Osteochondrosis: treatment, symptoms, signs, causes

Here is another pathology that is considered age -related, but often occurs without any relationship to age.

For example, this fact: more than half of patients with osteochondrosis worldwide see the first signs of its development at the age of 25 years. Yes, no one thought that old age could come so quickly. . . Some people see these years as mature, some are more accustomed to referring to almost adolescence, and for some people, 60 doesn’t seem to be a reason to feel unwell. But emphatically everyone will agree that for the aging process is, in moderation, not yet age.

What's the problem? In fact, it is multi -faceted and may seem complicated to the average person. But in reality there is nothing complicated about it. In the spinal disc section of the hernia, we say that its content is water with protein dissolved in it, right? So, all osteochondrosis, along with projections of its speed, severity and treatment, are, in fact, built on this protein. What do we mean? Now everything will be clear.

The proteins in the "filling" for the intervertebral disc are called glycosaminoglycans. Maybe we don't need to remember this name.

But we definitely need to remember that the main purpose of glycosamine dicans is to retain water. Moreover, with the possibility of gradual release under pressure. In other words, the protein that creates the jelly-like "filler" texture for the disc is made so that the water is heated in it at rest, and under load it is squeezed out gradually.

Of course, the water itself is too liquid to do something like this. This is why the body synthesizes special proteins - unique! analogues of food gel -forming agents such as carrageenan, gum, starch.

In order for the contents of the intervertebral disc (and, we remember, is the basis of its cushioning properties) to remain orderly, we need a lifetime:

• monitor what we eat, avoid deficiencies of essential substances, especially protein;
• avoid muscle spasms in the back;
• maintain active circulation of cerebrospinal fluid and blood in it to normalize metabolic processes in spinal tissue;
• avoid injuries and infections to spinal tissues;
• maintaining the rate of water-salt metabolism in the body.

Symptoms of osteochondrosis

So, very early on, our buttocks will start "dancing-tapping" to the rhythm of our every movement. Yet, for quite some time, this commotion was only audible. In the future, there will come a period of sensations - constant pulling, aching pain and discomfort in the area affected by osteochondrosis. They make themselves feel relaxed, and with movement they increase gradually. Subjectively, patients noted that joints affected by the process appeared tired faster than others. Accordingly, as the feeling of tiredness intensifies, the excruciating pain also increases.

But this is, of course, far from the end of the process, even if it is no longer the beginning. After all, the condition of the disc does not improve, and the condition of the cartilage deteriorates when the condition persists, and very quickly. Over time, the crunches themselves become painful.

Every such sound is now accompanied by a dull burst of pain both in the place of its appearance and in nearby tissues of any kind. It seems to spread as a painful wave that extends from one point in the joint-exactly according to the laws of resonance.

Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis

If we have a problem with the cervical spine, we may feel:

• headaches are resistant to standard treatment - dull, painful, throbbing, persistent, spreading evenly throughout the head. It coincides with an increase in neck pain and is similar to a headache that appears with a spike in blood pressure. As a rule, with osteochondrosis, too high a pressure leads to headaches;
• unmotivated dizziness attacks throughout the day: with sudden changes in posture, head movements, trembling. Often, dizziness coincides with the rhythm of breathing - a dangerous "light" in the head appears with each inhalation and disappears during exhalation. Such symptomatology means that at this time the intracranial pressure is reduced, and not excessive, as in the previous example. As a rule, these two symptoms are observed alternately in all patients with cervical osteochondrosis, occur periodically and last for several days. Sometimes one replaces the other, sometimes they are separated by periods of relative stress;
• aching pain in the neck, especially at the base of the skull. In the early stages, it is expressed by vague discomfort during the day and dryness when turning the head. But touching the spinal space in this area or trying to massage the muscles gives pain and spasm of the muscle fibers. Thereafter, the pain is permanent, increased by turning the head to the side, bending to the chest, after sleeping on a pillow that is high or too soft;
• aching pain in the chest (as if below the ribs), under the scapula, with back to the shoulders and upper chest muscles. They resemble an attack of angina pectoris or coronary artery disease similar to pain in a hernia disc, but more permanent. For example, in diseases of the cardiovascular system, pain rarely lasts more than a few hours and depends little on the rhythm of breathing. With osteochondrosis, it persists, worsening with each breath, lasting for a period of up to several days or more;
• "Lumbago" along the shoulder line, usually down to the fingertips. As a rule, depending on the stage of progression of osteochondrosis, patients suffer at the same time either with short -term "lumbago" to the shoulder joint, or with prolonged numbness and acute "lumbago" attacks along the entire inner surface. arm. As for the violation of the small neurons of the shoulder, it does not feel itself at rest, but worsens with the first movement of the head after prolonged immobility. Patients describe it as "electrical discharge along the spine, in the shoulder muscles. And radiation to the hands is often accompanied by spasm of the wrist muscles and violation of the sensitivity of the ring finger, as well as the little finger;
• quite often, even in less than half of all cases with cervical osteochondrosis, the sensitivity and mobility of the tongue are reduced. The patient may not be able to distinguish some flavors (not recognizing bitter, sour, sweet, but easy to name mixed flavors). Some people report changes in diction, especially when they need to speak quickly and / or clearly.

Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region

Signs of thoracic osteochondrosis:

• pain, pulling pain in the chest, "somewhere below the ribs. " Unlike coronary heart disease, the patient finds it difficult to pinpoint its center more accurately. Such pain is highly dependent on the rhythm of breathing - it increases with inspiration and with coughing. And for all the uncertainty of its location in the chest, each such attack clearly resonates in the vertebrae / vertebrae of the cause. In 99 cases out of 100, it is the displaced vertebra that is most painful;
• disturbances in the sensitivity and mobility of the pulmonary diaphragm - the appearance of a feeling of incomplete inhalation, inability to perform lower respiratory rate;
• pain and discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract - especially often the stomach, upper intestine, liver and pancreas. The pain can range from mild and inaudible discomfort to obvious cramping. Therefore, osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is often mistaken for moist gastritis, enteritis, colitis, chronic pancreatitis.

Symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis

Lumbar osteochondrosis, also called lumbago (so we know that it is one and the same), is the most common form of the disease.

With it we will have:

• Painful pain in the lower back, aggravated by bending over, sitting for a long time or standing - in general, almost all body movements. As a rule, it bothers the sick person at night, in the presence of the habit of sleeping on his back, with the legs straightened. It subsides only with long stays or the habit of sleeping in the fetal position. That is, with the knee inserted into the chest. Patients with lumbar osteochondrosis quickly and voluntarily shift from a soft bed to a hard one, as it is easier to maintain the position of the embryo on a hard floor throughout the night;
• lumbar stiffness syndrome. It implies: the inability to quickly bend after standing or sitting for a long time, associated not so much with pain but with a general decrease in muscle expansion and bone spasm in the affected area; increasing numbness in the lumbar region when sitting or standing, associated with acute violation of the nerve endings in this position of the vertebrae;
• sciatic nerve traps (the main nerve trunk for the legs, entering the spine in the coccyx area). With osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral area, it belongs to the number of sciatica scenarios, although not the only one. Although there are several other variants, sciatica is often a complication of painful osteochondrosis.

Treatment of osteochondrosis

We have to undergo treatment for a long time, so first we will improve the quality of life of our own backs.

1. Let's remove the feather bed and feather pillows from the bed. Let’s leave one main mattress, get an orthopedic pillow - solid, low, with a fixed depression in the middle. Typically, these pillows are made of polyester padding. So you need to make sure that it is not too soft - now it is dangerous for us. And the chances that it "blows", turning into a flat pancake in a week, is very high. The thickness of the roller along the edges should be equal to the length of our neck from the base of the skull to the 7th vertebra that protrudes when the head is tilted. If 1. 5-2 cm lower, better.
2. We will buy other pillows that are not too thick or use our old fur in a new quality. From now on, we will always need to place this pillow under the thighs or buttocks in the supine position, and also below the upper knee when we sleep in the fetal position. Let’s experiment with the optimal height, width and position of the pillow - the right thing, placed in the right place, will bring the pain away instantly in the most noticeable focus in this particular position.
3. It is strictly forbidden to lift and carry any object weighing more than 10 kg in case of osteochondrosis. Therefore, any exercise should be done with us with your own weight or minimum. With any type of osteochondrosis, it is wiser for us not to do it ourselves, but to go to the gym. It is in the gym, because cardio (treadmills, bikes, skis) and fitness are not the same. We now, by all means, need to arrange our extra back support and work with the right and correct body position. The best for such a purpose is a simulator - a steel frame, in which both us and the weight lifted can only move in an amplitude limited by the structure.
4. After doing any effort (including an upright walking routine), we should do a light massage on the back, stretching it slowly. Heat can be applied to the site of severe back pain - provided the focus of the pain does not migrate along with the change in posture, of course. And because in osteochondrosis pain migration is a frequent phenomenon, sometimes a simple "five minutes" on a mat like Lyapko applicator turns out to be five times more effective than any heating pad. After all, we really can’t buy a heating mattress instead! Moreover, in the summer, heating such a large area is at risk of ending up with heat stroke. . .

If we understand all this, take into account and are confident that we will not forget, we will organize the activation of metabolic processes for our spine. As already mentioned, you cannot exercise at home with osteochondrosis. More precisely, one should not get carried away with this - it is better to work with a professional orthopedist or instructor where there is equipment that can compensate for the lack of strength that arises in our spine. But because, unfortunately, not everyone has such an opportunity, we still dare to recommend some warm -up exercises with reduced chances of complications.

There is only one rule here that cannot be broken. That is: if we decide to take everything into our own hands, before starting training, we definitely need to order or buy a special medical bandage or corset. Bandages for reliable fixation on the back where there is a pathological process. You should work only in it, providing the troubled part of the spine with support, which is currently lacking.

So:

1. We would sit closely at a table, whose cover would be located on our stomachs, on a chair with a narrow, high back. We must have strong support for both the back and the back of the head. Let’s lean with our whole backs on the back of the chair, stretch our arms, slide them along the lid, to the maximum. It is also necessary to bend slightly, pushing the shoulder blades forward, but for this it is forbidden to tear the back of the head or back from the support. At the line where our palms remain in this position, objects weighing more than 10 kg should be placed. Its shape and surface should be comfortable, since then we need to take this object with the palm of the hand slightly from below and pull it towards ourselves, without lifting it from the surface. You don’t have to move it too much with your hands as with the effort of the scapular muscle, which is now trying to return the forearm that is stretched forward to its normal position. As you can see, we are talking about "domestic" rowing machines and slightly adjusted for our needs. More precisely, its modification, implies a simple pull of weight on oneself. In any case, this exercise develops well the muscles of the middle of the back - between the shoulder blades, as well as the lats. After we pull the weight towards us, it should be shifted backwards and the pull should be repeated 15 more times.
2. Let’s stand close to the table we already know and rest the pelvic bones on the edge of the lid. Let’s place our hands behind our heads, let our heads fall so that our foreheads rest on the table. At the same time, the back should not be rounded - we will round it later. For now, our job is to make 15 bends to the table itself with the back straight and hands behind the head. Proper body position means that in the future, if we fall on the table, we will be all over our face, not our forehead. Therefore, on the lid itself, we should linger, avoiding relying on it.
3. We used one of the exercises detailed in the section on back disease prevention. That is: we lay prone on the floor, arms extended above our heads, with straight legs folded together. Lift one (any) arm off the floor and stretch it forward at the same time, as well as the opposite leg. Of course, you shouldn’t try to throw your foot over your head, but pull it back with a kicking motion. Then lower the limbs, count in mind to three and repeat with another pair of "legs opposite hands". In total, you need to do 20 repetitions for both pairs of limbs.
4. We sat on the floor, with our backs to the wall, with our legs extended in front of us. Don’t place our backs too tight on the wall and place our palms securely on the floor. Now we need to raise the body on one hand on the floor as high as we can. It is best to keep the legs straight while maintaining their sitting position. If it doesn’t work with a straight line, you can try squeezing it into your chest. In this case, you need to take into account that changing the position of the foot will shift the center of gravity and require you to lean your head against the wall. Repeat 5-7 times.
5. We will get a special belt for weight lifting - wide, made of thick leather that fixes the bottom of the buttocks perfectly. In milder forms of osteochondrosis, it is quite possible to leave only a bandage that corrects the diseased area. Take in the bathroom a 15 -liter basin or bucket that we use on the farm. We fill it with water so that it doesn’t splash to the side, we take it to any empty space. Plates with water should be placed on the floor, legs should be slightly separated and bent. knees for stability, move the body slightly forward. We should get a very vague pose - a slight bend forward, with a clear back at the back, but an even line of spine at the top of the torso. This is completely normal and correct from the point of view of the anatomy of the human body. When the desired position is reached, we should remain seated until we can grip the pelvic handle without rounding the back. After that, the pelvis must be raised, with simultaneous movements straightening the knees and lower back.

As noted above, self -sequence is easier for most people to understand intuitively, depending on the sensations in the process. And we recommend that you regularly (every day) conduct independent sessions with a masseur, knowing the structural features of your back - with all its pathology and proportions. However, no two rotations are the same in the world. So no masseur or doctor will examine this organ better than us. Meanwhile, the individual details of our back structure can be very important here. Especially if only one part of the spine is affected or its damage includes "aggravating conditions" in the spirit of curvature, hernia, deformity.

Nevertheless, here are some suggestions related to the nuances of multi -departmental massage. In fact, originally they were known only to experts and were often left out in the presentation of popular massage techniques. So:

With cervical osteochondrosis, the process affects both muscle types frequently and strongly. Therefore, regular, even deep, massage does not always bring patients the relief they expect. After all, the shoulder girdle is the largest in the entire body, and skeletal muscle isn’t "hidden" so deep as here.

And for complete satisfaction with the result, we will take into account some provisions where it will be easier to obtain it:

• When massaging a sore deltoid muscle, its outer edge is easiest to "reach" by pressing a finger from above into the indentation between the clavicle and the "bump" of the shoulder joint. You shouldn’t press your fingers too hard - there. in addition to the muscles, the shoulder ligaments are also located. However, as we knead a stiff muscle head, we will begin to distinguish more accurately between its soft fibers and the elastic ligament apparatus. It is necessary to work exclusively with a soft head, kneading it with a twisting motion. Then you can go up and 2-3 cm up along the shoulder line, continuing to work from above;
• the inner edge of the deltoid (the most problematic shoulder muscle in daily life) is attached to the 7th vertebra. He acts stronger than others when we, as they say, bow our heads to our chests. But under the head of the deltoid muscle there are several skeletal muscles, and it completely covers them from manipulation from above. Meanwhile, the largest part of osteochondrosis "releases" through their fibers. Therefore, we need to lie on our backs on a soft surface.

The middle part of the back will give us fewer problems with the amount of muscle fiber itself. However, their design is very complex - in the sense that most of the muscle heads here are not attached to the edges of the bone, but, as it were, are beneath it. This is especially true for the shoulder blades, to which all the muscles of the middle part are attached to one side, but none of these attachments are located directly on the edge of the bone or on top of it:

• if we are tormented with burning pain or shooting "somewhere under the scapula", it does not matter whether it is observed at the top of the scapula, below or in the middle. The fact is that in a normal lying position we will not get to these places. We need to lie down so that the massaged hand is free hanging from the bed and lying on the floor. The working hand is always opposite, and it should be wound tightly from above, behind the back of the head. Troublesome, but effective. It is better to massage the middle part under the shoulder blades with a hard massager - we will not reach with our fingers, and therefore we will not be able to press. To increase the area we reach, a pillow can be placed under the working elbow;
• how to stretch the upper corner of the latissimus dorsi, put his hands on it, even an acrobatic genius will not be able to. Lats are muscles that allow bodybuilders and physically advanced individuals in general to show the classic V -shaped connection of the back from the trunk to the shoulders. It is they that the rowing machine develops well - the pull of heavy objects to the chest. They are located at the top of the back and tight at the sides. The value of lats developed for the strength of the arms and lower back should not be underestimated, therefore they should not only be developed, but also to monitor their condition. Moreover, most people do not follow them at all, and in ordinary life they are used directly very rarely. For a sequence of lats, it is best to use a lying position on your side. In this case, for stability, the legs should be pulled closer to the abdomen, the working hand should be pulled forward along the bed and brought under the armpit of the massaged arm. For convenience, the hand to be massaged does not need to be kept lowered on the side - it is more appropriate to lower it also on the bed at chest level. Then the lower edge of the scapula will stretch afterwards, and the lats are immediately attached to it.

The lumbar region has its own structural features. First, the same line of small skeletal muscles runs along the spine here, moving the vertebrae when rotating. Second, in this place, many muscles coming from above are attached to the sacrum. That is, connecting the lower back to the upper - in fact, allows you to maintain and maintain throughout life the rate of curvature of the S -shaped back. In this way, for this reason, weakness in the middle of the back (scoliosis) is often accompanied by curvature of the lower back - lordosis andkyphosis. The main muscle of the lumbar spine is the lats. Without his health, we wouldn’t see the usual S -shaped bend as our ears. And the sacrum and tailbone will hurt us constantly, even without osteochondrosis.

So let's get started:

• it should be remembered that the latissimus dorsi muscle runs strongly obliquely: its upper edge is attached to the lower part of the scapula, and the lower - as far as the sacral bone, that is, to the coccyx. Therefore, if directly from the armpit we walk with the fingers or masseur down along the sides, we will knead the muscles associated with both the back and the abdomen - the oblique abdominal muscles. These are not the lats, which connect the lower back to the shoulders - the oblique muscles are responsible for tilting the body tightly to the side. Often because of successfully correcting this inclination. He suffered greatly from scoliosis and pelvic lesions. The main part for us is the lower part, near the femur itself. There are two heads with which it is attached to the tibial joint. One is located closer to the buttocks (joined to its uppermost lobe), and the second goes slightly forward, to the groin area. Therefore, if we take it as a habit to massage the entire area around the bulge of the pelvic bone, it will certainly not be excessive;
• if for some reason (most often due to pain) we decide to warm the buttocks, it is better to do this while lying on our side, inserting the knees to the chest. This position makes all the gluteal muscles available for massage. For the first time, the back may look very painful and seem to be made up entirely of tendon tissue - it will become very dense when touched. In fact, they’re not supposed to be like that - it’s a cramp. It is particularly noticeable in the upper and middle lobes. Typically, the fingers in the middle of the back should be freely pressed to the depth of one phalanx - the arrangement of the gluteal muscles is no less than the arrangement of the shoulder muscles. This is what we need to achieve without seeing any burning pain.