Everyone has experienced back pain, many of them live with such pain all the time. In 2/3 of cases, the cause of back problems is osteochondrosis of the spine. With osteochondrosis, the bone, cartilage tissue of the spine - cervix, chest, lumbar, is destroyed. With age, the risk of tissue consumption increases, every second inhabitant of the planet over 30 years old has signs of osteochondrosis.
Spinal diseases provoke back injuries, constant stress during strenuous physical work. Genetic predisposition, intensive training, poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle all play a role - most urban dwellers are at risk.
How to recognize osteochondrosis
With osteochondrosis, the symptoms are general, specific, characteristic of degenerative changes in the articular cartilage, discs, spinal tissues.
Osteochondrosis will present with persistent back pain, numbness of the affected vertebral sections, restriction of movement, increased pain with sudden movements, weight lifting.
Specific signs of osteochondrosis:
- cervical type leads to circulatory disorders, provokes headaches, tinnitus, "flies" before the eyes. There are problems with brain nutrition, which leads to constant stress;
- with osteochondrosis of the chest region, neuralgia develops between the ribs, chest pain appears, ribs;
- lumbar spine disease causes disease progression - lumbago, sciatica, sciatica.
With sciatic nerve pain, the sciatic nerve is affected. Symptoms are pain in the back, hypotension of the calf, gluteal muscles.
Lumbago is known for sharp pain in the lower back, caused by displacement of the vertebrae, spinal disc prolapse.
With sciatic nerve pain appears lumbar pain in the gluteal region, which is given in the back of the thigh, in the lower part of the leg, foot, popliteal fossa.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
The clinical manifestations of spinal osteochondrosis are different, sometimes you need to visit different doctors to understand the cause of the disease. Accurate diagnosis will be made by a neurologist, an orthopedist, in some private clinics - a vertebrologist, a vertebroneurologist, doctors who deal with spinal diseases.
The doctor will report the primary diagnosis at the first examination, when feeling the patient's back. After radiography, computed tomography, MRI, treatment is prescribed.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine aims to eliminate pain, prevent further tissue destruction, deformity of the spine.
Vertebral osteochondrosis is a chronic disease, there are stages of deterioration, remission. Treatment of spinal disease during exacerbation includes bed rest for 1-2 weeks, pain relievers are taken for severe pain.
With osteochondrosis of the cervix during exacerbation, it is recommended to wear a special restraining collar. If the chest and lumbar regions are affected, a corset for the spine will help with irritations. Types of corsets:
- for the chest region - a bandage that resembles a vest. Used to direct the spine;
- for fractures of the spine - plaster, extension corsets;
- a rigid corset is worn after spinal surgery, injuries. Helps support internal organs when muscles weaken;
- corset in the form of a wide belt for the lumbar spine. Recommended for hernia, dislocation.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine should be comprehensive: drug treatment, exercise therapy, manual therapy, diet - conservative treatment. Sometimes surgery.
Drug treatment
The doctor will prescribe medication for osteochondrosis. Drug groups have different treatment goals.
In the early stages, anti-inflammatory drugs are taken. If back pain persists for more than 2 weeks but less than 3 months, additional pain relievers are taken. If the back pain is more than 3 months old, antidepressants are added.
Medication, the dose is determined by the attending physician, self-activity is destructive - medications have side effects.
Treatment with folk remedies
Treatment of the disease with folk remedies is carried out except the main one, it does not replace pills. With osteochondrosis of the spine, home treatment methods will reduce pain, reduce inflammation.
Recipe:
- A teaspoon of dried burdock leaves in a glass of boiling water. The compress is put on the injured place, held for 20-30 minutes. The injured area is then wrapped in a warm scarf.
- Three teaspoons of crushed roots of medicinal marshmallows are poured into a glass of cold boiled water. Insist 8 hours, make compresses.
During the remission period, herbal infusions are taken orally - they ensure the prevention of exacerbations of osteochondrosis.
Treatment with manual therapy
An effective tool of conservative treatment of the disease is manual therapy for osteochondrosis of the spine. It is worth finding a qualified specialist. A good chiropractor will relieve pain syndrome, relieve muscle spasm and improve intervertebral joint mobility. An insufficiently qualified therapist will cause irreparable damage to the spine.
In order for manual therapy to help with dystrophic changes, it is important to follow the rules. Before the massage, it is worth warming up the tense muscles, stretching the muscles smoothly so that the patient does not feel pain. Then the muscle relaxes, after half a minute, with deep breathing, the patient stretches as much as possible until a slight pain appears. The muscle in this state is fixed for half a minute, then relaxed. Due to the irritation of the nerve endings, a therapeutic effect occurs.
Exercise treatment
Exercises for osteochondrosis spine with other methods improve metabolism, spinal mobility, strengthen muscles and restore damaged intervertebral discs.
Morning exercises for spinal osteochondrosis include exercises:
For the cervical spine:
- keep your head and shoulders straight. Slowly turn your head to the right, left;
- we throw our head back, with our right ear trying to reach the left shoulder. We repeat on the left.
For the chest region:
- we sit in a chair, hands between knees. As we inhale, we lean aside, as we exhale, we direct. We repeat in the other direction;
- we sit in a chair with a low back so that the edges of the shoulders rest on it. Bend slowly to look at the back wall.
For the middle pillar:
- We lie on our backs, bend our knees, press them to our chests. We swing forward and backward - from back to sacrum, for 1, 5-2 minutes. We lie down, lie down quietly.
Complex exercises for exercise therapy for osteochondrosis of the spine, treatment complexes should be found online, ask an orthopedist.