Osteochondrosis- This is a disease of the spine, or rather, its binding apparatus.
In a nutshell, a violation of the metabolism in the intervertebral cartilage.
The name the osteochondrosis derives from the Greek words Osteon - "Bone" and Chondros - "cartilage". The essence of osteocondrosis is a dystrophic process in the bones and cartilage, followed by their aging. The osteochondrosis of the spine in the classical medical sense is a degenerative injury of the cartilage of the intervertebral disc and reactive changes from the adjacent bodies of the spine. It is generally accepted that everything begins with malfunctions in the disc, but pain syndrome occurs already because of the neurological complications of this process.
There is an opinion that osteochondosis is a disease, it occurs following the effects of many factors, both hereditary and acquired. People begin to try manifestations of osteochondrosis more often after 35 years. The development and exacerbation of the osteochondosis of the spine are facilitated by its macro and microtrauma, static and dynamic overloads, as well as vibrations.
A useful and optimal load on vertebrae and intervertebral discs is when we keep the spine in its natural position, which is conceived for us by nature. When this position changes, there is an improper load distribution on the spine, which leads to a change in cartilage in the places of excess pressure.
This can be caused:
- work associated with frequent changes in the position of the body;
- raise heavy load;
- Forced laying for a long time (for example, between schoolchildren and students)
- the wrong installation in a erect, sitting, lying down position and when you carry weights;
- physical education and sport without taking into account the influence of great physical effort;
- Injuries, heavy physical labor
Very often, several factors lead to the development of osteocondrosis. A certain place between them is occupied by stress, hypothermia, adverse weather conditions (low temperature in combination with high humidity), various chemicals that enter the body with food and breathing. People with an excess body mass. The causes of the development of osteocondrosis can be a congenital deficiency of the connective tissue (weakness of the binding apparatus), a hormonal exchange, autoimmune diseases, trophic disorders in the joints, etc.
Osteocondrosi- degraction and destruction of intervertebral records. It is osteochondrosis that is the cause of back pain in 80% of cases.
The mechanism of the appearance of pain can simplify in this way: the intervertebral disc does not resist the load and its protrusion is formed. Around the intervertebral disc there are nerve processes, vases and spinal cord. The hernia of the disc, which affects any of the nerve processes causes its inflammation, which leads to pain.
The osteochondrosis of the cervical column stands out for a variety of symptoms. There is an unpleasant feeling in the hand, which spreads from the shoulder and forearm to the external surface of the shoulder and the forearm to the fingers, numbness of this area, an increase or a decrease in sensitivity, sometimes you have to get up at night and knead the muscles of the hands. The pain can be acute, cut and accompanied by a feeling of electric current. Often the pain intensifies with a minimum load on the arm; Some patients are not able to walk in a coat: it presses on their shoulders and seems exorbitantly heavy. The pain intensifies with coughs, sneezes, efforted and above all if inclined on the healthy side. Motor disorders may occur, more often in the hands, especially between the fingers. As a rule, 2-3 lower spine of the spine are affected.
Sometimes numb, burning, tingling in the hands or legs, limiting the mobility of the upper or lower limbs and there are a compromised sensitivity. The aspect of "cervical migraine" indicates the injury of the vertebral artery. Blood circulation in the stem and in the occipital parts of the brain is disturbed. A constant symptom is a headache. Usually the pain occurs in the back of the head and spreads in the region of the parietal octum. The pain is constant and intensifies with neck movements, more often in the morning. Elderly people often lose consciousness with a strong tour of the head, which is preceded by dizziness, noise in the ears, a decrease in visual acuity and hearing, nausea and vomiting.
Sometimes there are pain in the heart: prolonged, pressing. With the osteochondrosis of the cervical column, especially in the old and senile age, there are often changes in soft tissues in the form of seals. These seals are determined in the muscles of the neck, in the area of the processes of the cervical vertebrae (often the VII vertebra), the wrist, the joints of the elbow, in the Supra and subclavian pit. With age, the scar seals in the palm of the hand are increasingly revealed, due to a change in the structure of the tendons.
The manifestations of osteochondosis of the thoracic column are extremely different, but not one of the symptoms is strictly specific. Basically, the symptoms are determined by the location (position) of the painful process and the degree of its gravity. Pain in the thoracic spine is the main symptom. After physical effort or a long stay in a position, the pain intensifies, which forces patients to change the pose even at night. A burning, painful or opaque pain in the scapula and in the interspace space is very characteristic. Patients complain about the feeling of "iron ticks". Drinking on the processes of the vertebrae is painful. Pain can spread to various internal organs.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
The diagnosis of osteochondrosis is carried out by a neuropathologist, orthopedist. To confirm the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, the doctor discovers the symptoms of the disease, the history of the development of the disease and examines the patient. When examining patients with osteochondrosis, the curvature of the spine (scoliosis), the presence of painful points and muscles tense on the sides of the spine are generally detected.
To clarify the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, a radiological examination of the spine, computerized tomography or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the spine of the spine is carried out.
How to treat osteochondosis
Currently, there are many ways to treat osteochondrosis, from taking drugs and the end with surgery. Of course, there are many disputes on these methods and their effect on the body. When choosing a method of treatment, you should pay attention to some points.
For example, if it is about being treated with drugs, you should pay attention to the fact that most of them negatively influence the stomach and liver, so it is important to contact the expert specialists who select the most spared drug therapy.
When choosing manual therapist, it is desirable to be more closely, since a non -Proprofessionist, who is now a lot, can take you to a wheelchair. When selecting therapeutic exercises, it is necessary to pay attention to ensuring that the exercises do not cause load on the spine, but develop only the back muscles. Try doing all the exercises slowly, without sudden movements.
For the prevention of the osteocondrosis and the exclusion of its exacerbations, it is advisable to observe different rules that will reduce the load on the spine:
- Always keep your back exactly
- Try not to raise heavy objects. If necessary, then rags crossed and not supported
- Move more often, do not let the back muscles atrophy
- Hang the horizontal bar as often as possible and swim
But not everything is so frightening. For those who do not yet have this disease, there are a series of preventive measures, the rest has an entire arsenal of funds for the treatment of this disease.
Prevention of osteochondrosis
As you know, it is easier to prevent the disease than to treat it. The prevention of osteocondrosis is necessary for everyone, both for children and adults. Furthermore, there is nothing complicated in it and the prevention of osteocondrosis does not require special efforts. The first and perhaps the most important point is the care of the health of the spine. To do this, the world of advice recommends practicing sports or at least gymnastics, which will help develop spinal muscle corset and improve blood circulation. The neighbor is constantly monitoring the posture and pace, not to bend and not bend.
The ideal posture is when the head and back are on the same vertical, the shoulders are straightened, the shoulder blades do not protrude, the chest is raised and the stomach is pulled. Once my yoga teacher said that the stomach is not evident not because we eat much, but because we walk badly. How is it right? Imagine being pulled from the top of the head and barely touch the socks of the floor. Practice such an exercise for a couple of weeks and soon you will not notice that they became the owner of an excellent posture.
It is also advisable to hang as often as possible on the horizontal bar, lengthening the spine and letting it relax. Provide such a dream in which your spine will take the right position. Scientists' studies have shown that the ideal laying for the spine in the back. But at the same time, the mattress should be quite difficult to allow the spine to make a comfortable natural laying. To do this, put an elastic roller under your feet. We advise you to buy a orthopedic mattress and a pillow and finally throw the grandmother of the feathers bed.
If you have a monotonous sedentary job, always every two hours (more often, better) they take breaks. Relax, make your head and shoulders move, go. If possible, go out to the fresh air. By the way, these breaks are legalized and in the labor code they are authorized for people who work constantly on the computer.
We include a balanced and vitaminized nutrition to prevention. Try eating fish and seafood, walnuts, legumes and various dairy products -caseari. Periodically take complex vitamins. With this, you will not allow a metabolic violation. Excess weight is a destructive load for the spine, so try not to recover.
Well, some words about prevention in children. It is necessary to monitor the child's posture, do gymnastics or morning exercises (it will be more effective if you do it together). Yet, from preferences to school backpacks and not to bags, because they are the backpacks that balance the load on the back.