Osteochondrosis is a degenerative bone disease that most commonly affects the spine and knees. This mainly leads to unbearable pain and movement problems. Therefore, complicated treatment is necessary.
Osteochondrosis-what is it?
It is based on the violation of endochondral ossification. However, this condition is the result of ischemia of hyaline cartilage at the metaphysis of the growing bone. This condition is often called juvenile osteochondrosis, precisely because it develops in the developing skeletal system.
In patients with osteochondrosis, cartilage tissue is ischemia, exhaustion, and death. Cartilage is not mineralized, but ossified, and then separated from the bone that formed it, because it is not very strong. The separation of cartilage and bone may be due to mechanical factors.
Osteochondrosis can manifest in various forms, but patients usually have:
- Osteochondrosis of the spine, in most cases, includes the lumbar or cervical spine.
- Knee osteochondrosis is accompanied by the burden of tibial tubercle, which forms the knee joint.
In this article, we will pay special attention to cervical osteochondrosis (SHO).
Osteochondrosis-causes
Osteochondrosis is a disease, and the cause of its degenerative malnutrition largely depends on the form of the disease that occurs in a particular patient. In the case of cervical osteochondrosis, its development may be the result of a violation of the tension of the structure responsible for stabilizing the spine. The cause of the disease may also be the gradual loss of the cushioning properties of the intervertebral disc. As for knee osteochondrosis, it usually occurs due to an avulsion fracture of the tibial tubercle. This is an overload caused by an imbalance between the cross-section of the muscle, its attachment surface, and the force acting on an area that is too small (ie, the tibial tubercle).
Features of cervical osteochondrosis
The manifestations of osteochondrosis in the cervical spine are different from those in the lumbar and thoracic segments.
The neck area contains many blood vessels and nerves, including the vertebral arteries that enter the spinal canal. Therefore, for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, when the vertebrae are displaced, there will be nerve structures on the side (which will stimulate the area around the muscles and ligaments).
When the vertebral artery is compressed by the narrowing (stenosis) of the artery, the blood supply to the brainstem and cerebellum decreases.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are caused by the following factors: spinal cord root compression (radiculitis), spinal cord compression (myelopathy), spinal cord injury and veins caused by circulatory disorders related to arterial stenosis (narrowing).
Nerve root syndrome (cervical sciatica)
The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are related to nerve root compression (compression). Pain can start from the neck to the shoulders, and then spread to the outer surfaces of the shoulders, forearms, and fingers. It affects the sensitivity of the skin of the forearms, hands and fingers.
Spinal artery syndrome
Headache (paroxysmal, persistent, impulsive, worsened when turning the head), dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus.
SHO processing
In the acute phase, accompanied by severe pain, local administration of analgesics and corticosteroids can relieve muscle tension in the motor segment of the vertebrae and relieve pain.
Combinations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antispasmodics, analgesics and vitamins are effective.