So far, the disease has become very "young", and more and more people 25 years of age and older are exposed to the disease, although the age of 30 to 35 has recently been considered risky. Lesions in the cervix are more common, so you need to be able to quickly recognize the symptoms of the disease before starting treatment.
Therefore, what is the so-called cervical osteochondrosis? The term characterizes the degenerative lipophilic process of the intervertebral disc, which acts as a shock absorber between the segments of the spine. This situation leads to changes in its structure and anatomy, cervical spine segments and joint components. Osteochondrosis of the neck is characterized by severe pain that requires prompt treatment.
Causes of cervical osteochondrosis
Where does cervical osteochondrosis come from? Some factors are listed below. The long-term or severe effects of these factors can lead to increased neck pressure. As a result, the body compensates for the increased load through the work of muscles, but due to constant tension, cramps appear in them and blood circulation is impaired. These factors together lead to degenerative changes of the spine, its structural changes, blood nutrition and metabolic problems. Next comes the changes in the intervertebral joints, the overgrowth of bone tissue in various parts of the spine.
Let us list the factors that lead to the development of the disease:
- Scoliosis and poor posture.
- Excess weight.
- Stay in a wrong and unnatural position for a long time.
- For example, due to the particularity of work, the back and cervical spine are often overworked.
- Inconvenient mobility, sedentary.
- The spine was injured in the past.
- Metabolic problems.
- Excessive physical exercise.
- Excessive stress can lead to depression.
- genetic factors.
- Abnormal development of vertebrae.
Degree of cervical osteochondrosis
It is necessary to be able to distinguish the concepts of "stage" and "degree", which is a characteristic of cervical osteochondrosis. We will consider these stages later, and now we will discuss depending on the overall clinical condition and the patient's main complaint, the degree is different, the symptoms are different, and the degree of corresponding treatment is needed.
- Level-1. . . Cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by a mild manifestation of the disease, the main symptom is neck pain, this kind of pain does not often occur, if you turn your head, this symptom will be aggravated. They may be accompanied by slight muscle tension.
- Second degree-2. . . The severity of pain and symptoms is much stronger, and they can succumb to the shoulder area. This is due to the fact that the height of the intervertebral disc becomes lower, which leads to the fact that the nerve is clamped. Pain syndrome increases with exercise, and feelings of weakness and headaches can cause performance degradation.
- Third grade-3. . . The development of cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by the formation of hernias in the intervertebral space. What is different from the previous level is the symptoms, which are more pronounced and painful-it makes the shoulders and arms more intense, and may make them feel numb and weak. The disease is accompanied by the same headaches, weakness, restricted neck movement, and obvious pain syndromes can be found on palpation.
- Fourth grade-4. . . This degree is characterized by the complete destruction of the intervertebral disc tissue. In particular, blood is supplied to the cerebellum and the back of the head through the vertebral artery, which may cause problems with the blood supply to the brain. In this context, it is difficult to coordinate, dizziness, and tinnitus.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Cervical osteochondrosis has some differences with osteochondrosis in other areas. They appear because the fragments are arranged closer to each other, and the structure of the first two fragments-atlas and axis is more complicated. In addition, there are fewer shock absorbers between the spinal elements, so they wear and disintegrate faster. In addition, it is usually cervical osteochondrosis that causes compression of the spinal nerves.
Cervical osteochondrosis-the most common symptoms:
- Painful feeling. . . They are characterized by different positioning in the back area of the head, shoulders and neck. The occurrence of shoulder pain indicates that the nerves responsible for transmitting pain impulses are under pressure at this location. Occipital pain reflects neck muscle spasms due to difficulty in blood flow in the area. Maybe there is pain in the vertebrae and a bit of chewing.
- Weakness in hand. . . It appears because the nerves responsible for the movement of the upper limbs are damaged.
- Poor sensitivity in the hand. . . the nerves that innervate the skin of the arm are damaged.
- Restricted movement, tightening. . . This is the result of low disc height, bone growth in each segment of the spine, and small structures affected.
- Coordination problems, feeling weak and dizzy. . . As the pathology progressed, fibrous tissue was formed. It partially causes the vertebral artery to contract, which has its own tube in the spine. This reduces the lumen of the blood vessels, causing a shortage of blood in the occipital bone and cerebellum.
- Hearing, vision, and speech problems. . . They are the further development of the vasoconstriction of the cerebellum and occipital region of the feeding.
Diagnostic procedure
The diagnosis is made in the presence of characteristic symptoms and the person’s main complaint. Cervical osteochondrosis can be diagnosed by various methods, the main purpose is to visualize the condition of the damaged part. most commonly used:
- Radiography. It is not very useful, only shows the presence of deviations, it is mainly suitable for early diagnosis.
- CT examination. Compared with radiography, the pathology of cervical spine segments has improved, but the presence and size of the hernia cannot be accurately determined. In addition, this procedure cannot determine the degree of "contraction" of the root canal of the spinal cord.
- Magnetic resonance imaging. This diagnosis is the most modern method of diagnosis. It is characterized by increased information content. It allows you to evaluate in detail the defects of the bone structure, the state of the intervertebral disc, the presence of hernia, its size and growth direction.
- If the vertebral artery current is suspected to be worse, other diagnoses can be made using an ultrasound duplex scanning procedure. Such research accurately determines the presence of obstacles that reduce blood flow rate.
Based on the data obtained during the diagnosis process, we can discuss the various stages:
- Stage 1, Its characteristic is that the anatomical structure of the vertebrae is slightly destroyed.
- second stage. . . may not observe the position of the vertebrae relative to each other, displacement, rotation relative to the axis of the spine, and the height of the intervertebral disc may be slightly reduced.
- The third phase. . . the height of the intervertebral disc has been reduced by a quarter, the joints have changed, the bone tissue has become longer, the intervertebral foramen and the spinal canal become tight.
- Stage 4. . . It is still more serious than the previous one. The height of the intervertebral disc is greatly reduced, there is deep joint disease in the back, and the bones grow extensively, and the spinal canal and the passage under the spinal cord are strongly compressed.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
The main methods of this treatment are: medication, physical therapy, massage on the affected area, and therapeutic gymnastics. Let's take a closer look at some of these methods.
medical treatement
The prescription of any medicine can only be handled by competent experts.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Their role is to effectively eliminate pain syndrome, inflammatory and edema processes of nerve endings.
- Taking vitamin B can improve the metabolic process of vertebrae and nerves.
- Drugs that can increase blood flow. It is used to nourish changed nerve endings and improve blood flow to the brain.
- Cartilage protective agents are used to restore cartilage and intervertebral disc tissue.
- Muscle relaxant, anti-spasm.
physiotherapy
- Electrophoresis. . . Use the electric field to transport the drug ions to the required part of the pathology. Before the operation, neocaine is anesthetized and aminophylline is used to improve blood flow.
- By ultrasound. . . Relieve inflammation, pain, and promote the metabolism of the application site.
- Magnetic therapy. . . Has analgesic effect and relieves swelling.
- Laser therapy. . . by exposure to light waves of special frequencies. It can relieve inflammation and promote blood circulation.
physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is only allowed if it does not aggravate the disease. The techniques will be effective without pain and discomfort during the execution. In addition, they are also very effective as a preventive method. Here are some basic exercises:
- Lie on the stomach, with bent arms on the floor. Perform head and torso elevation movements for 60-90 seconds, keep your back straight, and then return to its original position steadily. Do it 2-3 times.
- Lie on your stomach with your arms extending down your torso. Turn your head to the left and right in turn, and try to touch the ground with your ears. Do 5-7 times on each side.
- In a sitting position, inhale and bend forward, trying to reach your chest with your head. Then, instead, lean back when you exhale and throw your head back. Do it 12 times.
- In the sitting position, place your palms on your forehead. Apply the mutual pressure of the forehead to the palm and vice versa. Continue for half a minute and repeat 3 times.
- The head rotates neatly and easily to the side, 5-7 revolutions each. If you feel dizzy, reduce the number of repetitions or reduce the speed.
Cervical Osteochondrosis: Question-Answer
Does cervical osteochondrosis have to be treated with surgery?
It happened, but in a few cases, conservative treatment had no effect half a year after starting. In this case, chronic pain and tightness of nerve endings are usually present.
How long can you take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs?
Most of these drugs affect the condition of the gastric mucosa, so regular and regular use of them is not recommended. The exact time to take the medicine is determined by the attending doctor, who has information about the stage of the patient’s osteochondrosis and whether it is accompanied by pathology.
Can chondroprotective drugs effectively restore the tissue of the damaged intervertebral disc?
The effect of taking these drugs has not been proven, so doctors rarely recommend the use of this drug.
In order to avoid getting worse in the future, what should I do if there is no worsening of the condition?
For prevention, it is best to use physical therapy, massage the neck area, and refuse to do a lot of physical exercise.