Cervical osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is a disease of the skeletal system characterized by changes in cartilage tissue. As a result of the development of the disease, a person's ability to work decreases, the blood circulation and the integrity of the spinal discs are disturbed. The disease most often develops as a result of obesity, physical inactivity, frequent spending time in front of a computer or driving a car.

Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, while developing, is characterized by the following symptoms:

Neck pain with cervical osteochondrosis

• Constant headache. Patients with osteochondrosis experience headaches that are aggravated by a sharp turn in the neck or a sudden movement of the head.
• Neck pain that may radiate to the shoulders. It often appears in the morning, immediately after sleep, decreases or disappears completely after warming the neck muscles.
• Cervical lumbago, characterized by acute neck pain, muscle stiffness in the affected area and limited mobility.
• Pain in the sternum or gallbladder. Patients most often suspect that they have pathology of the cardiovascular system, but the intake of nitroglycerin does not relieve pain. When cervical osteochondrosis is manifested by pain in the sternum, patients complain of a decrease in muscle strength in the arms.
• In almost all patients with osteochondrosis, you may hear a characteristic crunch and squeak if you ask a person to tilt their head in different directions.
• Hoarseness of voice.
• Osteochondrosis of the neck can be manifested by numbness of the tongue, fingertips (a symptom resulting from compression of the nerves and vessels located next to the intervertebral discs.
• High blood pressure.
• Paresis of the limbs, decreased muscle strength in the limbs.

The cause of the above symptoms is damage to the connective tissue and intervertebral discs with their subsequent deformation. As a result of pathological processes, the discs become overgrown with bone formations, osteophytes are formed, which squeeze and damage the blood vessels and nerve pathways.

Stages of the disease

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine develops in several stages. The more the patient's disease progresses, the more symptoms become, the more serious the complications of the disease.

Grade 1 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the pulpal nucleus of the intervertebral disc. When metabolism is disrupted in the body, the nucleus pulposus, which is a structure of biopolymer compounds, is destroyed. It initially loses water, gradually dries out and therefore decreases in size. Its strength decreases significantly and it becomes more difficult for the spine to cope with physical activity. At this stage of the disease a person does not feel pain, does not seek medical help. If you begin to identify osteochondrosis at this stage, then the patient will not need medical treatment.

Grade 2 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by damage to the annular fibrosis in the intervertebral disc. Cracks and tears appear on the surface of the disc as a result of a strong and uneven load on the spine. Due to the fact that the annular fibrosis becomes thinner, the nucleus is completely squeezed into the resulting tears and cracks, thus expanding them. As a result, the disc increases in size, begins to protrude beyond the edges of the vertebrae. This phenomenon is called disc protrusion. Grade 2 cervical osteochondrosis is the stage of the disease in which a person first experiences pain.

Grade 3 cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by the formation of a hernia. The annular fibrosis not only becomes thinner, but breaks, so that the nucleus pulposus "flows" into the subglottic space, forming a disc herniation. As a result of the development of the process, all the surrounding tissues suffer - ligaments and muscles, nerves and blood vessels.

Over time, the skeletal system of the vertebrae changes: the ends of the vertebrae change shape, become ribbed and even sharp. The muscles around the altered skeletal system contract involuntarily, thus limiting the mobility of the spine. All nerve fibers passing through the spinal cord are disrupted, the conduction of nerve impulses from the brain to organs and tissues is disrupted. It is important that the symptoms of osteochondrosis appear depending on the location of the osteochondrosis.

Osteochondrosis of the cervix grade 4 is characterized by degenerative reconstruction of the spine. After the destructive processes in the body, the recovery processes begin to prevail. The duration of the fourth stage is about a year. During this time, the nature of bone growth in the deformed vertebra changes. The bone begins to grow in width, due to which the area of ​​the vertebrae increases. Such growths in medicine are called osteophytes. Thanks to them, the mobility of the damaged spine is reduced and the processes of its destruction are stopped. Over time, the stuck vertebrae completely become a static bone pillar.

And if the pain syndrome decreases, the pinched nerves and blood vessels remain in place, they are squeezed not only by the discs and vertebrae, but also by the formed osteophytes. Such processes must be treated properly to prevent the consequences of the disease.

Complications of cervical osteochondrosis

The main consequences of the development of cervical osteochondrosis are:

• Vascular disorders (compression of the arteries);
• Formation of hernias of varying severity;
• Spinal cord injury;
• Osteophyte formation;
• Limited mobility of the spine.

What complications can lead to cervicothoracic osteochondrosis? The most dangerous consequence is the deterioration of the blood supply to the brain. As a result of the compression of the arteries, less blood enters the brain and the gray matter is poorly supplied with oxygen.

If the patient develops vertebral artery syndrome - when the key blood path to the brain is compressed, the person suffers from dizziness, fainting.

In addition to impaired consciousness, patients with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine also experience impaired vision and hearing. In addition to tingling in the limbs, it is possible to develop Dupuytren's syndrome, which is characterized by stiffness in the hands. As a result of the development of the syndrome, the mobility of the fingers is lost.

Hypertension and vegetative-vascular dystonia (VVD) are considered common complications. A cosmetic defect that occurs as a result of the development of osteochondrosis is the formation of the withers (a "mound" of cartilage tissue in the back of the head).

Methods of treatment

The choice of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis depends on the stage of the disease. Medical treatment consists of a doctor's prescription of non-steroidal drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics. The dosage of the drug is adjusted at the discretion of the physician.

Physical therapy is often prescribed to treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. With the help of exercise you can not only eliminate pain, but also reduce inflammation, strengthen your back muscles and reduce the risk of complications.

Massage has a general strengthening effect. After a course of massage, a patient with osteochondrosis will lose tension and pain and the blood supply will increase.

When medications are not helpful, doctors should prescribe surgery. During the operation, doctors remove parts of the intervertebral disc that compress the nerve roots.

The best treatment is a combination of several methods. Medical treatment should be combined with massage, physiotherapy and gymnastics.

Some doctors believe that acupuncture and herbal medicines are effective treatments.

Prevention

To reduce the pain and prevent the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, you can use simple methods. To begin with, each person should be constantly in a position that relieves the load on the spine. It is necessary to remember about exercises that mix the muscles and support the metabolic processes in the spine. To get a positive result, it is necessary to follow the recommendations given by the doctor.

Basic recommendations:

• Distribute physical activity evenly on the spine. To do this, limit vertical loads, avoid sudden movements and exercises that can damage the spine. Falling or jumping from a great height should be avoided.
• Do not carry heavy objects with your arms outstretched in front of you. Before taking an object from the floor, you should not lean forward, but squat.
• Do not move objects in one hand, it is recommended to distribute the load on both limbs. If this is not possible, you must place the load in a suitcase on wheels or a backpack.
• If you need to carry a heavy load, you should wear a wide belt or buy a special corset before work.
• Wear comfortable shoes.
• The best prevention of the disease is swimming, regular gymnastics, taking a contrast shower.
• Stressful situations should be avoided.
• You need to remember the rules of a balanced diet.
• Get rid of bad habits.

It is necessary to understand that it is much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it long and hard. If surgery is not required in the early stages of the disease, then the later stages of osteochondrosis require surgery.