Osteochondrosis of the spine is a disease caused by the destruction of bone and cartilage tissues of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine.
First of all, with the progression of the disease, the central part of the spinal disk is modified - the so -called jet core. Because of this, the vertebra loses some of its shock-absorbing properties, and refinement and cracks form on the fibrous ring along the periphery of the disk.
Further progression of osteochondrosis of the spine leads to complications of the disease - protrusion of discs or ruptures of a fibrous ring and intervertebral hernia, as a consequence. The instability of the spine in the affected area leads to pain and limited mobility of the head in osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, as well as to limited mobility of the body with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine and lumbar.
In 75% of cases, it is precisely osteochondrosis of the spine that is the cause of back pain. With age, the risk of spinal tissue dystrophy increases significantly, therefore, on average, the symptoms of spine osteochondrosis are observed in every second inhabitant of the planet over 30 years old.
The causes of osteochondrosis of the spine
Provocative factors in the development of osteochondrosis of the spine are considered to be back injuries or systematic load on the back with hard physical work or professional employment in vibration conditions. If you have to do a lot of loading and unloading work, purchase hydraulic collection for your car.
The early manifestation of symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine is caused by weak physical development, flat feet or excess weight. There is also a genetic predisposition to the loose structure of the intervertebral discs and abnormalities of the structure of the spine. Intensive training in the gym in violation of the rules for the distribution of load on the back, a sedentary lifestyle and improper nutrition are also unfavorable in terms of health of the spine.
Symptoms of spine osteochondrosis
The disease manifests itself as a number of typical symptoms. The spine osteochondrosis is characteristic: aching pain in the back, a sensation of numbness in the affected spine, a decrease in the amplitude of movements, increased pain in the lifting of severity, sharp movement, tension during cough or sneezing.
Chronic pain, as one of the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine, causes increased fatigue. When compressing the nerve roots of the spine with spine, the pain can be more intense and are sharp. Its localization in this case is not limited to the area of the back, but is felt by a person in the limb area.
Stages of osteochondrosis of the spine
The stage of the disease depends on the severity of symptoms of spine osteochondrosis. At the first stage of osteochondrosis of the spine, the pain is practically not felt, if only the light malaise and weak stability of the spine for injuries. The destruction of the fibrous ring, a decrease in the size of the vertebral cracks and the pain of various intensity is a symptom of osteochondrosis of the second stage spine.
The third stage of the disease is characterized by significant deformations of bone and vertebral tissue up to the appearance of intervertebral hernias. The symptom of osteochondrosis of the spine of the most severe fourth stage is mass bone growths, limited mobility, intense pain, as well as a complete or partial paralysis of the limbs caused by compression of the nerve roots.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine often leads to disorders of blood circulation due to compression of the arteries. This leads to intense headache, dizziness and fainting. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, the vertebral artery syndrome is sometimes observed. It is characterized by a sense of noise in the head, the image of "flies" or colored spots in front of the eyes. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, peripheral pains in the shoulders or hands are also possible.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine can aggravate the course of various heart pathologies. The disease causes the progression of intercosure neuralgia (squeezing intercosure nerves). With osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, pain in the chest and the sensation of the "stake" in the center of the chest are observed.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine
Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine leads to the development of the following diseases: lumbago and hernia.
Ishias, as one of the complications of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, is characterized by damage to the sciatic nerve, pain in the gluteal region, hypotension (reduced tone) of calf and gluteal muscles.
With a lumbago symptom of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, there is a sharp pain in the lower back, caused by a displacement of the vertebrae or loss of the spinal disk.
Lumbar radiculite, another complication of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, is provoked by hernias of the lowest discs of the spine. It is accompanied by pain in the buttocks with irradiation in the back of the thigh, a hole under the knee, a lower leg and foot.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the spine
The preliminary diagnosis of "osteochondrosis of the spine" is established by the neurologist after the initial examination in connection with the patient's complaints about the back pain and limited mobility. The stage of osteochondrosis of the spine is ascertained depending on the degree of deformation of the spine, the patient's posture and the number of affected discs.
All the above symptoms of osteochondrosis of the spine are diagnosed by feeling the patient's back. The doctor also pays attention to the state of muscle tone. Since in most cases the disease is accompanied by hypertonicity of the back muscles.
Using tests for bending the spine, the amplitude of the patient's movements is determined. Thanks to the use of radiography, CT and MRI, the diagnosis is specified and determined the future tactics of treatment of spine osteochondrosis.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine
In the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine, conservative and surgical methods are used. The goal of both is to eliminate the pain syndrome and prevent further progression of spinal deformation.
At the same time, surgical treatment of spinal osteochondrosis is used only if the conservative therapy of the disease is ineffective.
The active stage of the application of conservative methods lasts an average of 2 months. At the beginning of it, a short -term increase in the pain syndrome caused by the reaction of the body to medicines, physiotherapy exercises (exercise therapy) and physiotherapy. In the conservative treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine, massage, manual therapy, extract and reflexology are also used. The effectiveness of the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine depends on the systematic nature of the procedures and perseverance of the patient himself in the execution of exercise therapy complexes.
Surgical treatment of spinal osteochondrosis is carried out with a hernia of intervertebral discs, whose long ago exceeds 6 months. The indication for the operation is also a reduction in the gap between the vertebrae to 1/3 of the initial size and compression of the roots of the spinal cord.
The leading method in the surgical treatment of spine osteochondrosis is discoctomy, i. e. Removing a deformed disk. The operation can be minimally invasive using endoscopic tools using the microdisectomy method, B-Twin system, as well as laser vaporization of the nucleus of a deformed disk.
After surgical treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine, a rehabilitation period is expected for 6 months. During it, the patient is directed to sanatorium-resort treatment to undergo a course of physiotherapy, manual therapy, acupuncture, etc.