Osteochondrosis most often has a long course. Therefore, the first signs in men and women can appear many years after the onset of the pathology. Since pathology leads to many complications, timely treatment and diagnosis of the disease will help slow down negative processes in the body.
Consequences of osteochondrosis
Diagnosing osteochondrosis in a timely manner is a necessity that almost every person faces.
This is explained by the fact that the disease causes a number of specific disorders in the body and as they progress, complications can affect various parts. The most common of them are:
- Intense headache up to migraine;
- Partial hearing loss;
- Decreased visual ability;
- Radiculopathy (aka radiculitis);
- VSD or various autonomic dysfunctions;
- Dysfunction of the genitourinary system;
- Intervertebral hernia;
- Sciatica;
- Spondylosis, osteophytosis;
- Spondyloarthrosis;
- Lumbodynia and lumbago;
- Spinal stenosis.
These complications develop due to impaired blood circulation and innervation in the spine, which provokes a negative effect on internal organs and departments.
In severe cases, there is a negative effect on the heart and lungs, which can provoke a heart attack, heart attack, stroke, and so on.
First signs
There are certain first signals that pathology has begun to develop.
Patients most often ignore them, considering them insignificant and associated with lifestyle - prolonged sitting, overexertion, heavy lifting.
Usually this is true, but it is these factors that provoke the progress of osteochondrosis.
As a result, it makes itself felt initially with several symptoms.
Mild stiffness in the morning does not manifest itself particularly intensely, but as it progresses it will occur more and more often. The mobility of the affected area may gradually decrease. Also, with intense loads, discomfort will begin to appear. In the first stage, pain as such is usually not observed. It starts from the second stage.
Symptom groups
Symptoms of osteochondrosis will expand as it develops. Accordingly, doctors divide them into several groups according to the mechanism of progression. In this way, it is possible to identify the most affected sections and tissue types.
Static syndrome
Static syndrome refers mainly to disorders in bone tissue. As a result, the shape of the vertebrae changes, which leads to deformation of the spinal column with the development of various types of curvature. In this case, pathological mobility of the vertebrae is observed. Poor posture manifests itself:
- Kyphosis;
- Kyphoscoliosis;
- Scoliosis;
- Lordosis.
The result of static syndrome is often impaired joint mobility. In advanced cases, the patient is unable to turn his head or straighten up completely.
Neurological
The neurological symptom complex is caused by damage to the nervous tissue. At the same time, at the very beginning, the sensitivity of some individual areas of the skin is simply impaired. The motor ability of the limbs and the strength of muscle contractions also decrease.
But the main manifestation of the neurological syndrome is pain of varying intensity and localization. It is provoked by compression and irritation of the roots emanating from the spinal cord. At the first stage, it usually manifests itself simply as local discomfort. As the pain syndrome progresses, it spreads further to areas of the body that are innervated by the affected root. Quite often there is a feeling of numbness, tingling, goosebumps, and impaired sensitivity of the skin.
Motor changes in this pathology are observed less frequently than sensory ones. Depending on the degree of progression of osteochondrosis, paresis and even paralysis may make themselves felt. An example would be paresis or limited voluntary movements in the lower limb on either side due to lumbar osteochondrosis.
Vascular
Vascular symptoms appear for approximately the same reason as neurological ones. That is, veins and arteries are compressed by the vertebrae, which leads to the development of corresponding symptoms.
This effect most often manifests itself in cervical osteochondrosis. It is in this section that the maximum number of large vessels is present. As a result of the negative impact on them, brain hypoxia begins to develop, which can lead to nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, hearing and vision impairment.
If the tone of the sympathetic system of the central nervous system changes, then irritation of the nerve plexus increases. Since it is located in the spine, the results also affect the blood vessels.
The most common manifestation of this disorder is a fairly prolonged spasm of peripheral vessels, followed by chronic ischemia and oxygen starvation of internal organs.
Trophic
The combination of the three previous syndromes can cause other disorders, in particular trophic syndrome. With a decrease in tissue nutrition, as well as disruption of the innervation of certain parts of the skin, ulcers may appear. In this case, neurological and vascular factors play the greatest role.
Manifestations of pathology
Osteochondrosis can manifest itself with a different set of symptoms. This is explained by the fact that a specific department affects certain areas, and therefore the signs of the disease may differ from each other.
Cervical
The cervical spine is characterized by symptoms such as:
- Dizziness and even fainting when turning your head suddenly;
- Pain in the shoulders, arms, chest, teeth;
- Spots and spots before the eyes;
- Deterioration in the functioning of vision and hearing, ringing in the ears;
- Change in voice and numbness of the tongue;
- Headaches that usually get worse with movement. Analgesics cannot affect their intensity.
Such symptoms can be present both for a long period of time and during exacerbations. Some signs are often confused with other pathologies, for example, dental or ENT problems.
Chest
With thoracic osteochondrosis they make themselves felt:
- Pain when bending over, raising arms or one arm, between the shoulder blades and in the chest area (often confused with heart pain);
- Increased pain at night, as well as with movement, hypothermia, increased physical activity;
- Increased pain when moving the chest (exhalation and inhalation);
- Disruption of the innervation of certain areas, a feeling of numbness and goosebumps on the skin;
- Feeling of itching, burning, coldness in the legs;
- Painful attacks in the ribs when walking;
- Feeling of chest being compressed by a hoop, shortness of breath.
Thoracic osteochondrosis in the manifestation of pain syndrome is rich in localization. But it is precisely because of the greatest involvement of the chest that many confuse it with a heart attack and heart attack.
Lumbar
Lumbar osteochondrosis largely affects the functioning of the internal organs of the pelvis and lower extremities, although it can also cause pain in the chest area. The most common signs of the disease:
- Sharp and aching pain in the lumbar region;
- Increased pain with movement or exertion;
- Pain in the abdominal organs, legs, sacrum;
- Disturbance of innervation in the lower extremities;
- Inability to perform certain movements, such as bending and turning;
- The desire to maintain a certain posture.
When the lumbar region is affected, exacerbations most often occur under the influence of certain external factors, for example, with increased load, heavy lifting, or hypothermia. In this case, many people say "the back is jammed. "The mobility of the department is reduced to a minimum during a painful attack.
Joints
Osteochondrosis of the joints manifests itself:
- Decreased mobility of the affected area (most often the shoulder, hip or knee joint);
- Severe pain;
- Increased pain when moving or lifting a limb;
- The range of motion is significantly reduced;
- Formations on articular and soft tissues may be observed upon palpation;
- Swelling of the affected area;
- Redness, numbness, pins and needles sensation on the skin.
Due to damage to the joints, a person is forced to take a forced position in order to reduce the movement of the joint and, accordingly, pain. If the symptom persists, it can lead to disorders in the soft tissues, including atrophy.
Pain syndrome
Pain in osteochondrosis in the first stages is usually temporary. As they progress, they become longer and more intense. The result is the presence of pain in general in everyday life.
The pain is usually nagging, aching in nature. During an exacerbation, the symptom is so intense that it can even deprive you of mobility completely, causing muscle spasm.
Forecast
If we talk about prognosis, then osteochondrosis itself is an incurable disease. At the initial stage, there is a chance to provide high-quality treatment and slow down the pathology before serious symptoms develop. The more the pathology progresses without treatment, the greater the negative impact on the body. Accordingly, treatment at home becomes less effective and takes longer. If the pathology continues to the point of serious complications, surgical intervention may be required.