Cervical osteochondrosis

Cervical osteochondrosis (cervical osteochondrosis) is a chronic degenerative disease of the spine, in which the structure of the vertebrae is damaged, the integrity of the intervertebral structures is damaged, and the roots of the spinal cord are damaged.

It's important to know!Osteochondrosis is not a death sentence.There is always an opportunity to mitigate the deterioration of the process, as well as to control the progression of changes in the spine.In the most advanced cases, neurosurgical operations are possible.However, this does not negate the fact that the disease can be "triggered".It is very important to consult a doctor at the first symptoms of osteochondrosis in order to diagnose the disease and prescribe early preventive measures!

Reasons for development

The anatomical structure of the spine indicates the greatest mobility in the cervical spine, and it is precisely in the cervical spine that the vertebrae are the smallest.These two factors make the neck one of the "weak points" of the spine.

The main reasons for the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are a combination of the following unfavorable factors:

• Improper posture and position of the neck (including working at the computer).
• High physical loads on the cervical spine and shoulder girdle.
• Spinal injuries...
• Age-related changes in the tissue of intervertebral structures.
• Wrong diet, with few essential vitamins and minerals.

It should be said that almost every person develops osteochondrosis with age;according to some researchers, it is “a kind of payment for walking upright”.However, in the modern world, with its fast life, sedentary lifestyle and long-term work at the computer, cervical osteochondrosis ranks first among spine problems.

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary greatly depending on the degree of damage to the spine, the severity of degenerative changes, individual characteristics of the human body and many other factors.Neurologists prefer to distinguish three main symptom complexes that occur in cervical osteochondrosis, as well as their combination:

• Vertebrogenic cervicalgia.
• Vertebrogenic cervicocranialgia.
• Vertebrogenic cervicobrachialgia.

Based on the name, we can identify the main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis.So, with cervicalgia, the main complaint will be pain directly in the neck;in vertebrogenic cervicocranialgia, pain in the neck spreads to the head;with cervicobrachialgia, pain in the neck spreads to one or both arms, spasms also develop in the arm, numbness and a crawling sensation in the arms may appear.In all cases of osteochondrosis, the following symptoms may appear: tension in the neck muscles, creaking in the neck, restriction of movement in the neck.

Radiculopathy

In the presence of severe osteochondrosis, complicated by the presence of protrusions or disc herniation, so-called radiculopathy may occur: a disorder of the functioning of a certain spinal root with the development of weakness of the innervated muscles, their weight loss and sensitivity disorders.

Diagnostics and X-ray signs

Osteochondrosis is an X-ray diagnosis, since a detailed clinical picture is available only at the time of exacerbation, while changes in the spine can occur with the complete subjective well-being of a person.Without an X-ray examination, we can only talk about the suspicion of osteochondrosis, because similar symptoms can be caused by other diseases (myositis, vertebral neoplasms, etc.).

The following research methods are used to diagnose osteochondrosis: radiography (preferably with functional tests), MSCT and MRI.The latter study is the most desirable due to the fact that it allows a very clear visualization of the state of the intervertebral structures.

X-ray signs of osteochondrosis include the following changes in the spine:

• Decreased height of the intervertebral discs.
• The presence of marginal bone growths.
• Injury to the position of the vertebrae in relation to each other.
• Deformations of the body and vertebral arches, etc.

The presence of the changes described above, as well as changes in the structure of the intervertebral disc, detected by MSCT and MRI, serve as reliable signs that confirm the presence of osteochondrosis.

Treatment

Treatment should be comprehensive and aimed at all aspects of the pathogenesis of clinical manifestations.Chronic dystrophic changes during exacerbations lead to inflammation of the roots of the spinal cord, which again reflexively causes pain.Pain is a signal to the muscles to develop a protective reaction - muscle spasm.Muscle spasm brings the vertebrae together and increases root compression (compression) and inflammation.The circle is closed.That is why it is necessary to remove inflammation, pain and muscle spasms, and protect the root from inflammatory effects.

There are medical and non-medical methods of treatment.They partially change in the presence of the dominance of certain symptoms, but have a general pattern.

Medicines

Anti-inflammatory drugs (aceclofenac, ketoprofen, meloxicam, diclofenac, etc.), muscle relaxants (tolperisone hydrochloride, baclofen, tizanidine), neuroprotective drugs (complex preparations of vitamin B and thioctic acid) are used.

Non-drug

It includes massage, physiotherapy and exercise therapy.Massage in cervical osteochondrosis very effectively relieves muscle spasm, improves blood flow in the tissues of the spine, which reduces the severity of the inflammatory process.Physiotherapy can be aimed at alleviating pain (electrophoresis with analgesics) and alleviating muscle tension (diadynamic currents).Therapeutic exercise is a unique and extremely effective method of disease prevention.Here you can view a set of exercise therapy exercises for cervical osteochondrosis.

Folk remedies

Among the traditional methods of treatment, the application of various heating compresses based on water and alcohol should be singled out, which can reduce the intensity of pain in the neck and reduce inflammation.The "dry heat" method has proven itself well, the essence of which is to heat salt or sand placed in a cloth bag and then apply it to the place of pain.

Some of the traditional methods of treating osteochondrosis of the cervical spine include the use of applicators - special devices or simply needle-coated tissue surfaces.Moderate pressure on the neck area, as well as simply lying on such a surface for 10-15 minutes, causes a reflex relaxation of the cervical muscles and distracting pain relief.