Symptoms and treatment of cervical osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is a disease of our time. A sedentary lifestyle, constant nervous tension does not pass without a trace. Almost anyone can observe the symptoms of this disease. How do we recognize an insidious disease and seek timely help?

Osteochondrosis is a physiological process that everyone acquires throughout their life. The symptoms and treatment of cervical osteochondrosis are very different, so it becomes a disease only under certain conditions, along with certain factors. The disease is characterized by local changes in the cervical spine due to calcium deficiency. Calcium is low and the tissue has a sponge structure, becomes brittle, brittle and performs the main function of the skeleton.

Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis

Cervical osteochondrosis disrupts the blood supply to the brain. Therefore, almost all patients complain of similar symptoms:

• headache, dizziness, tinnitus;
• has shoulder, neck, chest pain;
• different parts of the body fit (hands, fingers);
• weakness in arms and legs;
• psychological symptoms - unreasonable mood swings, irritability;
• In difficult situations, vision and hearing are reduced.

Symptoms are so varied and individual that cervical osteochondrosis is difficult to diagnose based solely on the patient's complaints. Cervical spine diseases are diagnosed using MRI, computed tomography, radiography. According to the results of the study, you can see the changes in the spine. The diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis is made only taking into account all the complaints.

Depending on the location of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment are slightly different. Osteochondrosis can be divided into three main groups, exactly where the change occurs and how it affects the central nervous system. These species have different symptoms and therefore different treatments.

1. First group. The peripheral nervous system suffers. Changes in the vertebrae directly affect the nerve endings (roots). Cervical thoracic osteochondrosis, often referred to as radicular syndrome, has the most striking symptoms:
• Pain from the cervical region to the shoulder.

• Choking syndrome in the neck, tachycardia, heart pain.
• Crunching, noise, creaking when turning the neck. See what exercises you can do to strengthen your neck muscles with osteochondrosis.
• Persistent pain in the back of the head.
• Due to the deterioration of blood circulation, the hands become pale, cold, fingers fall asleep.
• joint pain.

Such osteochondrosis can cause torticollis

2. The second group. The whole spinal cord is involved, the disease manifests itself in the disruption of all functions. The symptoms are as follows:
• Muscle tone of the legs and arms decreases. The legs fall asleep, get tired quickly, it is difficult to walk and stand, the cause is a syndrome of semiconductor disorders. Blood does not flow well to the lateral columns of the spinal cord.
• Myelopathy develops in the affected areas. Affects dysfunction of the extremities.
• Third group. Due to the lack of blood to the brain, brain function is impaired. It differs in characteristic syndromes:
• Hypothalamic. A syndrome characterized by a malfunction of the hypothalamus. It causes neurological symptoms. The patient often feels unreasonable fatigue, irritability, mood swings. People suffering from this syndrome complain of poor sleep, resentment, unfounded fears and anxiety. Physiological changes include: sweating, paleness, cold palms, high blood pressure.
• Drop syndrome. With such a disease of the cervical spine, they often lose consciousness for no reason. The cause is vasospasm.
• Vestibular-root. The syndrome is often characterized by dizziness. The vestibular system is disrupted due to insufficient blood flow. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur.
• cochlear root. Ringworm, tinnitus is called this syndrome. Ear blockage or hearing loss may occur. It is very difficult to associate such symptoms with cervical osteochondrosis, especially to prescribe the right treatment.
• Pharyngeal-larynx. The syndrome is accompanied by discomfort in the throat. It can be difficult to swallow, the sound is hoarse. Painful symptoms such as dryness, itching, pain in the throat are observed.

Features of osteochondrosis with treatment of symptoms of radicular syndrome

Separately, it is worth focusing on cervical spine radicular syndrome, the symptoms of which should be considered in more detail. Their manifestations are often confused with diseases not associated with osteochondrosis. Treatment does not work, the person continues to feel pain, the condition worsens. Misdiagnosis is sometimes worse than the disease itself. Prescribed therapy not only helps, but also cripples completely healthy organs. Osteochondrosis, which develops in the cervical spine, causes the so-called radicular syndrome.

The main reason is the compression of the nerves, especially the roots in a certain part of the spine (cervical, thorax, vertebral).

This cervical syndrome is characterized by:

1. Pain when turning the neck or torso. Appears after a long monotonous state of the body (sleep, prolonged sitting) and sharp turns of the head.
2. Convulsions and "chills" in the occipital region.
3. Headache in different manifestations: pulsating, acute short-term, long-term. This leads to dizziness, fainting and nausea.
4. The muscles in the jaw may sag a little.
5. Often there is a decrease in the tone of the tongue during pain, and speech defects appear.
6. Pain from the neck passes smoothly to the shoulder, wrist, hand. There is numbness in the fingers, discomfort when lifting the arm, pain in the joints.

Often, cervical spine radicular syndrome develops smoothly into the thorax. Pain with radicular syndrome in cervicothoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself in the internal organs.

Here's the clinical picture:

• Scapula, lower ribs, underarm pain. Incompatibility in these areas.
• Painful stabbing sensations in the stomach, intestines, hypochondrium. They often misdiagnose diseases of the gastrointestinal tract by observing this syndrome.
• Nausea from the navel to the lumbar region causes heaviness in the intestines and stomach.
• Dry throat.

Radical changes can cause cardinal syndrome - a disorder of bone tissue that irritates the muscles of the chest or the roots of the diaphragm. This is indicated by the occurrence of: prolonged pain from a sharp stabbing, tachycardia, heart pain at various times from shortness of breath. These symptoms are exactly the same as the symptoms of angina pectoris. And if you treat, the result will be zero. In addition, patients with this syndrome have a normal cardiogram and no other signs of heart disease other than pain. Therefore, drugs with coronary enlargement effect are not effective.

Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis

Effective treatment is a complex therapy that should be applied only in case of exacerbation.

Medication

• Pain syndrome is relieved by analgesics and other painkillers.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed for severe pain.
• Local painkillers in the form of warming ointments and gels will be useful.
• If you have a muscle spasm in exile, take muscle relaxants.
• In cervical osteochondrosis, prescribe drugs that improve cerebral circulation.
• Analgesic blockade is also used in medical practice.
• If necessary, prescribe anticonvulsants.
• Antidepressants, sedatives, insomnia medications are useful in psychological disorders.

In addition to medication, they have a very positive effect:

• massages,
• medical gymnastics;
• electrophoresis;
• wear a bandage.

Cardinal treatment methods - surgical removal of hernias and other defects of the spine.