Osteochondrosis is a disease of the spine, the main symptoms of which are the reduction of intervertebral discs and the interruption of work in them.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common disease among people of different ages. Among men and women, spinal pain most often manifests at the age of 40. In old age, osteochondrosis affects 90% of the population. The most common type of this disease is cervical osteochondrosis. We will talk about him.
Causes of osteochondrosis
When the aging process begins, the function of blood vessels, bones and cartilage will deteriorate; under all these indicators, the body still does not get enough vitamins, which intensifies this process.
But there are also reasons that are not related to aging, so the disease will manifest earlier than usual.
- Excess weight. It can cause metabolic disorders and overload the intervertebral discs.
- Genetic.
- Injuried.
- Passive lifestyle. And staying in one position for a long time (driving).
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (flat feet, poor posture). Due to these diseases, the load on the spine is uneven.
- Strong pressure on the spine (multiple pregnancy).
Signs of cervical osteochondrosis
This type of osteochondrosis is more common than other types of osteochondrosis. This happens because the cervical vertebrae are very close to each other and have a different structure from the other vertebrae.
Why does the cervical spine shift? This is due to their age-related fragility and underdevelopment of the neck muscle frame.
In addition to pain, cervical spine displacement can also pinch arteries or nerve bundles. Due to the different pain sites, osteochondrosis is easily confused with other diseases.
The following are other symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Pain in different parts of the body. In the heart area, back of the head, neck, shoulders and collarbone. There may also be weaknesses in the arms and problems with spreading the arms to the sides. This is due to compression of the cervical nerves.
- Numb fingers. There is a tingling sensation in the fingertips, and the sensitivity of the hands is low.
- Uncomfortable when turning his head. Crackling of vertebrae, neck and back pain, dizziness, heavy head or lack of air. If these symptoms are particularly severe during exercise, it indicates the initial stage of the development of osteochondrosis. All of the above comes from the appearance of the bone structure of the neck.
- Vision problems. Reduced vision, haze, or flashing black spots. This indicates the advanced stage of osteochondrosis and is caused by insufficient blood in the brain.
- Sore throat. Lumps in the throat, sweating, and difficulty swallowing are early signs of osteochondrosis. There may also be frequent nausea.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
What will happen during treatment?
Under X-ray control, the needle is inserted into the small joint of the cervical spine. Through them, two drugs are injected into the affected joints: a local anesthetic to relieve pain, and another hormone to further relieve inflammation in the problem area.
This blockade can provide relief for a long time. However, if the pain has recovered, as long as the blockade has a positive effect, it is possible to perform radiofrequency ablation of the nerve in the future to eliminate joint pain.
Such procedures are always carried out only in the second phase and have a lasting positive impact (from one year to several years).
What are the advantages of this method of treating osteochondrosis?
- No general anesthesia is required, and the duration does not exceed one hour.
- The patient can go home within a few hours after the operation.
- The risk of complications is minimal.
- Frail and elderly patients can also be treated in this way.
- The recovery period does not exceed 2 days.
In order to speed up the recovery process, we recommend postoperative exercise therapy courses. This is a treatment that includes certain physical activities after surgery. All exercises are individually selected by the attending physician.