current. Often the pain intensifies with a minimum load on the arm; Some patients are not able to walk in a coat - it presses on their shoulders and seems exorbitantly heavy. The pain intensifies with coughing, sneezing, straining, and especially when tilted to the healthy side. Motor disorders may occur, more often in the hands, especially in the fingers. As a rule, 2-3 lower spine of the spine are affected.
Sometimes numbness, burning, tingling in the hands or legs, limiting the mobility of the upper or lower extremities, and impaired sensitivity are noted. The appearance of "cervical migraine" indicates the lesion of the vertebral artery. Blood circulation in the stem and occipital parts of the brain is disturbed. A constant symptom is a headache. Usually the pain occurs in the back of the head and spreads to the parietal-octum region. The pain is constant and intensifies with movements of the neck, more often in the morning. Older people often lose consciousness with a sharp turn of their heads, which is preceded by dizziness, noise in the ears, a decrease in visual acuity and hearing, nausea and vomiting.
Sometimes there are pains in the heart - prolonged, pressing. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, especially in old and senile age, changes in soft tissues in the form of seals are often found. These seals are determined in the muscles of the neck, in the area of the processes of the cervical vertebrae (often the VII vertebra), the wrist, elbow joints, in the supra- and subclavian fossa. With age, cicatricial seals in the palm of your hand are increasingly revealed, due to a change in the structure of tendons.
The manifestations of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine are extremely diverse, but not one of the symptoms is strictly specific. Basically, the symptoms are determined by the localization (location) of the painful process and the degree of its severity. Pain in the thoracic spine is the main symptom. After physical exertion or a long stay in one position, the pain intensifies, which forces patients to change the pose even at night. A burning, aching or dull pain in the scapula and interspace space is very characteristic. Patients complain about the feeling of "iron ticks". Drinking on the processes of the vertebrae is painful. Pain can spread to various internal organs.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis is carried out by a neuropathologist, orthopedist. To confirm the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, the doctor finds out the symptoms of the disease, the history of the development of the disease, and examines the patient. When examining patients with osteochondrosis, the curvature of the spine (scoliosis), the presence of painful points and tense muscles on the sides of the spine are usually detected.
To clarify the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, a radiological examination of the spine, computed tomography or nuclear magnetic resonance of the spine is carried out.
How to treat osteochondrosis
Currently, there are many ways to treat osteochondrosis, from taking drugs and ending with surgery. Naturally, there are many controversy about these methods and their effect on the body. When choosing a treatment method, you should pay attention to some points.
For example, if you are going to be treated with drugs, you should pay attention to the fact that most of them adversely affect the stomach and liver, so it is important only to contact experienced specialists who will select the most sparing drug therapy.
When choosing a manual therapist, it is desirable to be more closely, since a non -professional, which are now quite a lot, can bring you to a wheelchair. When selecting therapeutic exercises, it is necessary to pay attention to ensuring that the exercises do not cause load on the spine, but only develop the muscles of the back. Try to do all the exercises slowly, without sudden movements.
For the prevention of osteochondrosis and the exclusion of its exacerbations, it is advisable to observe several rules that will reduce the load on the spine:
- Always keep your back exactly
- Try not to lift heavy objects. If necessary, then raise them crouching, and not leaning
- Move more often, do not let the back muscles atrophy
- hang on the horizontal bar as often as possible and swim
But not everything is so scary. For those who do not have this disease yet, there are a number of preventive measures, the rest have a whole arsenal of funds for the treatment of this disease.
Prevention of osteochondrosis
As you know, it is easier to prevent the disease than to treat it. Prevention of osteochondrosis is necessary for everyone - both children and adults. Moreover, there is nothing complicated in it, and the prevention of osteochondrosis does not require any special efforts. The first and perhaps the most important point is the care of the health of the spine. To do this, the world of advice advises constantly playing sports or at least gymnastics, which will help to develop spinal muscle corset and improve blood circulation. The next is to constantly monitor the posture and gait, not to hunch and not stoop.
Ideal posture is when the head and back are on the same vertical, the shoulders are straightened, the shoulder blades do not stick out, the chest is raised, and the stomach is pulled. My yoga teacher once said that the stomach is noticeable not because we eat a lot, but because we walk wrong. How is it right? Imagine that you are pulled by the top of the head, and you are barely touching the socks of the floor. Practice such an exercise for a couple of weeks and soon you yourself will not notice that they have become the owner of an excellent posture.
It is also advisable to hang as often as possible on the horizontal bar, stretching the spinal column and letting it relax. Provide yourself such a dream in which your spine will take the right position. Studies of scientists have shown that the ideal pose for the spine in the lying on the back. But at the same time, the mattress should be hard enough for the spine to take a convenient natural pose. To do this, put an elastic roller under your feet. We advise you to purchase an orthopedic mattress and a pillow and finally throw the grandmother of the feather bed.
If you have a monotonous sedentary work, always every two hours (the more often, the better) take breaks. Relax, make some move your head and shoulders, go. If possible, go out into the fresh air. By the way, such breaks are legalized, and in the Labor Code they are allowed for people who are constantly working at the computer.
We include a balanced, vitaminized nutrition to prevention. Try to eat fish and seafood, nuts, legumes and various dairy products. Periodically take complex vitamins. By this, you will not allow a metabolic violation. Excess weight is a destructive load for the spine, so try not to recover.
Well, a few words about the prevention in children. It is necessary to monitor the posture of the child, do gymnastics or morning exercises (it will be more effective if you make it together). And yet, give preference to school backpacks, and not bags, because it is the backpacks that balance the load on the back.