Osteochondrosis is a disease of our time. With a sedentary lifestyle, the constant nervousness will not disappear. Almost everyone can observe the symptoms of this disease. How to identify hidden dangers and seek help in time?
Osteochondrosis is a physiological process that everyone gets in their lifetime. The symptoms and treatments of cervical osteochondrosis are very diverse. Therefore, it can only become a disease when certain factors are combined under certain conditions. The disease is characterized by local changes in the bone tissue of the cervical spine due to the occurrence of calcium deficiency. Calcium becomes scarce, the tissue becomes a spongy structure, becomes brittle, becomes brittle and assumes the main function of bone.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
When suffering from cervical osteochondrosis, the blood supply to the brain is disturbed. Therefore, almost all patients complain of similar symptoms:
- Headache, dizziness, tinnitus;
- Shoulder, neck, chest pain;
- Various parts of the body become numb (hands, fingers);
- Weakness in arms and legs;
- Psychological symptoms-unreasonable mood swings, irritability;
- In difficult situations, vision and hearing will decrease.
The symptoms are so diverse and individualized that it is difficult to identify cervical osteochondrosis based on the patient's chief complaint. Use MRI, computed tomography, X-ray to diagnose cervical spine disease. Based on the results of the research, you can see changes in the spine. Only by comprehensively considering all the chief complaints can cervical osteochondrosis be diagnosed.
According to the location of cervical osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment vary. From the exact location where the change occurs and how it affects the central nervous system, osteochondrosis can be divided into three major categories. These varieties have different symptoms and therefore different treatments.
- The first group. The peripheral nervous system is damaged. Changes in the vertebrae directly affect nerve endings (roots). Usually called cervical sternal osteochondrosis with radiation syndrome, it has the most obvious symptoms:
- Pain from the cervical spine area to the shoulder area.
- Neck apnea syndrome, tachycardia, heart pain.
- When you turn your neck, it creaks, makes noises, and cracks. See what exercises should be done to strengthen the neck muscles of osteochondrosis.
- Continuous pain in the back of the head.
- As blood circulation deteriorated, his hands became pale, chills, and fingers became numb.
- Joint pain.
- The second group. The entire spinal cord is involved, and this disease manifests itself in the interruption of all its work. The symptoms are as follows:
- The muscle tone of the legs and arms is reduced. The legs became numb, and soon became tired, and it was difficult to walk or stand because of the semiconductor disease syndrome. The blood cannot flow well to the lateral column of the spinal cord.
- Myelopathy develops in the affected area. Affect limb dysfunction.
- The third group. Due to insufficient blood supply, the work of the brain is disturbed. Differences in characteristic syndromes:
- Hypothalamus. Syndrome represented by hypothalamic insufficiency. Causes neurological symptoms. Patients usually experience unreasonable fatigue, irritability, and mood swings. People with this syndrome complain of lack of sleep, resentment, unfounded fear and anxiety. Physiological changes include: sweating, pale complexion, cold hands, high blood pressure.
- Drops syndrome. Suffering from this cervical disease, they often faint for no reason. The cause is vasospasm.
- Vestibular stem. The syndrome is characterized by frequent dizziness. The work of the vestibular device was interrupted by insufficient blood flow. Sometimes nausea causing vomiting.
- Cochlear stems. Tinnitus is called this syndrome. There may be ear congestion or hearing impairment. It is very difficult to associate such symptoms with cervical osteochondrosis, especially to prescribe the correct treatment
- Throat. The syndrome is accompanied by throat discomfort. It may be difficult to swallow and the voice becomes hoarse. Symptoms of pain in the throat, such as dryness, itching, and pain.
This kind of osteochondrosis can cause torticollis
Features of osteochondrosis with symptoms of radiation syndrome
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the cervical spine nerve root syndrome should be considered in detail. Their manifestations are often confused with diseases not related to osteochondrosis. The treatment was ineffective, the person continued to feel pain and the condition deteriorated. A wrong diagnosis can sometimes be more serious than the disease itself. The prescribed treatment is not only to no avail, but also paralyzes perfectly healthy organs. The development of cervical osteochondrosis caused the so-called nerve root syndrome.
The main reason is that nerves are compressed, especially nerve roots in certain parts of the spine (neck, thoracic, spine).
The characteristics of this cervical syndrome are:
- Pain when turning the neck or torso. It appears after prolonged monotonous postures (sleeping, sitting for a long time) and sharp head turns.
- Numbness and chicken skin in the occipital region b.
- Headaches in various manifestations: throbbing, sharp, short-term, and long-term. This can cause dizziness, fainting, and nausea.
- The muscles of the jaw may sag slightly.
- In the case of frequent pain, a drop in tongue sound and speech defects were observed.
- The pain in the neck spreads smoothly to the shoulders, forearms and hands. Numb fingers, discomfort when raising arms, joint pain.
Usually, the radiation syndrome of the cervical spine gradually becomes the thorax. In cervical sternal osteochondrosis with radiation syndrome, pain (acute moment) manifests in internal organs.
The clinical pictures here are as follows:
- Shoulder cap bone, lower ribs, armpit pain. Numbness in these places.
- Stomach, intestines, sagging cartilage tingling. They often observe this syndrome and incorrectly diagnose gastrointestinal diseases.
- Numbness, from the belly button to the groin, along the back of the spine, causes the intestines and stomach to become heavy.
- Dry throat.
Root changes may cause heart syndrome-invasion of bone tissue causing irritation to the pectoral muscle or the root of the muscle. The signs of its occurrence are: heartache of varying duration, from spikes to prolonged pain, tachycardia, and shortness of breath. These signs are exactly the same as the symptoms of angina. If you treat it correctly, the result will be zero. In addition, in patients with this syndrome, the electrocardiogram was normal, and no other signs of heart disease were observed except for pain. Therefore, drugs with coronary artery dilation are ineffective.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
Effective treatment is a complex treatment that must not only be performed during the worsening period.
Drugs
- Analgesics and other analgesics can relieve pain syndromes.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs are used for severe pain.
- Local anesthetics in the form of mild ointments and gels will be useful.
- If you experience bleeding muscle cramps, take muscle relaxants.
- Prescribe drugs to improve cerebral circulation in cervical osteochondrosis.
- In medical practice, blockers of painkillers are also used.
- Prescribe anticonvulsants when necessary.
- In the case of mental illness, antidepressants, sedatives and insomnia drugs are useful.
In addition to medication, there are the following positive effects:
- Massage
- Medical gymnastics;
- Electrophoresis;
- Wearing a bandage.
The main treatment-surgical removal of hernias and other spinal defects.