Osteochondrosis- This is a spinal disease, or rather, its ligament.
In short, a violation of metabolism in intervertebral cartilage.
The names of osteochondrosis come from the Greek words osteon - "bone" and chondros - "cartilage". The essence of osteochondrosis is a dystrophic process in the bone and cartilage, followed by their aging. Spinal osteochondrosis in the sense of classical medicine is the degenerative wound of the intervertebral disc and the reactive changes from the body next to the spine. It is generally accepted that it all starts with damage to the disc, but the pain syndrome occurs due to the neurological complications of this process.
There is an opinion that osteochondrosis is a disease, it occurs due to the effects of many factors - both descent and are obtained. People are beginning to experience the most frequent manifestations of osteochondrosis after 35 years. The development and severity of spinal osteochondrosis is facilitated by macro and microtrauma, static and dynamic load, and vibration.
The useful and optimal load on the vertebrae and intervertebral disc is when we hold the spine in a natural position, which is generated for us naturally. As this position changes, there is an unnatural distribution of loads on the spine, leading to changes in cartilage in places of excessive pressure.
This can be caused:
- Work related to frequent changes in body position;
- lift heavy cargo;
- Forced to perform for a long time (for example, among school students and students)
- The wrong pose in standing, sitting, lying and when carrying heavy;
- Physical education and sports regardless of the influence of great physical understanding;
- injury, heavy physical labor
Often, several factors lead to the development of osteochondrosis. Certain places between them are occupied by pressure, hypothermia, bad weather conditions (low temperatures in combination with high humidity), various chemicals that enter the body with food and breathing. People with excessive body mass. The causes of the development of osteochondrosis can be congenital lack of connective tissue (ligaments' weakness), hormone-hormone diseases, autoimmune diseases, trophic disorders in the joints, and others.
Osteochondrosis- degradation and destruction of intervertebral disc. It is an osteochondrosis which is the cause of back pain in 80% of cases.
The mechanism of pain appearing can simplify this method: the intervertebral disc does not withstand the load and its highlights are formed. Around the intervertebral disc is a nerve, vessel and spinal cord. Disc hernia, which affects any of the nervous process causes inflammation, leading to pain.
Cervical spinal osteochondrosis is distinguished by various symptoms. There are unpleasant sensations in the hands, spreading from the shoulders and lower arms to the outer surface of the shoulders and lower arms to the fingers, numbness of this zone, improving or decreasing sensitivity, sometimes you need to get up at night and knead your hand muscles. Pain can be acute, cut and accompanied by a feeling of electric current. Often the pain is increasing with the minimum load in the arm; Some patients can't walk in the coat - they press on their shoulders and seem to be too heavy. Pain is increasing with cough, sneezing, tense, and especially when leaning to a healthy side. Motor disorders may occur, more often in the hands, especially in the fingers. As a rule, 2-3 lower spine is affected.
Sometimes numbness, burning, tingling in the hands or feet, limiting the upper or lower mobility, and impaired sensitivity is observed. The appearance of "cervical migraines" shows the vertebral artery wound. Blood circulation in the stem and the brain's occipital is interrupted. Persistent symptoms are headaches. The pain usually occurs in the back of the head and spreads to the parietal-Octum region. The pain is persistent and increased with the movement of the neck, more often in the morning. Older people often lose consciousness with a sharp turn of their heads, which are preceded by dizziness, noise in the ears, a decrease in visual acuity and hearing, nausea and vomiting.
Sometimes there is pain in the heart - lasting, pressing. With cervical spinal osteochondrosis, especially in old and indecent age, changes in soft tissue in the form of seals are often found. This seal is determined in the neck muscles, in the cervical vertebral process area (usually vertebral VII), wrist, elbow joints, supra and subclavian fossa. With age, the cicatricial seal in your palm is lowered, due to changes in the tendon structure.
The manifestation of thoracic spinal osteochondrosis is very diverse, but not one of the very specific symptoms. Basically, symptoms are determined by localization (location) of painful processes and levels of severity. Pain in the thoracic spine is a major symptom. After physical work or long stay in one position, the pain is increasing, forcing the patient to change the pose even at night. Burning, pain or tedious pain in the scapula and interspace room is very characteristic. The patient complains about the feeling of "iron lice". Drinking in the vertebral process is painful. Pain can spread to various internal organs.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis is made by neuropathologist, orthopedis. To confirm the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, doctors found symptoms of the disease, the history of the disease progression, and examining the patient. When examining patients with osteochondrosis, spinal curvature (scoliosis), the presence of painful points and tense muscles on the spinal sides are usually detected.
To explain the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, spinal radiological examination, computed tomography or spinal nuclear resonance is performed.
How to treat osteochondrosis
Currently, there are many ways to treat osteochondrosis, from taking medication and ending with surgery. Naturally, there are many controversies about this method and its effects on the body. When choosing a treatment method, you need to pay attention to some things.
For example, if you are being treated with medicines, you should pay attention to the fact that most of them affect your stomach and liver, so it's important to contact an experienced specialist who will choose the most drug therapy.
When choosing a manual therapist, it is advisable to be closer, as non -professional, now a lot, can take you to a wheelchair. When choosing therapeutic exercises, it is important to pay attention to ensuring that exercises do not cause a burden on the spine, but only develop the back muscles. Try to do all the exercises slowly, without sudden movement.
For the prevention of osteochondrosis and its severity exception, it is advisable to adhere to some rules that will reduce the burden on the spine:
- Always keep your back exactly
- Try not to lift heavy objects. If necessary, then lift them to squat, and do not lean
- Move more often, do not let the back muscle atrophy
- Wait in the horizontal bar as often as possible and swim
But not everything is very scary. For those who do not have this disease, there are several precautions, the rest have all the weapons of funds for the treatment of the disease.
Prevention of osteochondrosis
As you know, it's easier to prevent this disease than to treat it. Prevention of osteochondrosis is required for everyone -both children and adults. Moreover, there is nothing complicated in it, and the prevention of osteochondrosis does not require special effort. The first and most important point is spinal health care. To do this, the advice world advises to always play sports or at least gymnastics, which will help develop spinal muscle corsets and improve blood circulation. The next is to constantly monitor posture and walk, not to sharpen and not bend.
The ideal posture is when the head and back are in the same vertical, the shoulders are straightened, the shoulder blade is not sticky, the chest is raised, and the stomach is pulled. My yoga teacher once said that stomach was not visible because we ate a lot, but because we were going wrong. How's it right? Imagine being pulled by the top of the head, and you barely touch the floor socks. Practice such exercises for a few weeks and you will soon not realize that they have become a very good posture owner.
It is also advisable to hang as often as possible to the horizontal bar, stretch the spinal column and let it rest. Prepare yourself like a dream where your spine will take the right position. Scientific studies have shown that the ideal pose for the backbone behind the back. But at the same time, the mattress should be difficult enough for the spine to take a simple natural pose. To do this, place the elastic roller under your feet. We advise you to buy orthopedic mattresses and pillows and eventually throw away a wool bed.
If you have a boring job, always every two hours (more often, better) take a break. Relax, take some steps and shoulders, go. If possible, go to fresh air. In this way, the rest is confirmed, and in the labor code they are allowed for people who are always working on the computer.
We include balanced nutrition, vitamins for prevention. Try eating fish and seafood, nuts, legumes and a variety of dairy products. Periodically take complex vitamins. With this, you will not allow metabolic violations. Excessive weight is a destructive burden for the spine, so try not to recover.
Well, some words about prevention in children. It is necessary to monitor the posture of children, do gymnastics or morning training (it will be more effective if you make it together). However, it gives priority to the school's backpack, and not the bag, as it is a backpack that offset the load on the back.