According to medical statistics, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a very common disease in recent years. Every person, at least once in their life, has found their symptoms unpleasant.
The disease itself is a malfunction of the intervertebral discs in the cervical spine. After all, it is in this part of the human spine that the maximum constant load occurs.
The cervical region consists of 7 discs. Due to your weak muscles and constant loads on them, various injuries and work interruptions can occur. Due to all these factors, cervical osteochondrosis starts to develop.
Types of diseases
Osteochondrosis is an insidious disease that may not manifest for a long time. There are several stages in the development of this disease:
- 1st degree cervical osteochondrosis (manifested by early spinal disorders);
- 2nd degree cervical osteochondrosis (the distance between the discs in the cervical spine starts to decrease);
- third-degree cervical osteochondrosis (complete destruction of the intervertebral disc ring occurs and severe deformation of the entire spine begins);
- 4th degree cervical osteochondrosis (end stage of disease progression, which can lead to disability).
Causes of disease onset and development
Like any other disease, cervical osteochondrosis has its own causes and developmental factors. Until a few decades ago, only the elderly were susceptible to this disease. In addition, neck osteochondrosis afflicted men after the age of 40 who performed heavy physical work.
Currently, neck osteochondrosis is increasingly common, affecting young people over 20 years of age. There are many reasons for the development of cervical and thoracic spine diseases:
- existing excess weight;
- incorrect posture and, as a result, spine curvature of 1 or 2 degrees;
- heavy physical work or professional sport, due to which multiple spinal injuries were received;
- reasons that cause stress and severe emotional stress;
- weak muscles in the cervicothoracic region;
- abrupt cessation of sports after prolonged training;
- work associated with sitting at the computer or remaining in one position for a long time.
If you meet the reasons listed, then you are in the so-called risk group. In this case, it is necessary to prevent osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
disease manifestation
With 1-degree osteochondrosis, a person has virtually no symptoms of a developing disease. The initial pinch of the neck muscles just begins.
Second-degree osteochondrosis of the cervical spine usually manifests as minor pain that may occur in the cervical and thoracic segments. This occurs due to pinching of the nerve endings due to the shortening of the distance between the spinal discs.
Grades 3 and 4 of the disease cannot go unnoticed. In this case, the spinal deformity can be noticeable to the naked eye, not to mention the sensations the person experiences.
The main and most common symptoms of this disease include:
- persistent severe headaches;
- buzzing in the head;
- impaired movement and coordination;
- deterioration of vision and oral health;
- stroke, insomnia and various neurological problems.
In 1, 2, 3, or 4 degrees of the disease, pain may spread to the area of the shoulder joint and arms. A feature of this symptom, which distinguishes it from other illnesses, is that the discomfort changes its strength and concentration depending on the position of the neck and the turn of the head.
disease syndromes
All symptoms that appear in osteochondrosis may be incorrectly substantiated and, as a result, an incorrect diagnosis is possible. Therefore, with the existing symptoms, it is necessary to find out all the reasons for their appearance. Thus, medicine knows several syndromes that distinguish the causes of their origin:
root syndromes
In this case, the nerves are compressed and the person feels pain and numbness in one part of the neck. Unpleasant sensations can spread to the back, the scapula area, as well as the upper arm;
irritable reflex syndromes
It manifests itself as a severe, unbearable pain in the back of the head, which spreads throughout the entire neck. Most often, it occurs with a sudden movement or turn of the head;
Vertebral artery syndrome
In that case, the name speaks for itself. There is a tightness of the artery and the person experiences a severe throbbing headache, which can result in loss of consciousness or vomiting;
Heart Syndrome
It manifests as increased heart rate, dizziness and loss of consciousness. Often, in this case, a wrong diagnosis is made and treatment for angina pectoris is started.
Treatment
In osteochondrosis, the person is always shown immediate treatment. Your tactics are chosen depending on the degree of illness. Therefore, at 1 or 2 degrees, complete recovery is possible after therapy. In later stages, medical correction is usually aimed at preventing complications as well as improving quality of life.
First aid
What to do when the first symptoms of the disease occur? First, you need to relieve pain in the cervicothoracic region. To do this, you need to take a regular pain reliever, lie down or just relax.
The next step is to consult a doctor for correct diagnosis and proper treatment.
Conservative treatment
With osteochondrosis confirmed, conservative treatment is usually prescribed. The patient is shown taking anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers. You can use various gels or ointments to relieve swelling and inflammation. In addition, the doctor can prescribe a course of massage, therapeutic exercises. Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is prescribed in almost all cases.
Surgery
In rare cases, with severely advanced osteochondrosis, an operation is possible. In this case, the patient is placed in a sleep state with the aid of general anesthesia, after which the bone formations between the discs of the cervicothoracic spine are removed. After manipulation, the patient undergoes conservative treatment or physiotherapy.
Preventive measures
Due to the decreasing age of occurrence of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, it is necessary that each person carries out its prevention. This is especially true for people who are at risk.
important rules
The prevention of cervical osteochondrosis consists of following simple but very important rules:
- pay attention to your posture, don't allow it to bend;
- do not expose the column to heavy loads;
- you cannot make sudden movements with your head;
- don't be nervous, avoid stress;
- don't catch a cold, don't get too cold;
- get rid of bad habits and switch to proper nutrition.
Special exercises
To protect yourself from this disease, you need to do preventive exercise:
- place your palm on your forehead, contract your neck muscles, then move your hand to the back of your head and repeat the exercise, you need to do this for 7 seconds in 3 sets;
- place the palm of the hand on the temple, then also contract the neck muscles, repeat a similar action on the other hand, the tempo, the number of approximations is the same as in the first paragraph;
- bring your head back and slowly reach your chin in the chest area, you need to do the exercise 3 times;
- turn your head in different directions - you need to do this exercise slowly, without any sudden movements;
- tilt your head back, first touch one shoulder to your ear, then the other, repeat the exercise 5 times.
If one or more symptoms of the disease occur, contact your doctor immediately. Maybe you just get a prescription for physical therapy and that's the end of it. Don't delay, don't start the disease.
Do your daily gym. It is better to do elementary exercises than to suffer from illnesses later on.
Ask your doctor how to sleep for cervical osteochondrosis. Follow all the rules, be healthy!