Osteochondrosis is the gradual destruction of the spinal structure due to degenerative changes. This is a chronic disease, which holds the main place among the pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. An experienced neurologist is involved in his treatment.
About the disease
Almost every third person who consults a neurologist with back pain is diagnosed with osteochondrosis. It affects about 90% of the elderly. The risk group includes the older generation, as well as people with occupational risks - loaders, drivers, office workers, salespeople, hairdressers.
The average age for the first manifestation of this disease is 30-35 years. When exposed to unfavorable factors, painful symptoms appear earlier.
With osteochondrosis of the spine, the bone structure, intervertebral cartilage and discs in the cervical, thoracic or lumbar regions are damaged. As a result, muscle tension increases and the depreciation process becomes worse. Intervertebral discs wear and shift, causing stiffness and pain. Without treatment, degenerative-dystrophic changes develop, nerve roots are violated, and the function of internal organs is disturbed. In the last stage of osteochondrosis, partial or complete loss of the ability to work occurs due to limited mobility.
At the first signs of the disease, you should immediately contact a specialist - a neurologist. The doctor will prescribe a comprehensive examination and develop effective treatment tactics.
Types of osteochondrosis
Depending on the location, osteochondrosis consists of three types: cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral. In almost 50% of cases, the disease affects the spinal structure in the lumbar region. This is due to the fact that the lower back experiences maximum static load.
Cervical osteochondrosis is in second place in terms of prevalence. Damage to the cervical vertebrae can be caused by injuries, repetitive physical work, as well as sedentary work, where you have to keep your head in one position for a long time.
Sedentary work and constant neck positions even cause hernias in the cervical region.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is less common. A sedentary lifestyle also contributes to its development. The main symptom is chest pain, which can easily be confused with a heart attack.
The diagnosis of "ordinary osteochondrosis" is made when all departments are involved in the pathological process.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
The clinical picture depends on the part of the spine affected. A common symptom for all is pain. It can be sharp, like "lumbago", or dull and painful. The pain increases with movement, physical activity, and staying in one position for a long time. In the final stage, as well as during the exacerbation of the disease, it continues and interferes with sleep and leading a normal lifestyle.
In addition to pain, patients feel tension and stiffness in the back muscles, heaviness, and discomfort. When nerve endings are pinched, pain radiates to neighboring areas of the body (along the nerve), accompanied by numbness, tingling, and a sensation of "pins and needles under the skin. "
Symptoms of osteochondrosis can be confused with other diseases, so you should not engage in self-diagnosis and self-medication. In professional clinics, patients will be given maximum attention and will be examined using new high-precision equipment, which will allow an accurate diagnosis to be made.
Cervical area
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine has the richest clinical picture. This disease can begin with periodic pain in the neck, a feeling of stiffness or discomfort after being in one position at the computer, after sleeping. When the nerves and spinal canal are involved in the process, the pain spreads to the back of the head, collarbone, shoulders, and sometimes even to the chest. The pain becomes stronger when tilting or turning the head, taking a deep breath, and also at night when sleeping. The sensitivity of the shoulder blades, shoulders, and arms is affected, tingling and coldness appear.
In the final stage, when the intervertebral disc becomes thinner, loses its fixation and becomes too mobile, the following symptoms may occur:
- stiffness when turning the neck;
- sharp sharp pain in the spine;
- headache, which is accompanied by compression and throbbing in the head, noise and ringing in the ears, impaired hearing and vision;
- nausea;
- lack of coordination;
- dizziness attack.
Vegetovascular symptoms are the result of vertebral artery syndrome, which develops due to spasm or compression of the arteries involved in the blood supply to the brain.
Acute pain, loss of skin sensitivity in the neck, stiffness of the vertebrae occurs when the fibrous ring breaks, the formation of intervertebral hernia and osteophytes.
Thoracic area
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine "imitates" pain in the heart, as well as intercostal neuralgia. The pain often worsens at night. It can be moderate and increase gradually or occur suddenly and suddenly.
With osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, doctors first rule out the cardiac nature of the pain. For this purpose, differential diagnosis is carried out.
Painful sensations are localized in the area between the shoulder blades or ribs and intensify when raising the hands, bending over, taking a deep breath or exhaling. They radiate to the area of the heart, kidneys, and stomach. In the thoracic region, patients note a feeling of stiffness or pressure, numbness, "pins and needles" in the chest, tingling in the neck, arms, and abdomen.
Lumbosacral region
With lumbosacral osteochondrosis, the pain is localized in the lower back, radiating to the pelvis, groin, and down the legs. It is accompanied by muscle tension, tingling, and numbness. Muscle spasms and pelvic organ disorders are possible.
Referred lumbosacral pain syndrome can be caused by pathology of the genitourinary system and gastrointestinal tract. Clinicians must take this fact into account when making a diagnosis.
The reasons
Damage to the intervertebral cartilage most often occurs due to excessive loads, including static loads, as well as spinal injuries caused by falls, blows, sudden movements, or jumping from a height.
Increased pressure, as a result of which degenerative changes occur, including heavy lifting, uneven load distribution on the back muscles, and staying in one position for a long time, especially uncomfortable. The most sensitive to overload is the intervertebral cartilaginous disc, which performs the function of shock absorption and provides movement in the spine.
The development of osteochondrosis is promoted by:
- overweight;
- age-related changes;
- descent;
- flat feet;
- inflammatory or autoimmune damage to cartilage;
- birth defects;
- vertebral instability;
- poor posture;
- poor nutrition;
- hypothermia;
- an inactive lifestyle, which causes weakness of the muscle corset, deterioration of nutrition and blood supply to the intervertebral joints;
- metabolic disorders;
- lack of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D;
- hormonal, endocrine disorders.
Under the influence of provoking factors, metabolic processes, hydration and blood circulation in the intervertebral disc deteriorate. As a result, cracks appear in the annulus fibrosus. Disc height decreases, spinal mobility is impaired, and reflex tension and spasms develop. Protrusions and hernias are formed. The disc protrudes, it irritates the roots of the spine, causing pain and other discomfort.
Advantages of treatment in modern clinics
A modern clinic where osteochondrosis is treated has several advantages:
- Experienced specialists in the field of neurology who regularly improve their skills.
- New diagnostic equipment that increases the accuracy of diagnosing osteochondrosis to 100%.
- The use of minimally invasive technology in the surgical treatment of osteochondrosis.
- A 24-hour hospital where patients can stay after spine surgery.
- An individual rehabilitation program that allows you to restore full motor activity.
- A high level of service and reasonable prices for the treatment of osteochondrosis in Moscow.
- Use of proprietary methods with proven effectiveness. Focus on non-surgical treatment, taking into account the patient's age and the presence of co-morbidities.
- Qualified help for osteochondrosis complications - protrusions, pinched nerves, disc herniation, osteophytes, limited mobility of vertebrae.
In modern clinics, all advanced methods for treating osteochondrosis are available to patients: drugs, physiotherapeutic procedures, manual therapy, osteopathy, reflexology, therapeutic restrictions, surgical interventions.
Diagnostics
There are many causes of back pain. To understand what is causing the pain, a consultation with a neurologist is required. At the initial appointment, the doctor examines the patient's complaints and medical history to identify risk factors, conduct a neurological examination, and assess range of motion. During examination and palpation of the spine, the doctor can detect curvature, muscle spasms, trigger points and other pathological changes.
In addition, the doctor prescribes instrumental diagnostic methods: radiography, CT or MRI of the spine. In case of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, Dopplerography of vessels of the head and neck, MRI of the head may be necessary, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine - electrocardiography or ultrasound of the heart, lumbar spine - ultrasound of the kidneys and pelvic organs. In addition, blood and urine tests may be prescribed.
To exclude diseases of the spinal cord, including cancer, myelography is performed. This is a radiographic examination method using a contrast agent.
Based on the results obtained during the diagnosis, the neurologist makes an individual treatment regimen.
Treatment
Treatment for osteochondrosis depends on the part of the spine affected and the stage of the disease. In the initial stages, drug therapy, physical therapy, lifestyle correction, weight loss and physical activity are sufficient. If the disc structure and joint movement are significantly affected, there is disc protrusion and other complications, then additional physiotherapeutic procedures can be prescribed, including therapeutic massage, spinal traction, and manual therapy. In advanced cases, when osteochondrosis does not respond to conservative therapy, surgery is performed.
Conservative
Conservative treatment methods stop the development of osteochondrosis, help eliminate chronic back pain and other unpleasant symptoms, and improve the mobility of the spine. These include:
- Drug therapy. Prescribed medicine that reduces pain and inflammation, relaxes back muscles, strengthens cartilage and bone tissue.
- Physiotherapy procedures. They improve blood circulation and nutrition of the intervertebral discs, promote tissue recovery, relax the muscles of the neck, lower back, and thoracic region. For osteochondrosis, magnetic therapy, UHF, shock waves, vacuum therapy, laser therapy, acupuncture, massage, and electrical stimulation are effective. The massage course includes 10-15 sessions, depending on the severity of the changes in the vertebral structure.
- Manual therapy. This procedure is painless. Allows you to relieve muscle tension, pain, restore mobility and vertebral anatomy.
- Therapeutic exercise. It is an important component of treatment. A set of exercises selected by a physical therapist strengthens the back corset, correct posture, improves blood circulation, relieves pain, and improves the mobility of the neck and other parts of the spine.
- Therapeutic restrictions. Used when severe pain occurs that cannot be relieved with analgesics. The high effectiveness of the procedure is allowed by the administration of the drug paravertebral - into the tissue near the roots of the intervertebral nerves.
- Spinal traction. Effective for osteochondrosis with disc protrusion and intervertebral hernia, and for radicular syndrome.
The best results are achieved with complex treatment - a combination of several methods that enhance the effect of each other.
Surgery
The main goal of the operation is to eliminate the compression of nerve roots, spinal cord, arteries, etc. During surgery, a hernia, part or all of the intervertebral disc can be removed. The operation is carried out with minimal risk, because minimally invasive technology and modern visualization systems are used, allowing one to see the surgical field in real time in high resolution.
Puncture laser discectomy
It is a new microsurgical method used to treat osteochondrosis, especially the cervical spine. The affected intervertebral disc is vaporized with a laser. The light guide is fed through a needle with a diameter of up to 1. 2 mm, which is inserted into the affected disc. Laser exposure lasts 40–60 minutes. The pain syndrome disappears immediately after the procedure.
Laser puncture discectomy is only used in the early stages of osteochondrosis, if there are no signs of vertebral instability.
Prevention
Osteochondrosis of any part of the spine can be prevented if preventive recommendations are always followed. Moderate loads, maintaining correct posture, and therapeutic exercises for the back are required. You should not lift weights or sit or stand in one position for a long time.
If you have back problems, you should regularly visit an orthopedist or a neurologist.
Restoration
The duration of spinal function recovery depends on the type and amount of intervention. Bed rest is indicated in the first days after surgery, then gentle physical activity and wearing orthopedic devices for the back are required. Physical therapy exercises chosen by the doctor allow you to gradually return to your normal lifestyle.