In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of the treatment and the stages of the development of the disease, you will get rid of pain due to osteochondrosis of the chest, you will be able to normalize sleep and live life to the fullest.
It is important to understand
If osteochondrosis of the chest is detected, it is necessary to choose an individual group of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of their implementation and exclude exercises that have contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important that you regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo a full course of treatment at a specialized center, and in the future you must take care of your health in a preventive way.
Osteochondrosis is a very common and serious disease.
Its danger is that in the initial stages it may not appear at all or may be disguised as other pathologies.
This happens especially often with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
In this place, the vertebrae are not so loosely connected, so degenerative processes rarely develop here.
But if osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine occurs, it causes pronounced symptoms and severe pain.
Pathogenesis of osteochondrosis
Recently, osteochondrosis has been diagnosed not only in the elderly, as it was before. This pathology is becoming more and more common among young people.
This is due to the characteristics of lifestyle and nutrition. Ultimately, osteochondrosis occurs due to disruption of metabolic processes and blood circulation.
There can be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
This is a degenerative-dystrophic pathology, which is characterized by the gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs. They lose water and nutrients, the cartilage tissue dries out and begins to crack.
Because of this, the disc stops performing shock-absorbing functions, the vertebrae move closer to each other and also begin to collapse.
In the chest region, such processes rarely develop, since the load on the discs here is small. But various injuries, metabolic disorders and blood circulation can lead to the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Moreover, it is in this country that the disease is particularly severe. After all, there are many nerve endings that go to the internal organs here.
Possible complications
The danger of thoracic osteochondrosis is that it starts unnoticed. Often in the first stage there are almost no painful sensations, and those that arise can be confused with pain in the stomach or heart.
Therefore, many patients are unsuccessfully treated for gastritis or angina for a long time until they undergo a complete examination. An X-ray of the spine will help identify the narrowing of the intervertebral space and will suspect the development of osteochondrosis.
If this is not done and treatment is not started, the disease will progress rapidly. The destruction of disc cartilage can only be stopped by special methods. The disks themselves cannot be recovered. Moreover, in the chest region, this process continues faster, since due to the low mobility of the spine, the blood supply to the tissues here is worse.
Therefore, without timely treatment, osteochondrosis can lead to serious complications. It can cause the following pathologies:
- intervertebral protrusion or hernia;
- spinal cord compression;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- biliary dyskinesia;
- intestinal, liver or pancreatic disorders;
- heart dissases.
Typical symptoms and signs of osteochondrosis of the chest
Every person who is susceptible to diseases of the spine should know how osteochondrosis occurs. If you do not ignore the typical symptoms, you can start treatment in time and stop the progression of the pathology.
The main symptom of spinal cord injury is pain associated with physical activity. In the initial stages they are not strong and appear in the evening, and after rest they go away.
In addition, the pain intensifies with a deep breath, raising the arms up, turning the torso or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one place, only then it spreads to the whole chest.
Due to painful sensations, muscle spasms occur in this place, and the patient becomes difficult to move. Often, the pathology is accompanied by intercostal neuralgia.
What can be confused with osteochondrosis of the chest?
This disease can be cured only in the initial stage. But the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the chest in time; its symptoms are often confused with other pathologies.
It is not always accompanied by typical symptoms. Some patients do not feel back pain or intercostal neuralgia.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself with atypical symptoms characteristic of other diseases. It is most often confused with pathologies of internal organs.
- Basically, its manifestations are similar to angina pectoris. Heart pain that intensifies during inhalation, shortness of breath and the inability to raise the arm force patients to take heart medication. But there is no relief, and the ECG also does not reveal any disturbance in the functioning of the heart.
- Sometimes there is pain that resembles the symptoms of peptic ulcer, gastritis or pancreatitis. But they worsen not after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may notice pain in the mammary glands.
- Localization of the pathology in the upper part of the chest region can cause a lump in the throat and difficulty in swallowing.
Osteochondrosis of the chest can cause nausea, difficulty breathing or even suffocation.
There is often numbness or tingling in the upper limbs, muscle weakness, and an inability to raise the arm or move it sideways.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the chest
Often, to accurately diagnose a disease, it is necessary to consider its possible causes. People with a hereditary predisposition, excess weight and bad habits are susceptible to such pathologies.
It is also recommended to examine the spine in patients with various endocrine and metabolic disorders, diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine most often occurs in people over 45 years of age. It is at this time that metabolic processes slow down, tissues lack nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, which leads to a weakening of the muscular corset of the spine.
But there are other causes of osteochondrosis in the chest region:
- back injuries, bruises or sprains;
- regular weight lifting, heavy physical activity;
- rachiocampsis;
- prolonged sitting in the wrong position, for example, when working at the computer or driving a car.
What are the degrees of the disease?
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a chronic pathology. It develops very slowly, but constantly progresses.
In order to choose the right treatment methods, doctors distinguish several stages of the disease. They have characteristic symptoms and require a special approach to therapy.
- The first degree of osteochondrosis causes almost no pain. If they occur, it occurs after physical activity.
- In the second stage, the pain becomes stronger. Indeed, due to the gradual destruction of the disc, the vertebrae move closer to each other, which can cause compression of the nerve roots. In this case, neurological symptoms and signs of internal organ dysfunction appear.
- In the third stage of osteochondrosis, an intervertebral hernia often appears. A ruptured disc puts pressure on blood vessels and nerves, leading to severe pain and other health problems. The mobility of the spine in this place is very limited.
- The last stage of the pathology is characterized by the complete destruction of the disc. Osteophytes appear in vertebrae, sometimes they are completely fused together. Every movement of the patient causes pain, so the disease at this stage often leads to disability.
Why should you consult a doctor immediately?
Some patients ignore the first symptoms of the disease. They confuse mild back pain and muscle weakness with overwork. And after the break they continue to lead their usual lifestyle. Because of this, the disease progresses, leading to serious complications.
A decrease in the shock-absorbing functions of the intervertebral discs leads to curvature of the spine. Thoracic kyphosis usually develops. Because of it, the chest is compressed and breathing is impaired.
If you do not go to the doctor in time, the intervertebral discs can completely collapse. This will lead to convergence of the vertebrae and compression of the nerve endings. With each movement, the situation will be aggravated by the fact that the vertebrae will begin to collapse due to friction. This can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the body below the affected vertebrae.
Disease prevention
To prevent serious complications of the pathology, you should consult a doctor in time. The earlier the treatment is started, the greater the chance to completely stop the degenerative processes.
This is best done with the help of kinesiotherapy. In the initial stage of the pathology, as well as during its prevention, this method will help strengthen the muscular belt of the spine and improve the blood supply to the disc tissue.
Specialists in a modern kinesiotherapy center will help prevent the development of degenerative processes in people with a predisposition to them. After all, moderate physical activity is necessary to maintain a healthy back.
An individually designed daily regimen with special exercises and diet will help avoid disc destruction and complications of this process.
How is the treatment performed?
Collection of anamnesis - analysis of the disease, limitations and contraindications, explanation of the principles of kinesitherapy, features of the recovery period are identified.
Myofascial diagnosis is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor evaluates the range of motion of the joints, determines painful stiffness, swelling, hypo- or hypertonicity of the muscles and other changes.
Functional diagnostics (performed in the rehabilitation room) - the doctor explains how to perform certain exercises on the equipment and observes: how the patient performs them, with what range of motion he can work, what movements cause pain, what weight the patient can work with, how the cardiovascular system reacts. vascular system. Problem areas have been identified. The data is entered on the card. Accents are placed.
Based on the results of the initial examination by a doctor and functional diagnostics, a preliminary individual treatment program is drawn up.
It is recommended to have with you:
- for pain in the spine - MRI or CT (magnetic resonance or computerized tomography) of the problem area;
- for joint pain - x-ray;
- in the presence of concomitant diseases - extracts from the medical history or outpatient card;
- comfortable clothes and shoes (sports).
Lessons with an instructor
At the beginning of the treatment cycle, the doctor and the patient draw up a treatment plan, which includes the date and time of the treatment session, follow-up visits to the doctor (usually 2-3 times a week).
The basis of the treatment process is treatment sessions in the rehabilitation room using simulators and sessions in the gym.
Rehabilitation simulators allow you to accurately dose the load on individual muscle groups, ensuring an adequate regimen of physical activity. The treatment program is drawn up by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of the body. Supervision is carried out by qualified instructors. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct movement and breathing technique, know your weight standards when working on exercise machines, adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations of specialists.
Joint gymnastics sessions help to restore visual coordination, improve mobility and elasticity (flexibility) of the spine and are an excellent preventive system for self-use.
Each treatment cycle consists of 12 sessions. Each lesson is supervised by an instructor. The duration of a treatment session is from 40 minutes to 1. 5 hours. The instructor designs a program, taking into account co-morbidities and the patient's condition on the day of the lesson. Teaches the technique of performing exercises and monitors the correct execution. Every 6 hours, there is a second consultation with the doctor, changes and additions are made to the program, depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will it take? – individually for everyone
It is important to know:
- How long have you had this problem (stage of the disease)
- How does your body prepare for physical activity (do you do gymnastics or any sport).
- what result you want to get.
If the disease is in the early stages and the body is prepared, one cycle of treatment is enough. (example - young people 20-30 years old who do sports. We focus their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing, stretching, excluding "wrong" exercises that are harmful to problem areas. Such patients undergotraining and get the ability to "take care of your body", get recommendations in case of deterioration and continue studying on your own).