Osteochondrosis in the cervical region is a disease associated with a violation of metabolic processes, namely the accumulation of salts in blood and lymph, which leads to the pathological transformation of the structure of intervertebral discs, vertebrae and joints between vertebrates.The loss of elasticity cartilage fabric contributes to the displacement of vertebrae, arterial pinching and other dystrophic changes.
Due to the deformation of the joints, the height of the intervertebral discs decreases.It should be noted that in the cervical region, the vertebrae are located closer to each other than in other parts of the spine, and therefore the discs are in a healthy state.
Osteophytes (bone growth) are formed on the sides of the vertebrae, which irritate muscles, causing their tension.The osteophytes also press the roots of the vertebral nerve, the vertebral artery and the small blood vessels, from which the brain cells do not receive enough blood.The brain degrades and dies.
By the frequency of occurrence of the neck osteochondrosis in second place after the lumbar cross.The first signs of the disease can appear at school age, after 25 years in one form or another, this disease is observed in almost everyone.In women aged 45 to 65, additional symptoms appear - in the field of hands during sleep in the bottom of pain and numbness.
The reasons for the development of neck osteochondrosis
Hypodynamia - A sedentary sedentary lifestyle, mainly leads to cervical osteochondosis.As a rule, they are suffered by people whose work involves a long stay in a single position: computer work, office employees, drivers, etc.Osteochondrosis should be expected if a person has a bad posture or if he holds the body in an abnormal position for a long time, for example, holds a mobile phone or a phone with a shoulder.
An incorrect posture on the computer leads to cervical osteochondosis!
Excessive back and neck stress causes excessive unusual physical activity for the body, for example, rising weights.The same effect is obtained with poorly performed physical exercises.
Degeneration and dystrophy of the cervical region are due to constant tension and nervous stress, prolonged or temporary hypothermia of the body, unbalanced, lean nutrition, infections.
The increased risk group belongs to people with a hereditary predisposition to osteochondrosis, with defects in the development of the spine, with a traumatic or general spine.Danger is chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system (rheumatism, scoliosis, systemic lupus erythematosus).The disease is favored by hormonal imbalance, overweight, flat feet, progressive nightclubs.
The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis and the factors that cause them
The key symptom of osteochondrosis is pain in the occipital neck segment.If the nerve roots are affected, the pain extends to the shoulders, the forearms.With spasms of muscles and altered blood circulation, pain is felt in the ears, eyes, teeth, forehead.He can give in the shoulder blades, the chest, the gallbladder, the lower back.Painful sensations even increase with minimum loads, a long session, inclinations or turns of the head.The pain manifests mainly after sleep and disappears if you develop muscles.Frequent departments occur - lively pain, coupled with muscle hardening and movement difficulties.
Numbness of the arms and legs occur, burns and tingling.The damaged roots with engine nerves weaken the strength of the limbs of the limbs.Blood pressure can increase, take the heart.
The cervical department with sophisticated intervertebral discs, osteophytes on the vertebrae and affected intervertebral joints cring cries and crackles if you suddenly throw it or turn your head.
The tense arteries and the blood -aggravated blood supply to the occipital fraction of the brain and the cerebellum leads to neurotic disorders, which manifest themselves in the form of irritability, anxiety, variability of mood, resentment and insomnia.There are epidemics of anger, nerve anorexia, fear, desire.
For the same reason, the tongue and the fingers are numb, a voice of voice, hearing and vision decrease, rustle in the ears, darken in the eyes, faintings occur.Almost always, especially in women, continuous headaches are observed, even stronger, if you suddenly turn your neck.
The affected vestibular apparatus results in space disorientation, altered coordination, dizziness and nausea and vomiting associated with these phenomena.
Stages of development of neck osteochondrosis
Cervical osteochondosis develops in the stage, each of the stages has its own clinical image.
At the first stage (preclinical), the muscles are slightly tense, the pain is low, when you turn or tilting the head, it can increase.The rapid fatigue of the vertebral and lumbar muscles is characteristic.At this stage, the disease is treated without medication.
The second step occurs with a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and the pinch of the nerve endings.In addition to the neck, the shoulder and the hand hurt.Quick fatigue, headache, distraction appears, work is difficult and performance is reduced.
The third step marks the formation of hernias of intervertebral discs.Then, the muscles of the hands are weakening and numbed, the constant pain gives the arm or shoulder.General weakness is accompanied by dizziness.
In the fourth stadium, the vertebral artery is affected, the destroyed intervertebral disc is replaced by the connective tissue.Coordination is disturbed, serious dizzy and noise in the ears are worried.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis by type and affected vertebrae
Several types of cervical osteochondosis are distinguished.
- Rook syndrome- Due to the pinch of nerve endings, the pain of high intensity, in addition to the neck, covers the shoulder, the forearm, is felt in the shoulder blade and the lower back.
- Vail artery syndrome- It is distinguished by a pulsed headache at the back of the head or the temple.
- Irritative reflex syndrome- The burning pain in the neck and the nape gives the chest and shoulder, when you turn your head, coughs, in a dream, it intensifies.
- Cardial syndromeIt occurs due to damage to the spine of the diaphragmatic nerve or a large chest muscle.Strong pain appears in the heart of the heart, they last several hours, when they move or deep breathing, they intensify.
The defeat of different cervical vertebrae manifests itself in its symptoms.
A 1st and 2nd cervical vertebra (II) causes pain in the neck and the crown.Pincreting of the nerve root (C3) leads to numbness of the neck, the sensitivity of the tongue decreases, speech is disturbed.If the C4 nerve spine is affected, the collarbone or the shoulder is numb, the breathing is disturbed, the pain in the heart appears.The distribution of the vertebra of the 5th department has a violation of the sensitivity of the arms and legs and the pain in the shoulder.The compression of the roots of C6 and C7 is accompanied by pain in the neck, the forearm, the blade, the lower back and the back in general, weakening the sensitivity of the hands and fingers.The nerve root affected by C8 causes pain in the neck, back, elbow and lower limbs.The little fingers are numb in their hands, the sensitivity of the skin decreases to zero.Due to the weakening of blood flow, legs and hands become cyanotic.
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondosis
The diagnosis of neck osteochondosis begins with the collection of information on the lifestyle of a person and their work, the analysis of complaints and symptoms, it is also necessary to discover if this disease was for parents.
Then, an external examination of the back and neck is carried out in different positions, which allows you to see if there are violations of the posture.Palpation of painful areas reveals the degree of pain and tension of muscles and vertebrae.
The main role in the diagnosis is played by instrumental research methods.
The longest instrumental method - X -Ray allows you to identify the general condition of the vertebrae and vertebrates, but at the subsequent stages of the disease, it is ineffective.
Computed tomography has much better diagnostic capacities, but this method does not allow a complete idea of the presence and size of intervertebral hernias.It is not clear if there is a compression of the hernia of the spinal cord.
The highest efficiency is shown by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Not only are bone formations perfectly traced, but also other important structural elements of the spine: intervertebral discs, hernias, their parameters and how they develop.It is clear in what condition the soft tissues are.The ultrasonic duplex scanning of the vertebral vessels allows you to get an idea of their structure, their permeability for blood flow and its speed, violations and anomalies of the walls.
Having established damaged intervertebral discs and the degree of their violation, you can prescribe adequate treatment.Otherwise, not only will osteochondrosis progress, but different complications are possible.
Complications of cervical osteochondosis
The complications of cervical osteochondrosis occur due to the effect on:
- discs, nerves, nerve endings, plexus (neurological diseases);
- spinal cord;
- brain.
The closely placed nerve endings and blood vessels at the slightest disturbance are compressed, which, in turn, disrupts brain traffic, causes a number of disorders and diseases: migraine, hypertension, heart deficiency, problems with hearing, vision and coordination of attention on
Negotal cervical osteochondosis is heavy with the development of vertebral artery syndrome, cerebral ischemia, stroke of the spine and other fatal pathologies.Croissances on the vertebrae (radiculopathy) lead to a complete or partial loss of body sensitivity and mobility.The compression of the spinal cord causes a deadly result.
Treatment of spine osteochondrosis
With degenerative lesions of intervertebral discs, I use different treatment methods depending on the symptoms.
Drug treatment of cervical osteochondosis
A specialist in osteochondrosis is a neuropathologist, a specialist directly on the spine is a vertebrologist.
The drug treatment aims to eliminate pain, relieve inflammation, improve blood circulation, support the body as a whole.
The most disturbing syndrome - severe, sometimes unbearable pain can be eliminated using non -steroidal anti -inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).The same drugs relieve aseptic inflammation and swelling of the roots of the damaged nerves.If the pain is low, just take an analgesic.
You should know that most NSAIDs negatively affect the mucosa of the stomach, so it is not recommended to take them for a long time.
Anesthesia and simultaneously reheat the affected areas can be ointments and gels.A patch with pepper can be applied to the endolori spot, but its effect is limited to the warming of the inflamed area.
The diuretics and herbs infusions are suitable for the fight against edema.
In the treatment of cervical osteochondosis, vitamins B are certainly used (B1, B6, B12).The vitamins of this group improve metabolic processes in the nervous tissues.Effective oral tablets and solutions for intramuscular administration are effective, but injection administration is painful and can have complications.
The most important therapeutic task is the restoration of cartilage in the intervertebral disc.It is resolved using chondroprotectors.It should be kept in mind that all of these drugs are biologically active additives with vague efficiency.
The characteristics of pathology require the use of drugs that improve blood properties, blood flow to the brain and the nutrition of damaged nerve roots.
Muscle cramps can be eliminated using muscle relaxants.
The drugs introduced into the body by intramuscular injection affect nerve endings faster.The blocks are carried out directly in the affected area, which quickly provides the required effect.
The duration of taking certain drugs depends on the stage of osteochondrosis, patient complaints and its related diseases.
Physiotherapeutic procedures
The treatment of faultless cervical osteochondosis includes physiotherapeutic procedures.
Under the influence of the electric current (electrophoresis), the drug immediately enters the destruction site.
The effect of ultrasound anesthesia, relieves inflammation, improves metabolic processes.Magnetotherapy relieves tissue edema and, therefore, reduces pain.Laser therapy has an anti-inflammatory effect and improves blood circulation.
To improve blood supply to the brain, massage of the cervical area is very useful.A special place in the treatment of cervical osteochondosis is occupied by therapeutic exercises, especially if the numbness of the limbs is observed.The patient's condition improves by improving blood circulation and reducing muscle stress.In the acute phase of the disease, gymnastics is not recommended, this must be done during recovery.
If the conservative treatment does not give a positive result within 6 months, the pain does not pass and the damaged nerve roots are not restored, or the myelopathy manifests itself, you can use surgery.
With the deep cause not eliminated from osteochondrosis in the cervical region, and it is in most cases a sedentary sedentary lifestyle, drug treatment will have a short -term effect.For irrevocable recovery, regular physical activity and nutrition that do not contribute to the development of the disease are necessary.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk methods
For the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, products of vegetable and animal origin are used.They can be taken inside and applied outside.
For internal use, you can prepare a celery infusion, a bay of 4 to 5 g of plants with a liter of boiling water and insisting for 2 to 4 hours.
The compress can be prepared from:
- honey (1-2 teaspoons) and mom;Heat, put a warm wool fabric and attach to the affected area of the spine at night;
- shit;Grate the root on a grater, heat a little, wrap in the gauze to be applied to a painful place and attach a hot cloth to maintain the heat;
- burdock(Rinse the leaves with hot water, apply in a painful place and wrap with bandage when the leaves dry, replace them with new ones).
For friction, you can use chamomile and oil (preferably olive), although sunflower is also suitable.30 g of flowers and 0.5 liter oil over low heat to boil, insist 2 days, filter and apply to painful areas.At chamomile, you can add a thousandpertuis, calendula, that.
In the same purposes, you can prepare a decoction of dandelion, birch buds, mint, coriander leaves (mix the mixture with boiling boiling water in a ratio of 1: 1, insist an hour, after rubbing, applying a warming bandage).A way to rub the calendula (50 g of flowers pays 0.5 liters of vodka, insists over 2 weeks).
To get rid of the symptoms of osteochondrosis, leeches - hiaudotherapy has long been used.In the early stages, 6 sessions are sufficient.But leeches can cause allergies, then, of course, the treatment ceases.
Popular remedies only show efficiency in the initial stage of the disease, if the disease progresses, the basis of treatment should be medication methods.
Prevention of osteochondrosis of the cervical column
The main preventive measure of this disease is physical activity (including walks, swimming) and gymnastics (aerobic, yoga), but you cannot increase excessive seriousness.Strength training can cause the cervical disc projection.Support for the right level of weight is responsible for this measure.When you sit, you have to monitor the posture, after each hour, take five -minute breaks, knead your neck every 2 hours.But net movements of the head should be avoided.If you regularly make a massage, it will be possible to prevent the development of excessive muscle tension.
Food must be rich in vitamins, minerals (calcium, magnesium) and other beneficial substances.Porridge, eggs, legumes, mushrooms, weak meat in terms of fog are recommended (beef, chicken, rabbit), seafood (fish, crab, oysters, lobsters, mussels), dairy products (milk, cottage cheese), fresh fruit, pepper, bow, bow, bow, arc, arc, arc, bow, arc.
If neck osteochondrosis is accompanied by atherosclerosis, it is necessary to limit the use of products containing cholesterol - animal fats, fatty meat, fatty dairy products.Limited consumer products also include flour products, sugar, salt.
Alcohol is harmful in that, falling into the blood, it destroys the cells, which aggravates the blood circulation already bad.Smoking also falls under the ban.
To protect osteochondrosis, stress should be avoided.A healthy sleep is made to prevent the development of the disease.You should sleep on a solid mattress and a low pillow, the neck should not bend more than 15 °.
The hot shower, a sauna and a bathing bath helps to eliminate the neck spasms.
If there is a predisposition to osteochondrosis, the doctor should be shown from time to time.