Osteochondrosis is a disease of the spine, the main symptoms of which are a decrease in the intervertebral disc and disruption of work in it.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common disease among people of different ages. In men and women, pain in the spine is most often shown at the age of 40 years. In old age, osteochondrosis affects 90% of the population. The most common type of such disease is osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. We will talk about him.
Causes of osteochondrosis
When the aging process begins, the function of blood vessels, bones and cartilage deteriorates; with all these indicators, the body still does not receive enough vitamins, which exacerbates the process.
But there are also reasons, not related to aging, because the disease can manifest earlier than usual.
- Overweight. It causes metabolic disorders and overloads the intervertebral discs.
- Descendants.
- injuries.
- Passive lifestyle. As well as being in one position for a long time (driving).
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (flat feet, poor posture). Due to such diseases, the load on the spine is uneven.
- Strong pressure on the spine (multiple pregnancies).
Signs of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
This type of osteochondrosis manifests itself more often than others. This is due to the fact that the cervical vertebrae are located very close to each other and have a different structure than other vertebrae.
Why are the cervical vertebrae displaced? This is due to their age -related fragility and poor skeletal development of the neck muscles.
In addition to pain, arteries or nerve bundles can also be pinched from cervical vertebral displacement. Due to the different localization pain, osteochondrosis can be confused with other diseases.
Here are other symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Pain in different parts of the body. In the heart area, back of the head, neck, shoulders and collarbone. There may also be weakness in the arms and problems with extending the arms to the side. This is caused by a pinched nerve in the cervical spine.
- Numbness in the fingers. Tingling sensation in fingertips and low hand sensitivity.
- Discomfort when turning the head. Vertebral tingling, lumbago in the neck, dizziness, heaviness in the head or shortness of breath. If these symptoms are very acute during sports, this indicates an early stage of the development of osteochondrosis. All of the above comes from the appearance of bone formation in the neck.
- Sight problem. Deterioration of vision, haze or flashing black spots. This indicates the end stage of osteochondrosis and arises from an insufficient amount of blood in the brain.
- Discomfort in the throat. A feeling of lumps in the throat, sweating and difficulty swallowing are signs of the early stages of the development of osteochondrosis. Frequent nausea may also occur.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
What happens during treatment?
Under X-ray control, a needle is inserted into the facet joint of the cervical spine. Through them, two drugs are injected into the affected joint: a local anesthetic, which relieves pain, and a hormone, which will further relieve inflammation in the problem area.
These restrictions can provide relief for quite some time. However, if the pain has returned, provided that the blockage has a positive effect, it is possible in the future to perform radiofrequency ablation of the nerve that removes the pain from the joint.
Such a procedure is always performed only in the second stage and leads to a lasting positive effect (from one to several years).
What are the advantages of this type of treatment for osteochondrosis?
- Does not require general anesthesia and lasts no more than an hour.
- The patient can return home within a few hours after the procedure.
- Minimal risk of complications.
- Weak and elderly patients can also be treated in this way.
- The recovery period does not exceed 2 days.
To speed up the recovery process, we recommend undergoing a course of exercise therapy after surgery. This is a type of therapy that includes certain physical activities after surgery. All exercises were selected individually by the attending physician.