Cervical osteochondrosis is more common than any other disease-it cannot spare the elderly or young people over 20 years old. The people around him complained about his performance every day, writing their feelings as magnetic storms, energy vampires or plain, but still far from the truth.
The location of the disease in the cervical spine containing 7 vertebrae is due to the fact that the intervertebral disc in this area is the thinnest. Therefore, they dry and break much faster, causing nerve contraction and wear of the vertebrae-after all, the distance between the bones is already small. It is also affected by the underdevelopment of the neck muscles that is least used by modern people.
A, for a long time, people have not noticed the non-inflammatory process of the spine until the degeneration of the intervertebral disc enters the second stage, and the pain becomes a continuous accompanying. However, even this shocking sign is often ignored by people, attributed to fatigue, and even accustomed to the daily "background". Let us figure out why you can't ignore headaches, the mother is right to say "Don't turn your head", and how to treat cervical osteochondrosis to make the chronic disease permanent relief.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
The discomfort of cervical osteochondrosis extends to the head, neck and limbs of the shoulder straps. At the beginning, no particular complaints were observed-usually, patients just start to feel neck numbness more often, which does not seem strange at all during office work. The gap between the vertebrae gradually decreases, the load on the ligament equipment, neck, shoulder, and back muscles increases, and the blood supply to the brain and spinal cord decreases. This leads to the entire chain of non-specific symptoms. The combination of these factors is a good reason to see a doctor.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
Signs of cervical osteochondrosis at the initial stage include:
- Local muscle tone;
- After staying in one position for a long time, the stiffness and amplitude of the movement are reduced (when the head is rotated, the shoulder is rotated);
- It is necessary to continuously support the head with one hand when sitting to avoid fatigue and discomfort;
- Fatigue and frequent headaches;
- Increased irritability and chronic fatigue;
- Can't fall asleep quickly because of trying to be comfortable, crumple the pillow in a comfortable way;
- The eyes are dark, and "flies" appear after the cervical spine is loaded or in the morning/after a sharp rise;
- Creaking and other unrelated sounds when tilting the head;
- The so-called "back pain" in the area from the back of the head to the shoulder blade;
- Reduced fingertip sensitivity, tingling in the hand;
- The arm is abnormally weak, and physical strength and muscle strength decrease;
- increased blood pressure-arterial hypertension;
- Voice changes, hoarseness for no apparent reason, snoring, heaviness, and "swelling" of the head.
Second-degree osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
- Chronic Pain Syndrome-Head, neck or shoulder pain may continue for 2-3 days or more;
- Sleep problems-difficulty falling asleep or waking up, usually due to nightmares caused by lack of oxygen and waking up in the middle of the night;
- High sensitivity;
- Pain and cramps that appear in muscles and internal organs, especially if you need to maintain the same posture for a long time or change posture;
- Unable to press the chin to the chest and tilt the head back without pain;
- Fall Syndrome-Pain clearly felt when sitting without supporting the head;
- Hand numbness ("hand disobedience"), neck pain, minimal pressure on upper limbs;
- Tinnitus and blackheads, dizziness and even fainting in front of my eyes;
- Clamp appears;
- Heart disease;
- Migraine;
- Continuous nausea;
- Excessive growth of connective tissue ("thick skin") in the neck-collar area.
Ignoring the signs of cervical osteochondrosis is full of nerves and large blood vessels next to the spine. When the vertebrae are displaced, the nerves and large blood vessels will be squeezed. Complications of the disease include:
- Paresis (limitation, weakness of movement) or even arm paralysis-one or both sides;
- Intervertebral hernia-a common cause of disability and disability, the highest depends on the wheelchair;
- Vertebral artery syndrome that causes dizziness and noise, 25% of which cause ischemic stroke;
- Memory, cognition, vision and hearing are quickly impaired;
- weakened the coordination of movements and caused difficulties even during transportation.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis
To combat cervical osteochondrosis, pharmacological and physical therapy, as well as massage and hydromassage in the neck area, therapeutic exercises, swimming, beauty and mud therapy, electrophoresis, vocalization, acupuncture, ultrasound, shock wave, laser, UFOPhysical, magnetic and other types of device therapy. In the remission and aggravation stage, the symptoms and treatment of cervical osteochondrosis are significantly different. Therefore, for example, it is strictly forbidden to massage cervical osteochondrosis during the inflammatory process-firstly, use topical ointments and creams. In the acute phase, it is important to restore blood circulation and tissue nutrition, relieve cramps and improve the patient's quality of life. Therapies aimed at regenerating cartilage tissue and osteophytes are only performed in remission.
Surgical intervention is rarely used-mainly to eliminate accompanying pathologies, such as hernias and vertebral displacement.
The first-level cervical spine chondropathy responds well to treatment, and can even be relieved permanently, accompanied by mild acute attacks. Usually, treatment involves lifestyle changes, maintaining muscles and ligaments with the help of therapeutic exercises. The second-stage prognosis of the disease is less optimistic: In this case, treatment aims to relieve the obvious negative symptoms and prevent further damage to the spine.
In some cases, diseases that have become catalysts for cartilage degeneration require treatment. These include spinal curvature, endocrine system problems, including. Hormonal disorders, metabolic disorders, insomnia, depression, alcohol and nicotine addiction, overweight, genetic diseases.
Timely treatment of cervical osteochondrosis can improve motor function and prevent major injuries to vertebrae, adjacent tissues, nerves, large blood vessels and organic systems. If medical advice is followed and daily maintenance therapy is followed, the development of osteochondrosis can be slowed down and the mobility of the spine can be maintained into old age.
Medications for cervical osteochondrosis
At the beginning of the disease, the patient was proven to receive chondroprotective agents, rehydration and nutrient saturation of cartilage tissue. Vitamin minerals and antioxidant complexes are actively used, including. Natural origin. The drugs for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis are mainly used externally or orally-in the form of warming, local irritation, anti-inflammatory ointments, tablets, and capsules. In the second stage of osteochondrosis, in addition to the above, analgesics, antispasmodics (muscle relaxants), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are also used. The treatment is lifelong, but because certain drugs (painless drugs, glucocorticoids, etc. ) are harmless, they are prescribed during the course of treatment.
Cartilage protector
Chondroprotective agents in medicine are drugs containing glycosaminoglycans and chondroitin sulfate. In household use, the names "glucosamine" and "chondroitin" are more common. As the structural backbone of cartilage, they act as "building blocks" for the body to repair the intervertebral disc. The reception of chondroprotective agents is complicated-they have beneficial effects on all joint surfaces of the body, not only inhibiting the development of the cervix, but also inhibiting the development of other types of osteochondrosis, arthritis and other cartilage degenerative diseases. These drugs need to be taken for life, and continue to be taken-because cartilage has no blood vessels, it uses diffusion for nutrition. This means that the growth of new cells is very slow-the first result is only observed 3-6 months after taking the chondroitin-containing drug.
Cervical Osteochondrosis Ointment
In order to treat cervical osteochondrosis, ointments with vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-edema effects are used. In order to improve blood circulation, bee or snake venom is often introduced into its ingredients, and propolis and natural essential oils are used to strengthen blood vessel walls. For mild pain syndrome, topical pain relief ointment or irritant ointment can be prescribed to disperse the patient's discomfort. Warm ointment can activate the nutritional and metabolic processes in the tissues, prevent their destruction and inhibit the degeneration process.
Cervical Osteochondrosis Tablets
Tablets play an auxiliary role in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. In the form of tablets, complex-acting analgesics are usually prescribed, which have anti-inflammatory effects. Antispasmodics can be prescribed to relieve acute pain.
For cervical osteochondrosis, it is particularly important to take drugs that can strengthen blood vessels and improve blood microcirculation. This helps curb the negative effects of the disease on the brain, which leads to hypoxia and malnutrition.
Injection
Local injections for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis to remove local inflammatory processes that are not sensitive to other exposure methods. For severe pain syndrome, the blockade of lidocaine and neocaine is also shown. They represent the introduction of a narcotic cocktail (it can contain more than a dozen ingredients-NSAID, glucocorticoids, decongestants, hyaluronic acid and other ingredients used to nourish and hydrate cartilage). Due to the high risk of damaging the spinal cord and nerve endings during the injection, and there may be contraindications, only an expert can perform spinal cord occlusion.
A high-protein, medium-carbohydrate diet can help extend the duration of medication. The menu includes marine fish, shellfish and other foods rich in gelling agents, calcium and vitamin D3, which have a positive effect on alleviating resistance.
Cervical Osteochondrosis Exercise
The first physical therapy (exercise therapy) was performed under the guidance of a doctor. He also chose a set of daily exercises.
To prevent and treat cervical osteochondrosis, please perform a simple warm-up:
- sitting in a chair, turning his head left and right, trying to describe it as a 180-degree semicircle. If you have not felt the disease or are in the first stage, you can move your head back and slowly rotate it clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Raise your shoulders as much as possible and lock them in that position for a few seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat.
- Put your palms on your forehead and set a light block for yourself, try to lower your head slowly. After 10 repetitions, place the palm on the temple and repeat the side bend.
- Raise your shoulders and try to circle the lower neck.
- Complete the whole set of exercises through intense self-massage to make the vertebrae and muscles feel good and heat the skin. Avoid the pain when doing this.
You are free to add general tone exercises to this list.
In addition to exercise therapy to treat cervical osteochondrosis, it is important to observe orthopedic treatment options. It is designed to relieve the spine during housework and sleep. For patients already suffering from grade 1 osteochondrosis, special orthopedic pillows and mattresses, car and other headrests, and travel pillows are very much in need. It is also necessary to refurbish the workplace according to physiological needs-for example, buy chairs with high backs and armrests, these chairs should follow the anatomical curve of the back, adjust the height of the table and seat, and ensure a comfortable position for the monitor.
Patients suffering from cervical osteochondrosis should maintain a straight posture and lean against the back of the furniture. The position of the legs is also important-the shin bones should be perpendicular to the floor, and the feet should be completely flat on the floor. The bent arm (approximately 75 degrees) should be relaxed on the table without constant tension. It is unacceptable to spend leisure time lying on a laptop. When using the computer on the bed, please use the stand.