Osteocartilage in the cervical area: diagnosis and treatment

This girl has a pain in her neck

Do you feel pain in your back and numbness in your limbs?These are the first signs of osteochondrosis.The lack of activity in lifestyles, sitting, burden on the neck and insufficient movement of the spine, leads to the fact that the cartilage wears and loses moisture, so they are damaged.

With the occurrence of cervical osteochondrosis, the degeneration of the intervertebral disc has changed.The intervertebral disc is not only damaged, but also damaged by vertebrae and joints in the cervical vertebrae.If you don’t treat the disease for a long time, the overall health of the patient will worsen: persistent headaches, the emergence of vertebrates, worsening in the brain circulation, resulting in reduced cognitive function.

Causes of osteocartilage degeneration

Incorrect sitting posture and stretching the neck forward will lead to the development of cervical disease.In this case, excessive pressure on the disc occurs, resulting in changes in the nuclear nucleus and squeezed blood vessels.This position is occupied by a person in front of the computer workplace.Therefore, office staff are most often experienced in the development of cervical osteochondrosis.

Alone on the computer

In addition, the causes of pathological development may be:

  • Improper load distribution when wearing the bag;
  • an overly soft place to sleep (the spine bent in an unnatural form);
  • Genetic tendency;
  • Deficiency of vitamins and trace elements in the diet;
  • Endocrine system diseases;
  • The curvature of the spine and the body violates posture during the body's active growth;
  • Cervical spine injury;
  • The existence of bad habits.

Disease stage

Determine whether your pain symptoms are a sign of cervical osteochondrosis development and which stage of disease development can only be determined by an experienced doctor after examination and palpation.Overall, cervical osteochondrosis passes through four stages of development:

  1. Nucleus - The central part of the disc in the first stage is moderately dehydrated.As a result, the support and shock absorption functions of the intervertebral disc are gradually lost.During the first phase, you will feel pain from sudden movements, hypothermia and staying in a position for a long time.
  2. The second stage of development is characterized by stagnation and spasms, squeezing capillaries and blood vessels to prevent normal blood circulation.As a result, the frame of the intervertebral disc is thinner, forming a precursor (protruding forward or backward).Under the influence of excessive load on the cervical vertebra, bone plants are formed.The pain feels in one place, with sharp turns and inclination on the head, and dislocations in the cervical spine may occur.
  3. Extrusion is formed due to thinning of the disc.The edge of the pulp pulposus breaks the annulus and goes beyond the edge of the vertebral body.The muscles and nerve ends are squeezed.The pain in the neck, back and limbs was felt.
  4. In the fourth stage of the disease, the intervertebral disc is moved and formed by central and lateral hernia.Additionally, scars are formed on the intervertebral disc, which leads to fixation of the affected joints.The patient experiences continuous back pain, which is given to other parts of the body, a constant feeling of fatigue, and asymmetric part of the trunk.
Neck and lower back pain

Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis

The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis vary according to the stage of pathological development.In the early stages, it can actually happen without signs.Neck and back pain only occurs when you stay for a long time in a position, sharp inclination or turn.

In the later stages of development, the feeling of tightness in the spine is heard, the pain in the back is pain to other limbs, and the body parts are numb.As bone plants and extrusions form, there are:

  • Head headaches at the back and top of the head;
  • impaired speech and numbness of language;
  • Reduced sensitivity to the neck skin;
  • Respiratory disorders;
  • Swear blood pressure;
  • Heartbeat disorder;
  • Noise and stagnation in the ears;
  • faint.

The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis in women are more obvious than those in men.This is due to the fact that women have a tendency toward vascular disease and fragile structures of the spinal segments.When the disc changes occur, signs of the disease begin to appear.This leads to behaviors that violate normal blood circulation and causes severe headaches, dizziness and neurosis.The intensification of this disease in women usually occurs during menopause, when the body changes in the hormonal context.

The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis in men are similar to those in women, and erectile dysfunction can be observed separately.

Headaches in cervical osteochondrosis are caused by circulatory diseases in the brain and spinal cord.As the vertebrae moves, they squeeze the arteries and the oxygen content in the blood decreases.Unfortunately, even with strong painkillers, this pain may not pass away.Therefore, it is important to solve the problem in a comprehensive way.Dizziness in cervical osteochondrosis may be accompanied by darkening of the eyes and noise in the ears.This happens because spasms of muscles cause oxygen to enter the brain.

There are lumps of cervical vertebrae on the throat, as well as burning, dyspnea and muscle spasms - this is a common situation.This disease squeezes nerve fibers in the cervical spine to the head and neck.Neurological impulsive disorders can cause sore throat.

Blood pressure jumps due to spasms of blood vessels and stimulation of nerve ends.The lower pressure of osteochondrosis suggests that the brain's blood supply to various areas of the brain is disturbed due to the survival of the disc.Therefore, oxygen starvation occurs and blood pressure increases.

Doctors control MRI equipment

How to diagnose osteochondrosis in cervical spinal cord osteochondrosis?

The diagnosis of pathology begins with professional consultation.For the first manifestation of osteochondrosis, contact a rheumatologist, neuropathologist, surgeon or traumaist - a normal doctor.Doctors will ask about the symptoms and frequency of their performance, and it is necessary to provide the expert with a complete history of the disease and the results of early research, if any.Experts will conduct visual examinations and palpation, guiding them to test.Doctors during the exam pay special attention to the movement of the neck, muscle tone, skin sensitivity, and reveal the most painful areas.

To identify the condition of muscles, ligaments, blood vessels to detect inflammatory processes or tumors, an informative and safe diagnosis method is prescribed - MRI of the cervical spine.During MRI osteochondrosis, the patient's back is on a special retractable table.Roliks placed on the patient's head to remove muscle voltage and secure the limbs with a belt.Any trivial exercise during the surgery will affect the quality of the results.Next, the table stopped in the laminate.This process does not cause pain.Tomography makes a heavy sound during the scan, so you can use your headphones to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

If MRI is contraindicated, there are other diagnostic methods, such as computed tomography and radiography.X-rays are only suitable for primary diagnosis and do not give layers - layer images of affected tissue.However, this study is the easiest and most economical, and it allows you to explore the patient's body in several predictions.Due to the radiation load on the human body, radiographing cannot be performed regularly.

During a computed tomography scan, one or more ionizing beams are used for scanning.They pass through the human body and are recorded by detectors.The detector moves along the patient's body in the opposite direction and is fixed to 6 million signals.Different tissue densities are shown on the image and the boundaries between the organ and affected areas are accurately identified as cross-sectional form.This process allows you to obtain a layered image.

doctor

Treatment of cervical vertebrae bone marrow disease

How to treat cervical osteochondrosis can only be determined after the doctor has examined, studied the medical history and obtained the hardware diagnosis results.If the disease is diagnosed early, treatment will undergo a conservative approach.When treating osteochondrosis, it is important to follow a comprehensive approach - taking medication, physical therapy, therapeutic massage and avoiding a lot of physical fatigue.

First, you need to stop the pain.To this end, local action analgesics and painkillers were specified.With strong muscle spasms, they wear orthopedic collars prescribed.After eliminating pain syndrome, it is necessary to stop the inflammatory process and restore normal blood circulation.To this end, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory treatments were carried out.As other measures, prescription therapy exercise, swimming.You can do physical education at home with your coach.

If osteochondrosis is already serious, the doctor may prescribe surgical intervention.The surgery resorts to rare cases that develop in other disease contexts - scoliosis, hernia of the disc, curvature, or displacement of spinal injury.

The treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in women is not particularly different from that in men.However, doctors often recommend that women undergo external compression to warm up and strengthen the muscles in their necks.

Experts recommend preventing various back diseases from childhood.To do this, you need to form the correct posture while walking and staying on the desktop.All nutrition and proper strengthening of back muscles will help avoid negative consequences in the future.