Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis, depending on the patient's condition, is used both in combination with drug therapy, and independently. The following types of physiotherapy are used for osteochondrosis: Laser therapy, Detenzor - therapy, Electrotherapy, Shock wave therapy, Magnetotherapy, Mud and balneotherapy, Ultrasound therapy, Ultraviolet irradiation (UFO). After successfully relieving the exacerbation, massage and physiotherapy exercises are shown.
UFO:under the influence of UVA rays, vitamin D is formed in the skin, which helps to absorb calcium. The method is carried out using irradiators that have bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Ultrasound therapy and phonophoresis:during ultrasound therapy, the body is exposed to high frequency sounds (from 20 kHz or more). Thanks to its effect, the method relieves the pain of various localizations. This method is combined with the introduction of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs (ultraphonophoresis) for their better penetration into the affected tissues.
Shockwave Therapy:the method consists in transmitting an acoustic wave to a painful area of the body. This type: eliminates pain, improves microcirculation, improves metabolism.
Keeper Therapy:the method is to lengthen the spine using the patient's body weight.
Laser therapy:the method has a healing effect using helium-neon lasers. Due to the activation of bioelectric processes in the tissues of the nervous system, laser therapy has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Laser radiation is carried out along the inflamed spinal roots. With osteochondrosis, an effect on the paravertebral areas of the affected spine is used.
Electrotherapy:Electrotherapy has a multifaceted effect on the body: it eliminates pain and discomfort, improves nutrition and trophism of the affected tissues. Impulsive currents have a very effective therapeutic effect. Their mechanism of action on the body is determined by the effect on nerve receptors. Low-frequency pulses contribute to the extinction of acute pain and are prescribed as first aid for severe pain syndrome. The following types of currents are used: diadynamic therapy (DDT), amplipulse therapy (SMT), interference therapy, transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS), UHF electric field.
Magnetotherapy:Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis includes the use of magnetotherapy, which has a decongestant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic effect. Inductors are placed on the spine and affected limbs.
Balneotherapy and mud therapy:balneotherapy for osteochondrosis consists in the use of mineral waters (local and general baths, swimming pools, showers) for therapeutic and rehabilitative purposes. During the procedure, minerals penetrate the skin and act on the receptors and nerve centers.
When dealing with mud, the effect on the body occurs under the influence of the temperature and chemical composition of the healing mud. Mud is used in the form of applications.
Balneotherapy stimulates the metabolism, improves blood circulation and relieves inflammation and pain.
Combined methods of physiotherapy: Combined methods of physiotherapy for osteochondrosis are most often prescribed. For example, with severe pain, diadynamic therapy and electrophoresis (diadynamophoresis) with the use of novocaine are used. For a one-step effect on biological active points, the method of acupuncture-laser puncture is used. Its action is to activate points with acupuncture needles and laser radiation.
Mud therapy is often used with electrotherapy (mud solution electrophoresis, mud inductothermy, galvanic mud therapy).
Joint treatment
All joint diseases can be divided into two main groups: joint injuries, which result from metabolic disorders and joint inflammation. Of course, in each case, the joint treatment is carried out according to its own special program.
Joint treatment,whether it is arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatism or other ailment, it must necessarily be complex, and the main task to be solved with the treatment is to eliminate the cause of the disease and, consequently, the painful symptoms.
Treatment with modern techniques is aimed at eliminating or minimizing pain, signs of local or general inflammation and restoration of the affected joints. Complex treatment usually begins with drug therapy.
The patient is prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that help restore joint cartilage, strengthen the immune system. Joint treatment at this stage can relieve pain symptoms. Often it includes intra-articular administration of drugs so that the therapeutic substance in the desired concentration enters directly into the cavity of the diseased joint. This increases the effectiveness of drug treatment.
In addition, when the main symptoms of the acute phase are safely eliminated, the treatment continues with the help of a complex of physiotherapeutic procedures, physical therapy exercises, massage. In particular, the treatment of joints with physiotherapeutic methods has found today a very wide application.
Impulsive currents (DDT, SMT), magnetotherapy, EHF therapy, laser therapy, electrophoresis with medicinal substances, ultrasound and phonophoresis are used. When the exacerbation subsides, balneotherapy (various types of baths) and mud therapy are connected. Physiotherapy and massage are prescribed.
Back pain treatment
There are many reasons for these pains. First of all, throbbing pain can appear due to a hernia (protrusion) of the intervertebral disc, osteochondrosis and pathology of the nervous system. Most often, back pain occurs in those people who have been in the same position for a long time.
Yet the most common reason is a lack of physical activity! This reduces blood flow to the ligaments, joints, and intervertebral discs, causing the cartilage that forms them to break. It is the weakening of the ligament that is the cause of all diseases of the spine. When pain appears, you should immediately consult a doctor who will determine its cause, make the correct diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
To reduce the risk of back pain you need to move more, control your weight and do at least minimal exercise (15 minutes a day is enough).
Proper nutrition is also very important - it's one of the keys to good health and longevity, and the spine needs protein to maintain flexibility and calcium for strength. Calcium is found in large quantities in hard cheese, liver, nuts, cottage cheese, eggs, and meat and dairy proteins. The bones and ligaments of the spine also need microelements: phosphorus (there is a lot of them in bran, peas, fish), magnesium and manganese (found in sea fish, onions, potatoes), as well as fatty acids - their source are nuts, fatty sea fish and olive oil.
When back pain worsens, treatment begins with medications, usually pain relievers, diuretics, and drugs that relieve muscle spasms. However, there are no drugs without side effects, they are used only for a limited time, and most importantly, they do not eliminate the cause of back pain and do not prevent a relapse of the disease. In the acute period, treatment methods such as traction are also used, as well as the use of collars and corsets, which allows you to relieve the diseased spine.
In addition to emergency medicine - drugs that relieve muscle spasms and pain, the most important treatment for osteochondrosis is physiotherapy, which helps to reduce pain in the acute period of the disease, improve blood circulation in the tissues, prevent malnutrition of ligaments, muscles and joints and prevent movement disorders.
Modern physiotherapy is a branch of medicine that has a powerful arsenal of treatment tools; in it there are two major blocks: physiotherapy exercises with massage and electrotherapy. Therapeutic massage is one of the most effective methods of treating osteochondrosis and back pain, as it improves blood circulation in deep tissues and removes muscle blocks ("clamps"), which are the main cause of severe pain.
One of the most effective methods of electrotherapy is drug electrophoresis - it is a means for the targeted delivery of drugs to a diseased organ, which improves the blood supply to tissues.
Impulsive currents - DDT, SMT - have a pronounced analgesic, antispasmodic and trophic effect. Also, a laser, a magnetic laser is used to treat back pain. This method allows you to quickly relieve swelling associated with inflammation and, as a result, pain that occurs in edematous and compressed tissues.
Magnetotherapy is used in the form of permanent or alternating magnetic fields, it is also able to quickly stop swelling and pain.
Arsonval currents are effective - these are "ozonated" currents used to relieve painful muscle spasms, high frequency ultrasonic vibrations that eliminate inflammation and help the scars to dissolve, increasing the elasticity of the tissues.
Physiotherapy plays a special role in physiotherapy. Its importance is often underestimated and, after all, without a full-fledged muscular corset, it is impossible to cure back pain and prevent the recurrence of osteochondrosis.
Physiotherapy is of particular importance in trauma and in the postoperative period. Its use will help prevent the recurrence of back pain that occurs due to so-called "motor stereotypes". For example, an employee who spends his entire working day sitting at his computer or a salesperson whose main workload falls on his feet. Even the usual healthy gymnastics, yoga, pilates and other types of exercises can become a very effective way to combat "motor automatisms".
Neck pain treatment
The pain can be caused by various reasons, ranging from muscle spasm to herniated disc in the cervical spine. If the pain in the neck appears once (due to a sharp rotation of the head, an uncomfortable posture during sleep), it will most likely disappear on its own in a few days.
To reduce pain, you just need to reduce the static load on the neck muscles (do not keep the head tilted for a long time), do not get carried away by excessive physical exertion, do not make sudden movements of the neck.
If the pain in the neck is constant or often recurring, accompanied by headache, numbness of the upper limbs, it is necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination.
Neck pain physiotherapy is aimed at relieving pain syndrome, improving blood circulation and microcirculation in the affected segment, providing anti-inflammatory and anti-edema effects, eliminating metabolic and dystrophic disorders and reducing movement disorders.
Physical factors are used in the stages of inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment, after the patient is discharged from the hospital, as well as in early postoperative rehabilitation. In the acute period: after 4-5 days (as the severity of the process decreases), laser therapy, impulse currents (SMT, DDT, interference currents), magnetotherapy, UFO of the segmental zone, darsonvaluation of the cervical collar area of the spine and the occipital region of the head, electrophoresis of substances is prescribed local anesthetic, ganglia blocking action on painful areas.
In the subacute period: phonophoresis with drugs, magnetotherapy, drug electrophoresis, microwave electromagnetic fields (SMV, UHF), laser therapy are used.
In the remission phase: thermotherapy is connected, including ozokerite and mud therapy for the neck-cervical area, balneotherapy (iodine-bromine bath, turpentine, laurel, bischofite), underwater shower-massage, therapeutic massage.
Treatment for low back pain
The sensation of pain in the lower back appears due to an imbalance of the musculo-ligament apparatus. In this case, microtraumatization of soft tissues occurs, as a result of which chemical irritants (pain mediators) are released in excess. They cause muscle spasms and back pain.
The origin of lumbodynia is mainly associated with osteochondrosis, which is localized in the lumbar region. Lumbodynia is characterized by aching pain in the lower back with moderate or traumatic factors of lumbodynia: physical fatigue, systematic or excessive physical exertion; sudden movements; constant work in a "non-physiological" or prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position; bruises of the lower back, hypothermia, cold, etc.
The low back pain treatment program includes the following main points:
- Rest in bed for eight to ten days. At the same time, the bed should be flat and solid. The "rest" on such a surface allows the back muscles to relax.
- Medical treatment of low back pain involves the use of sedatives and pain relievers and the use of novocaine blocks (with sharp increase in pain).
From the methods of physiotherapy, it is possible to use electrophoresis of analgesics, impulsive currents, ultraviolet irradiation of segmental zones. In an acute period, the patient may be prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of tablets, injections, suppositories or ointments that relieve muscle spasm. Warming creams can only be used during the rehabilitation period (the third day of exacerbation). In the acute period, they can provoke swelling and increase pain.
- After the elimination of acute pain, the treatment of low back pain is continued with the help of physical therapy, massage and manual therapy.
The main task at this stage is to strengthen the muscle corset and reduce the compression of the nerve roots. Special exercises for low back pain help normalize metabolism, improve blood circulation and nutrition of the intervertebral discs, relieve muscle tension, increase intervertebral space and relieve the spine.
In addition, in the phase of remission, acupuncture, hydromassage, mineral baths, mud therapy and other physiotherapy are prescribed (see Treatment of back pain). Thanks to this, blood circulation is improved, an anti-inflammatory and resorbing effect is provided.
Physiotherapy treatment
Physiotherapy (from the Greek physis - nature and therapy), branch of medicine that studies the healing properties of physical factors and develops methods for their use for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. In modern physiotherapy, magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields of low, high, very high and very high frequency are used, artificial light radiations (from infrared to ultraviolet and coherent monochromatic), mechanical vibrations (from infrasonic to ultrasound), etc.
Physical factors have influenced man throughout his evolution, so physiotherapy procedures have a greater physiological effect on the body than many drugs.
Physiotherapeutic treatment can be used both independently and in combination with drug therapy, manual therapy, massage, physiotherapy exercises. The variety of factors and techniques used in physiotherapy determines the possibilities of individual impact on the body and a targeted influence on the pathological process without negative side effects.
The use of physiotherapy is possible in almost all areas of medicine: otolaryngology, gastroenterology, gynecology, urology, pulmonology, orthopedics and traumatology, neurology, surgery, cardiology and others.
There is a fairly wide range of physiotherapy treatments, namely mud therapy, hydrotherapy (various mineral and aromatic baths, underwater hydromassage shower), magnetotherapy, laser therapy, various types of currents (galvanic, pulsed, high frequency), UHF electromagnetic waves, microwaves , EHF, inhalation medicinal herbs, halotherapy, vibro-traction devices, physiotherapy room, staff of qualified masseurs.
Also in the department of physical methods of treatment, therapeutic methods of acupuncture, electrical stimulation for various neurological diseases are carried out. All physiotherapy treatment is prescribed by the physiotherapist of the ward, taking into account the disease and the general condition of the patient.
rehabilitation
Medical rehabilitation is a complex of therapeutic and prophylactic measures, which is aimed at the maximum possible restoration of the lost abilities of the patient after various diseases.
Rehabilitation is also aimed at restoring the patient's muscle strength, as well as preventing relapses or complications. Today, medical rehabilitation is not just about prescribing any type of exercise after discharge from the hospital or a course of physiotherapy at the end of the hospital stay.
Rehabilitation is a complex of activities that include the participation of doctors from different sectors: physiotherapists, massage therapists, psychologists, speech therapists and others. As a result, it is a complex rehabilitation that allows the patient to recover fully and not partially. The success of treatment depends on both the correct diagnosis and the selected and optimally performed treatment, as well as the correct and timely rehabilitation of the patient.
Rehabilitation has a single goal: the most complete restoration possible of the lost functions in the patient, based on the existing consequences of the injury or disease and the treatment performed.
Depending on the area of application, rehabilitation can be: Orthopedic - is performed after injuries and operations for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, fractures, spinal malformations and posture disorders. Neurological and neurosurgical is one of the most serious types of rehabilitation, since the largest number of specialists are involved in its implementation: neurologists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.
This rehabilitation is necessary after injuries and operations on the nervous system (brain, spinal cord), with diseases of the peripheral nervous system (nerve bundles), stroke, paresis and paralysis. Cardiological rehabilitation - rehabilitation after an acute heart attack, with diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
The goal of rehabilitation is the rapid regeneration of muscles with their atrophies associated with prolonged physical inactivity, in order to restore the strength and tone of the limb, restore the full range of motion of the joints after immobilization (after fractures), accelerate the regeneration of cartilage tissue, improve the trophism of organs and bone tissues, increase mobility with adhesions in the abdominal cavity after abdominal operations, increase the general tone of the patient and improve the psychoemotional state, relieve pain and swelling after joint injuries, restore physical activity after stroke, paresis and paralysis, as well as in the postoperative period in patients after operations associated with diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system (after injuries, fractures, bruises and sprains).
It is worth noting that the rehabilitation process itself is based on stimulating the patient's abilities under external influence. Physical exercises, modern equipment help to stimulate local and general immunity, improve tissue repair processes, restore blood and lymphatic circulation.
Methods of medical rehabilitation include the following methods: remedial gymnastics, massage, kinesitherapy, physiotherapy treatment, manual therapy, electromyostimulation (consists in improving the conduction of nerve impulses to the skeletal muscles), psychological assistance, speech therapy.
It should be noted that one of the key points in any rehabilitation are physiotherapeutic methods, which are aimed at restoring lost functions and stimulating movements in the patient, accelerating reparative processes in tissues and organs, especially in the musculoskeletal system, in the nervous system and in the circulatory system.
One of the advantages of physiotherapy methods is that they do not use drugs, which means that there is no risk of allergic reactions and side effects, drug addiction does not develop, and the treatment methods used are usually non-invasive.
Properly selected complex of the rehabilitation program will help the patient recover as quickly as possible after an illness, injury or operation, return a feeling of freedom of movement and the ability to communicate with people around him without restrictions.