According to medical statistics, osteochondrosis of the cervix has been a fairly common disease in recent years. Every person has at least once in their entire life encountered its unpleasant symptoms.
The disease itself is a malfunction of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. After all, it is on this part of the human spine that the maximum constant load occurs.
The cervical area consists of 7 discs. Due to his weak muscles and constant loads on them, various injuries and disturbances can occur at work. Due to all these factors, cervical osteochondrosis begins to develop.
Types of diseases
Osteochondrosis is an insidious disease that may not manifest for a long time. There are several stages in the development of this disease:
- 1st degree cervical osteochondrosis (manifested by initial disorders of the spine);
- 2nd degree cervical osteochondrosis (the distance between the discs in the cervical spine begins to decrease);
- 3rd degree cervical osteochondrosis (complete destruction of the ring of intervertebral discs occurs and severe deformation of the entire spine begins);
- cervical osteochondrosis of 4th degree (last stage of disease progression, which can lead to disability).
Causes of the onset and development of the disease
Like any other disease, cervical osteochondrosis has its own causes and developmental factors. Until a few decades ago, only the elderly were susceptible to this disease. Osteochondrosis of the neck also affected men after 40 years who are engaged in hard physical work.
Today, osteochondrosis of the neck is more and more common and affects young people over 20 years of age. There are many reasons for the development of diseases of the cervix and thoracic spine:
- existing obesity
- incorrect posture and, as a result, curvature of the spine of 1 or 2 degrees;
- hard physical work or professional sports, due to which various spinal cord injuries were received;
- causes of stress and severe emotional stress;
- weak muscles in the cervicothoracic region;
- sudden cessation of sports after prolonged training;
- work associated with sitting at a computer or being in a position for a long time.
If you find yourself with the stated reasons, then you are in the so-called risk group. In this case, it is necessary to prevent osteochondrosis of the cervix.
Manifestation of the disease
With osteochondrosis of 1 degree, a person feels virtually no symptoms of a developing disease. Only the first squeezing of the neck muscles begins.
Osteochondrosis of the 2nd degree cervical spine usually manifests as minor pain that may occur in the cervical and thoracic segment. This happens due to squeezing of nerve endings due to a decrease in the distance between the discs in the spine.
Grades 3 and 4 of the disease cannot go unnoticed. In this case, the deformity of the spine may be noticeable to the naked eye, not to mention the sensations that a person experiences.
The most important and common symptoms of this disease include:
- severe persistent headache
- rings in the head;
- reduced movement and coordination
- deterioration of vision and dental hygiene;
- cerebrovascular accident, insomnia and various neurological problems.
At 1, 2, 3 or 4 degrees of the disease, pain can spread to the area of the shoulder joint and arms. A feature of this symptom that distinguishes it from other diseases is that the discomfort changes its strength and concentration depending on the rotations of the neck and head.
Disease syndromes
All symptoms that occur with osteochondrosis can be justified incorrectly and therefore a wrong diagnosis is possible. Therefore, with the existing symptoms, it is necessary to find out all the causes of their appearance. Thus, medicine knows several syndromes that distinguish between the causes of their origin:
Radicular syndromes
In this case, the nerves are squeezed and the person feels pain and numbness in one part of the neck. Unpleasant sensations can spread to the back, to the scapula area as well as to the arm;
Irriate reflex syndromes
Manifested by severe, unbearable pain in the back of the head, which spreads throughout the throat. Most often it occurs with a sharp movement or rotation of the head;
Vertebral artery syndrome
In this case, the name speaks for itself. There is a squeezing of the artery and the person feels a severe throbbing headache, which may result in loss of consciousness or vomiting;
Heart syndrome
Manifested by increased heart rate, dizziness and loss of consciousness. Often in this case a wrong diagnosis is made and the treatment of angina pectoris begins.
Treatment
With osteochondrosis, a person is always shown immediate treatment. His tactics are chosen depending on the degree of illness. So at 1 or 2 degrees, complete recovery is possible after the treatment. In the later stages, medical correction is usually aimed at preventing complications as well as improving the quality of life.
First aid
What to do when the first symptoms of the disease occur? First, relieve pain from the cervicothoracic region. To do this, take a regular painkiller, lie down or just relax.
The next step is to visit a doctor for the correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Conservative treatment
With confirmed osteochondrosis, conservative treatment is usually prescribed. The patient is shown to take anti-inflammatory, analgesic drugs. It is possible to use various gels or ointments to relieve swelling and inflammation. The doctor may also prescribe a course of massage, therapeutic exercises. Physiotherapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is prescribed in almost all cases.
Surgery
In rare cases, with severely advanced osteochondrosis, surgery is possible. In this case, the patient is put to sleep by means of general anesthesia, after which removal of bone formations between the discs of the cervicothoracic spine is performed. After the manipulation, the patient is shown further conservative treatment or physiotherapy.
Preventive measurements
Due to the decrease in the age of occurrence of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, it is necessary for each person to perform its prevention. This is especially true for those people who are at risk.
Important rules
Prevention of cervical osteochondrosis consists of following simple but very important rules:
- take care of your posture, do not let it bend;
- do not subject the spine to heavy loads;
- you can not make sudden movements of the head;
- do not be nervous, avoid stress;
- do not catch a cold, do not overcool;
- get rid of bad habits, switch to proper nutrition.
Special exercises
To protect yourself from such a disorder, you need to do preventative exercises:
- put your palm to your forehead, tighten your neck muscles, then move your hand to the back of your head and repeat the exercise, doing it for 7 seconds in 3 sets;
- put your palm to your temple, then also tighten your neck muscles, repeat a similar action on the other side, the time, the number of approaches is the same as in the first paragraph;
- take your head back and slowly reach your chin to the chest area, you need to perform the exercise 3 times;
- turn your head in different directions - you must perform this exercise slowly without sudden movements;
- tilt the head back, first touch one shoulder with the ear, then the other, repeat the exercise 5 times.
If one or more symptoms of the disease occur, contact your doctor immediately. Maybe you only get prescribed physiotherapy and that's the end of it. Do not delay, do not start the disease.
Do your daily gymnastics. It is better to do elementary exercises than to suffer from illness later.
Ask your doctor how you sleep for cervical osteochondrosis. Follow all the rules, be healthy!