Osteochondrosis refers to degenerative diseases of the spine, which include
Dystrophy, deformation and gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs.This can lead to pain, a number of unpleasant follows and, in advanced cases, even lead to disability.It is important to pay attention to your health and to see a doctor immediately in the event of suspicious symptoms.
The cervical and thoracic spine are affected less often than the lumbar spine, but the occurrence of osteochondrosis in these areas can be associated with serious consequences.Due to the proximity of the cervical spine to the head, a violation of the blood supply to the brain sometimes occurs, which causes many complications.In addition, the changes can damage the nerve roots, causing the patient to experience severe pain and numbness.
Reasons for the appearance
Osteochondrosis occurs in a very large number of people, especially today, when city dwellers have a massive lack of sufficient physical activity, proper nutrition and posture.The reasons that can provoke the development of osteochondrosis in the neck and chest include:
- Age -related changes;
- genetic predisposition;
- lack of exercise, physical inactivity;
- High -up disorders;
- Heavy overweight;
- injuries;
- Overload;
- Flat feet and other imperfections of the musculoskeletal system;
- Stress and bad habits;
- Humanization of the back and longer cold exposure.
Recently, osteochondrosis has been increasingly observed in young people, which is associated primarily with an unhealthy lifestyle.
Symptoms of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis
Like most chronic diseases, osteochondrosis of the neck and chest region is quite insidious and does not appear immediately.In the early stages, the patient may not notice anything other than periodic discomfort in the spine, but as the disease progresses, the symptoms worsen:
- Pain in the head or neck, which sometimes extend to the shoulder girdle and the upper limbs and, depending on the course of the disease, can be acute and painful or painful, dull and manifest in periods;
- Dizziness, impaired vision and hearing, coordination of movements;
- Daubiness, burning or tingling in the upper limbs;
- Asthenia, fatigue, loss of normal work capacity;
- Intercostal neuralgia, pain in the heart, pressure waste.
Most negative symptoms are caused by the fact that the deforming areas of the spine are disturbed the blood vessels and nerve roots.Such complications can then lead to serious malfunctions in the body and even a disability if they do not start any timely treatment.
Diagnosis and treatment
The doctor, based on his complaints and the collected anamnesis, begins to suspect osteochondrosis in the patient.To confirm or refute the diagnosis, the specialist prescribes diagnostic measures, the main of which is radiography of the spine in a direct and lateral projection.To obtain more detailed information, CT and MRI are performed: they help to track complications in a timely manner.
For osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic spine, treatment is prescribed comprehensively.As a rule, it contains several main directions:
- Medicine therapy is primarily pain reliever and anti -inflammatory pain in anti -inflammatory;In addition to them, muscle cramps, chondroprotectors to strengthen cartilage tissue and B vitamins are often prescribed in order to remove the condition of the nervous tissue.
- Physiotherapy includes massage and other methods (ultrasound, magnetotherapy, etc.) to improve the condition of the spine and to eliminate the restriction of mobility.
- With therapeutic physical education, you can activate blood flow, strengthen the muscles and thus remove the excess load on the spine, get the body to adapt and adapt the posture.It also helps to reduce the pressure on the roots of the nerves.
The procedure for stretching the spine is used regularly to return its original shape.