Osteochondrosis is a disease caused by degenerative-distribution changes in vertebrae, intervertebral discs and ligaments. People after 30 years are more susceptible to the disease, but the initial manifestations of the disease may appear in adolescence.
80-90% of the population faces this disease.
Symptoms of the disease
Depending on the location of the pathological focus, 3 forms of the disease are distinguished:
- Osteochondrosis of the cervical region
- Osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
- Lumbar osteochondrosis
With damage to the cervical spine, the patient's complaints are associated with insufficient brain nutrition due to squeezing blood vessels. The most common complaint is headache and severe dizziness. In addition, patients are concerned:
- Blood Pressure Council
- Movement and March Coordination Disorders
- Decreased visual acuity;
- Hearing deterioration, playing in the ears
- Hoarseness or hoarseness
- A snoring in a dream is a sign of constant tension of the neck muscles.
When compressing the nerves, numbness and cooling of the fingers, weakness occurs in the limbs.
If the nerves are violated, severe neck pain, scalp pain, sore throat, teeth. The pain extends to the shoulders and the limb.
The symptom of thoracic region osteochondrosis is also pain - intercostal neuralgia. Pain is due to compression of nerve roots. The chest pain is acute, intensifies with cough, inspiration, laughter, when moving.
Pain in osteochondrosis in the thoracic region can simulate other diseases, for example, heart pain, abdominal pain.
Lumbar osteochondrosis usually affects people who have a sedentary job. It is characterized by pain in the lower back, which is given to the buttock and leg. With nerve violation, numbness and leg cooling, they are possible loss of sensitivity, stool incontinence and urine.
The causes of the disease
The disease is considered polyetiological, that is, many factors contribute to the disease. The most common:
- Strong daily load in the column
- Spine lesions
- Metabolic disorders
- Overweight
- Spine column curvature
- Hereditary factor
- The process of natural aging of the body.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of osteochondrosis consists of several stages.
Anamnesis Collection of Disease and Life
The doctor asks the patient's questions to find out:
- Complaint
- Pain location and discomfort
- When the first symptoms appeared
- That causes appearance and increased pain.
- Which helps relieve the condition.
It is important to discover the patient's working conditions, bad habits of what they were sick throughout his life, if there were bruises and injuries to the spine, is one of the closest relatives of osteochondrosis.
Inspection and palpation
In the exam, the doctor draws attention to the position of the body and posture, to the symmetry of the back and neck, determines the volume of movements in the back, detects painful areas, evaluates muscle tone, determines the presence of pain irradiation, verifies sensitivity.
X -Ray Examination
Column radiography is performed in two direct and lateral oblique projections for more information. Sometimes an X-ray search with functional samples, flexion, flexion and extension position is required.
Computed tomography
CT is a study that allows you to more clearly consider the bodies of vertebrae, ligaments, blood vessels and soft tissues. An image of one or more column segments is performed. CT allows us to determine compression of nerves, tears and hernia of intervertebral discs, their height, changes in the solid brain membrane, instability of the vertebrae.
Magnetic resonance therapy
Magnetic resonance imaging is used to diagnose osteochondrosis with clear visualization of blood vessels, nerve processes, intervertebral discs.
Complications
Osteochondrosis is a disease not only from the back, as you believe. It affects blood vessels, nerves, muscles. Osteochondrosis causes the development of various related diseases, including:
- Migraine
- Vision and hearing deterioration
- Intervertebral hernias
- Schmorl nodes
- Radiculitis
- Lumbago
- Sciatica
- Spondylartrosis, spondylartrosis and others.
Disease treatment
Treat conservative osteochondrosis in severe cases - promptly.
Conservative treatment includes a whole complex of therapeutic procedures: massage, physical therapy, physiotherapy, manual therapy, reflexology, spine traction and drug treatment.
Medicines are prescribed during exacerbations, help relieve pain, inflammation and normalization of metabolic processes.
Group of risk
The osteochondros risk group includes:
- People who carry a sedentary lifestyle with sedentary work or spend a lot of time driving or on a computer
- People whose work or hobby is associated with weight lifting
- People with an excess body mass
- Pregnant
- Women who use high heels.
Prevention
For the prevention of osteochondrosis, it is important to follow the rules:
- Do not overload the spine, limit the vertical loads
- Make charge, strengthen the muscles of the spine, knead it
- No
- Avoid column injuries and bruises
- Do not use weights
- Change the position of the body with a long load sitting and driving.
Diet and lifestyle
The diet for osteochondrosis has no strict restrictions, can be attributed to proper nutrition. It is necessary to limit salt and sugar. The main thing is that food corresponds to energy costs. If there is overweight, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of candy and easily absorbed carbohydrates. Replace coffee with tea, sweets - dried fruits.
Every day you need to exercise, which include: drinking, crouching, leaning over to the sides, body curves, running, walking, legs swinging forward, side and backwards.
Sleeping with osteochondrosis is preferably on a solid surface.
During a long work sitting, you need to stretch and rotate your body every 20 to 30 minutes. With a prolonged position, it is important to change the support point from one leg to another.
If you need to carry the weight, you can distribute the weight on each hand, you can use a wide strip backpack.
Symptoms
- Headaches
- Hoarse
- Urine incontinence
- Diffuse view
- Using weakening
- Shark
- Snoring