Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, its special feature is the destructive changes in the discs and vertebrae of the cervical spine. The disease is frequent, because the cervical vertebrae during human life are always under severe stress and almost constant stress. Everyone who cares about their health should know what is cervical osteochondrosis, its symptoms, treatment at home is very possible, if a specialist doctor considers it acceptable. But in some cases, in -patient treatment is required.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis develops gradually, regardless of which cervical vertebrae are affected. At each stage of pathology, there will be its own symptoms and signs.
Cervical osteochondrosis is a great danger to the body because initially some patients do not associate the discomfort experienced with serious symptoms that require a visit to the doctor. The fact is that injuries to the spinal space cause disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, causing symptoms and signs that are not at all characteristic of common injuries of the musculoskeletal system, for example, instability of blood pressure. Often the symptomatology itself is somewhat vague.
The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, which need to be considered, are:
- Systemic and non -systemic dizziness. It arises as a result of acute pathological compression of cerebral vessels, acute nerve root compression by the vertebrae and increased intracranial pressure reflex.
- Pain in the cervical spine, sometimes radiating to the shoulders, scapula and various parts of the upper limbs. Attacks of pain and discomfort most often occur after sleep. Often, the pain is accompanied by the characteristic sound of an injured disc - a crackling sound when trying to move the neck. Sharp nerve attempts cause muscle relaxation in different parts of the body, muscle weakness can appear for no reason, for example, in the legs. Sometimes the sensitivity in the cervical collar zone decreases sharply.
- Sharp spikes and drops in blood pressure, are closely related to the effect of the central nervous system on the body's blood supply function. The pressure increases sharply with uncomfortable body position, pressure, sharp rotations in the head and neck.
If the above symptoms appear, you should immediately see a specialist doctor to determine the exact diagnosis and prescribe the most effective treatment.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
Therapy will be prescribed depending on the stage of disease progression, the period of exacerbation or remission, the intensity of manifestation of symptoms and signs.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is not done quickly, quite a long time. To restore the musculoskeletal system, the body will require a lot of time, effort and the use of complex therapeutic methods.
Drug treatment
The drug complex, dose and duration of the course are chosen strictly by the doctor depending on many factors: the stage of disease progression, age of the patient, individual tolerance to drug components, and so on. The following medications are used:
- Analgesics, pills and injections. They help relieve pain syndromes and relieve discomfort caused by destructive changes.
- Hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs are needed to eliminate the body's aggressive response to bone destruction and pathological effects on muscles.
- Chondoprotectors - medicinal preparations containing active ingredients capable of restoring bone tissue, causing its regrowth and strengthening;
- Muscle relaxation is a pharmacological agent that weakens the intensity of painful muscle tension in the damaged spine.
- Synthetic vitamin preparations containing mineral complexes and trace elements that can normalize metabolic processes and fill nutrient deficiencies with useful substances.
- In addition to tablets and injections, various ointments and gels can also be used for local action on the skin in the damaged area.
- Oral medications help in complex therapy. They can be warming, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, chondoprotective or complex (containing several types of active ingredients).
Gymnastics
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, special gymnastics is very helpful, including exercises aimed at strengthening the body’s natural strength, initiating an accelerated regeneration process and restoring lost musculoskeletal function of the spine. In some cases, a typical set of exercises is complemented by a variety of sports such as swimming or yoga. Decisions about the additional burden for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are made only by a physician. During physiotherapy exercises, it is forbidden to bow or tilt the head sharply, you should try to avoid rotation. A set of exercises for sports is selected by a specialist doctor depending on the individual characteristics of the patient and the specific clinical case.
Nutrition
It is important that when treating osteochondrosis, patients must follow a special diet. During illness, the body needs a balanced diet that contains the nutrients needed for quick recovery. You need to try foods that are harmful, sweet, fatty, difficult to digest, salty and spicy. The menu should contain large amounts of cereals, nuts, dairy products containing calcium, lean meats and fish, fruits and vegetables.
Other complex treatment items
Surgical intervention is used only in the most extreme cases, when the destruction of the spinal space is so strong that no conservative therapy can restore the damaged bones, nerves and discs.
For any pathology of the musculoskeletal system, a course of massage therapy is used for additional effects on the muscles. Massage is performed in a cartilage state, facing down, very rarely in a sitting position - only in situations where the pathology is in the early stages of development. It is best to trust a specialist, because in the event of a disease of the musculoskeletal system, self -massage can bring many dangers and irreparable side effects. The load on the muscles, their intensity, the frequency of tapping and stroking in this case is very limited.
To relieve the load from a damaged spine, you should strive to give anatomical shape to the spine and discs. Modern orthopedic products (orthopedic collars, pillows and mattresses) help restore the spinal space to the desired shape and position quickly and comfortably without injuring it or causing negative side effects.
As a rule, methods of treating cervical osteochondrosis in each clinical case combine the complex use of the above methods.