There was a time when the disease was considered "age-related", but recently "osteochondrosis" under the age of 35 has been increasingly diagnosed. This is due to a change in the pace of life - more people are involved in sedentary and sedentary work. And most importantly, physical activity, flexibility are reduced and, consequently, blood circulation is disrupted, which is essential in the nutrition and recovery of spinal discs.
Interesting fact: according to statistics, more than 80% of the population, after 30 years, have changes in the spine, to a greater or lesser extent.
Causes
Osteochondrosis is the common name for aging of the spine. The process is directly related to changes in the structure of the vertebrae and discs. Under the influence of internal and external factors, the discs become thinner. Appear - bulges, hernias, instability of the vertebrae, changes in bone tissue, the appearance of osteophytes (spines, growths). And all these phenomena are complications of osteochondrosis. The course is chronic and without the absence of complex therapy makes it very difficult to continue a normal life.
You are probably familiar with the factors that provoke dystrophic changes, but again we note:
- Hypodynamia - contributes to circulatory disorders in the neck, weakening of the muscular corset.
- Curvature of the spine (stooping, lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis).
- Long stay in static positions and vice versa - increased loads and lifting weights.
- Injuries.
- Overweight, pregnancy.
- Heredity, metabolic disorders.
Man is the only creature on the planet that suffers from spinal problems in the cervical spine. This is due to our ability to walk fully upright, as well as muscle weakness and great mobility of the neck.
An important role in the formation of cervical osteochondrosis has a hereditary predisposition. In addition, relatives do not need to have osteochondrosis. The risk zone includes people with a family history of degenerative and dystrophic diseases of the osteoarticular system (arthrosis, spondylitis, hernia, etc. ).
The neck is an important connection. Many vessels and nerves pass through it to the brain. Problems in this part of the body will certainly affect the blood circulation in the brain and the work of the upper part - the shoulders, arms. Degeneration develops gradually, with increasing.
Stages of development of cervical osteochondrosis
In the first stage there is a local pain syndrome, accompanied by a sharp tension in the muscles, which increases the already unpleasant sensations, restricts movement.
Pain is expressed in 2 forms:
- Cervicago - "lumbago on the neck", a sharp sharp pain that occurs when moving.
- Cervicalgia - pulling, painful, with constant muscle tension. It can take more than two weeks, even with proper treatment.
In the second stage, a "radicular" syndrome is added - compression of nerves due to thinning of ligaments and discs. The pain occurs when sneezing, coughing. If the patient is lying on his back and passively moving his head, then painful sensations will occur.
Numbness of the hand from neck to fingertips is typical, especially after sleep. The symptom quickly disappears after active movements or placing the hand behind the head. If the tingling or pain persists, complications (bulge, hernia) may occur.
Also, there may be a feeling of "freezing" of the shoulder with the onset of "shoulder-arm" syndrome - when arthritis of the shoulders and arms begins due to circulatory disorders in osteochondrosis.
Main symptoms
The main symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine include:
- Headache and dizziness.
- Localized pain as well as possible irradiation in the shoulder, nape or shoulder blade (especially joining the cervicothoracic area).
- Numbness and weakness in the hands.
- A lump in my throat.
- Arterial hypertension (persistent high blood pressure).
- Decreased hearing and vision acuity, tinnitus (development of vertebral artery syndrome).
Interesting: changes in the disease affect important vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain. Patients with chondrosis may have Sistine Chapel Syndrome - a seizure after a sudden throwing of the back of the head.
Pain and its location are often disguised as a serious disease - angina pectoris.
Diagnosis and treatment
It is very important to treat the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at the very beginning of degenerative processes. To do this, you should immediately seek help from a neurologist or vertebrologist. But practice shows that they seek help, already with complications - protrusion, hernia, instability of the spine.
The patient should be carefully examined - ultrasound of the heart, blood vessels of the brain and neck, ECG, urine collection and blood tests. It is necessary to take an X-ray in several projections and in an arrangement with an open mouth (to see the vertebrae that cover the teeth).
Unfortunately, doctors diagnosed with osteochondrosis correct many diseases because they do not have the time, experience, desire to identify the cause of this or that symptom. Treatment is prescribed that brings temporary relief, but the true cause remains undiscovered, over time everything comes back again or does not bring relief at all. It is this situation that makes people self-medicate.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
Therapy should be as complete as possible.
- Physiotherapy.
- Drug therapy.
- Massage.
- Physiotherapy.
- Stretching.
- Stretching of the cervical vertebrae by the method of Shishonin.
- Give up habits.
Physiotherapy
The effectiveness of the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine with the help of physiotherapy and therapeutic baths has been scientifically proven.- They relieve the pain syndrome.
- Eliminate inflammation.
- Increase the effectiveness of drug therapy and other methods of treating cervical osteochondrosis.
The therapeutic effect of physiotherapy in the form of low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic therapy in combination with radon baths, sometimes with iodine-bromide baths, is enhanced.
Drug therapy
In case of complications of osteochondrosis in the cervical spine, hernias or large protrusions, inflammation of the compressed nerve roots occurs. Therefore, to relieve the inflammatory symptom and stop the pain, you need to break the course of intramuscular injections of vitamins - B1, B6, B12. Also, with impaired blood circulation, the viscosity of the blood increases, which disrupts the blood supply to the brain with oxygen. It is necessary to take antiplatelet agents.
Drug therapy.
- Eliminates pain and inflammation.
- Accelerates metabolism in tissues that have been disrupted due to impaired blood supply.
- Dilutes the blood, improving blood circulation.
Massage
The course of massage of the neck area is mandatory included in the program for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck.
- Muscle tension is relieved, thus releasing the constricted closely spaced arteries.
- Improves blood circulation and tissue nutrition, which have a positive effect on the heart and brain.
- Muscle pain is reduced.
Unfortunately, a good massage is not free and many refuse this procedure due to high prices. But in the medical complex, cervical spine massage should be included for the good of the case. Even advise that it is not as necessary as physiotherapy exercises.
Physiotherapy exercises
Treatment of osteochondrosis with physiotherapy of the cervical spine is the main method without which recovery is impossible. No pill can cure osteochondrosis without exercise therapy. Tune in to the fact that you have to do gymnastics every day for a whole year to forget the symptoms of the disease forever.
Important: Exercise is a 70% victory over osteochondrosis. Even if the pain disappeared, the disease did not disappear anywhere. You can't relax.
Goals and objectives of exercise therapy.
- Strengthen the deep muscles of the neck and the muscular corset of the shoulder area so that the muscles hold the head in the correct position without straining the intervertebral discs and do not form protrusions that compress the nerve endings. To increase the intervertebral space, thus eliminating the compression of the nerve roots.
- Restore painless movements while developing flexibility and mobility.
- Exercise speeds up and increases blood circulation, thus improving the nutrition of the intervertebral discs and surrounding muscles.
Important: practice doing a set of exercises 3 times a day for the first 4 weeks, then 1 time a day for a year.
Neck Exercises
Before doing any exercise, you need to warm up your muscles.
Warm up
Warm up the muscles of the chest and cervical vertebrae. Slow circular movements with the shoulders - back and forth. Every muscle needs to work as hard as possible.
Circular movements with the shoulders - lift as high as possible, move backwards, downwards and then forwards. When pulling back - put the blades together. And the same circles with each shoulder in turn.
Add arms - and repeat the movements with arms bent at the elbows. One by one, we will reassemble the shoulder blades as we take our hands back. And then we will also move our shoulders forward as much as possible.
This completes the warm-up. Let's start doing some basic neck exercises.
Exercise technique
All movements should be performed slowly so as not to injure yourself and prevent nerve compression.
Accept the correct posture. The shoulders are lowered, slightly relaxed back, the chin is parallel to the floor. Static exercises are aimed at training the deep muscles of the neck. Each movement holds resistance for 5-8 seconds. Loosen for two seconds and repeat again. So 5 times.
- We press the palm against the temple and press on it, trying to bend the head, we resist with our head, thus preventing the hand from tilting to the side. Do the same on the other side.
- Place your hands on the lock, support your chin and press on the resistance head.
- We stand with our foreheads.
- From the back of the head
- Alternatively, the head resists on the side of the cheekbones
Along with strengthening the muscles of the neck, you must also strengthen the shoulder girdle. Several exercises with a dilator should be included in the treatment complex 2-3 times a week.
Extra load
Exercises in the form of running, brisk walking, swimming, aerobics will improve the overall blood circulation in the body. Especially from the poor blood supply the brain suffers, which needs oxygen for cervical spine problems. Training lasts at least 20-30 minutes, up to 2 times a week.
Dry traction of the cervical vertebrae
The dry stretching method is horizontal and vertical. This method is called traction - a highly effective treatment for spinal osteochondrosis. Young people easily give in to full recovery, using only one traction during treatment. Because the recovery of discs in youth is much faster. Of course, age hinders the recovery and the ability to restore cartilage tissue, but adhesion still remains an important point in the complex treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck.
Stretching issues
- Enlarge the lumen between the vertebrae.
- Eliminate pain due to compression of nerve roots.
This procedure has contraindications, so do not do it without consulting your doctor. Previously, this method was practiced only in hospitals, sanatoriums and rehabilitation centers.
The stretching technique is now available at home with the help of a healing collar. The traction session lasts 15 minutes a day.
We analyzed the whole program for the treatment of the cervical spine, it remains to talk about the usual way of life, which must also change in perfect order.
Important: all of the above methods should be discussed with your doctor.
Give up habits
We understand that laziness and excuses lead to early osteochondrosis. If you do not overcome them, then you do not need this article. Drink painkillers and continue to live as before. Although you can try to fix some bad habits.
- Sleep on an orthopedic pillow and mattress.
- Don't lie on a high pillow for hours with your head held high while reading while playing on the phone. At this point, the cervical vertebrae compress the blood vessels, disrupting blood circulation.
- Stationary computer stand when there is no time control. Set your alarm clock every hour to warm up your stiff neck muscles.
- Move more - exercise, exercise outdoors, walk 10, 000 steps a day.
Summary
Course procedures - injections, massage and physiotherapy are done 1 month every six months. During this period, physiotherapy exercises are increased to 3 times a day.
For the rest of the month, every day:
- Exercise therapy - 1 time a day.
- Stretching.
Repeat the procedures after 5 months. And this percentage is at least a year. Positive results are noticed within a month.
The above technique is not an algorithm for all cases of treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. All points should be discussed with your doctor. But if the doctor prescribes only one method, such as physiotherapy, massage, then the effect will be temporary. The treatment is long, so it is better to immediately adjust to the success of the recovery. Believe me, you will not return to your old way of life by starting to practice and feel relieved.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis
Several groups of drugs are prescribed for basic drug treatment.
- Painkillers are prescribed tablets or novocaine blockade for severe pain.
- Anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs - nurofen, diclofenac.
- Irritant ointments - finalgon, capsicum.
- Preparations for relaxing the muscles of the neck - muscle relaxants.
- Course of intramuscular injections of B vitamins
During the relief of the main pain syndrome, support with the use of heels, massage, heating (canning, mustard plasters) is prescribed. During the exacerbation there is always pain to relieve them, as well as muscle tension, perform the above set of exercises, apply a budget plaster of pepper.
Important: any head rotation exercises are prohibited in case of vertebral artery syndrome, when the vessels of the neck are compressed due to osteochondrosis.
At home it is effective to make relaxing baths with herbal decoctions, compresses and rubbing (for example, using propolis, aloe). The Russian bath copes well with muscle tension. The traditional steam bath with a broom relaxes, reduces pain and cheers up.
In extreme cases, it is necessary to resort to surgery when there is a risk of complications due to compression, leading to injury. Namely - complete compression of blood vessels or nerves, significant growth of osteophytes or the appearance of a hernial protrusion. The operation is performed according to all the rules of neurosurgery - under a microscope and with minimal incisions.