The "pearl necklace" of the spine requires careful care. If there is no proper prevention of spine diseases, symptoms of osteochondrosis will appear. In this case, the treatment time is long, and it is impossible to completely restore the integrity of the spine and cartilage disc.
Generally speaking, osteochondrosis is considered to be changes in the bone tissue, ligament apparatus, cartilage, and intervertebral discs of the spine. This process is long, and the change does not appear "suddenly", but is felt by the first signs and characteristic symptoms. In most cases, it is mainly pain that occurs when nerve fibers, soft tissues or blood vessels are violated. The symptoms of osteochondrosis directly depend on the stage of the disease course and the area of the lesion, and the treatment method is different for each stage.
Clinical picture
Upright walking is a distinctive feature of a person as a Homo sapiens, and at the same time, upright walking is the main cause of osteochondrosis. None of the animals walking on 4 legs represent familiar symptoms of osteochondrosis. When walking upright, the intervertebral cartilage bears a huge load. Over time, they will change and deform, and the spine will stop fully functioning.
Four sets of characteristic changes:
Nervous Syndrome
With the symptoms of nerve damage, there may be decreased skin sensitivity or decreased muscle strength. For osteochondrosis of the spine, the first sign of neurological disease can be considered the appearance of pain, which is the result of compression or irritation of the spinal cord. The first sign is in a limited area of the back, where the pathological changes begin. As it progresses, the pain gradually "spreads" to various parts of the body located in the area innervated by the compressed nerve root. Mainly arm or leg pain, this condition usually leads to misconceptions of improper diagnosis and treatment.
In neurological syndrome, symptoms of impaired motor function appear less frequently than sensitive symptoms. If this happens, symptoms of partial or complete loss of mobility in the arms or legs may be observed, such as sacral-lumbar osteochondrosis of the spine, which manifests as paralysis of the left or right lower limbs.
Static Syndrome
When the vertebrae begin to change, the first symptoms have already appeared. As a result, there will be incorrect postures: lordosis, kyphosis, or scoliosis. In difficult situations, the mobility of the articular surfaces of the spine is restricted, and the signs are the inability to fully straighten or rotate the head.
Vascular Syndrome
The reasons for spinal vascular problems are as follows:
- Sympathetic NS tone is low (a sign of chronic ischemia of internal organs).
- Local compression of blood vessels by altered vertebrae or their protrusions. In this case, the signs of osteochondrosis are the destruction of the blood supply to the brain when the large blood vessels are compressed. Symptoms of hypoxia include dizziness, insufficient blood supply to the inner ear, or nausea. Usually, symptomatic treatment does not produce serious results.
Nutritional syndrome
Such symptoms of osteochondrosis are characterized by the appearance of ulcers on the skin, which are the result of tissue malnutrition. Skin damage occurs with neurological and vascular factors. The exact signs depend on which part of the back is affected.
Typical manifestations of pathology
Each part of the spine has its own typical signs of osteochondrosis, and spinal neurologists diagnose male and female diseases based on this. Based on these symptoms, you can understand which parts of the back are affected and which treatments need to be performed first.
There are several types of osteochondrosis: thoracic vertebrae, cervical vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, sacrum and mixed types. When the location of the signs is not in one department, but diffuse. The first signs of osteochondrosis in women and men start to feel mild dull pain, discomfort, and crunching, usually accompanied by sternal osteochondrosis, and pain in the heart area. Ideally, treatment should be started at this stage so that all future problems can be avoided.
In addition, the signs of osteochondrosis became clear, and pain began to appear in the arms or legs. The pain of the spine increases with any load, and gradually performing exercises related to forward bending becomes problematic. The more osteochondrosis manifests, the more limited the mobility of the back, the thinned intervertebral disc loses flexibility, the distance between the vertebrae decreases, and the mobility is lost. The muscles begin to work in "emergency mode", constantly under tension, supporting the vertebrae to prevent them from getting closer and completely destroying the intervertebral disc.
Tight muscles will bring more discomfort to people, increase tension and soreness, and the symptoms of osteochondrosis will intensify.
Cervical Pathology
The signs of cervical osteochondrosis are often "hidden" under the guise of other diseases. The first sign of neck disease is headache, which cannot be relieved by traditional painkillers. It starts from the back of the head and goes to the temples. The unpleasant feelings increase after maintaining a position for a long time; numbness of the arms, shoulder blades, and shoulders often occurs. With the intense compression of nerve fibers, hand paralysis or numbness may occur.
When the blood vessel is violated, there will be signs of a cerebrovascular accident:
- Tinnitus, dizziness-talking about poor blood flow in the cochlea and semicircular canals.
- Loss of vision, flies in front of eyes-indicates that the optical equipment is undernourished.
- Severe brain hypoxia-can manifest as a sudden loss of consciousness, especially if cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by vascular atherosclerosis.
Hiccups, feelings of lack of air, shortness of breath, and panic attacks "suggest" damage to the phrenic nerve. The phrenic nerve is part of the cervical plexus, directly related to the regulation of breathing rate and depth.
Breast pathology
The symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are diverse, although this part of the spine is affected less frequently, whether it is female or male. Pain sensation has obvious localization: upper abdomen, shoulder blade area and between ribs. But osteochondrosis is usually "hidden" behind signs of intestinal or renal colic, angina or cholecystitis.
Symptoms that indicate one or the other thoracic lesions:
- Upper chest. Feeling of a lump in the throat, violation of swallowing behavior, coughing.
- Mid-thoracic section. Mimics the symptoms of gastritis and ulcers (stomach pain) as well as the symptoms of arrhythmia and high blood pressure (heartache).
- Lower chest. Symptoms of intestinal motility disorder and signs similar to appendicitis appear.
Lumbar Pathology
The signs of damage to this part are extensive, but the most common first signs are pain in the lower back and legs, loss of sensitivity, and numbness of the skin of the lower extremities.
Changes in the lumbosacral area, characteristic symptoms:
- Pain and low back pain can be observed after physical activity.
- When the motor nerve fibers are squeezed, leg paralysis and paralysis will occur.
- Squeezing the nerves and blood vessels of men and women can cause damage to the pelvic organs.
It should always be remembered that osteochondrosis of the spine is an insidious disease. You can treat the respiratory tract, genitourinary system, or gastrointestinal tract for many years, but you will not get positive results from the treatment. Therefore, when there are signs of disease, it is best to consult a neurologist first, not a cardiologist, therapist, or gastroenterologist.