Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease in which the delicate intervertebral pulp, which acts as a cushion between the vertebrae, turns into ossified tissue, compromising the roots and blood vessels. This change is hidden under various manifestations, where the main feature of cervical spine disease is pain in the cervical region, in the upper part of the back, radiating to the head. Mandatory treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is required.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
The disease is characterized by typical symptoms.
With cervical osteochondrosis, patients feel:
- episodes of dizziness, nausea, pressure drops, loss of consciousness;
- Shortness of breath;
- numbness of the tongue;
- angina attacks and other changes in the cardiovascular system.
All these symptoms encourage the patient to go not only to a neurologist, but also to other doctors of such specialties as a cardiologist, therapist, orthopedist, which greatly complicates the correct diagnosis in the early stages of the development of the disease. The dystrophic process of deviations of the tissues of the cervical vertebrae, as a rule, affects middle-aged people. This happens due to the vertical position of the human skeleton and the separation of static and dynamic pressure.
Symptoms such as pain in the back of the head, shoulders, arms, sternum and retrosternal region indicate the exit of the roots of the nerve endings in the upper part of the spine and the lack of mobility of the neck joints, which support the neck. weight, keeping the skull in a vertical position.
effective treatment
The medicine does not stop. The method of therapy is different, for this it is important to take into account the stage of the pathology (weakening or crisis), the form of the disease (acute or chronic), the manifestation of symptoms, for example, the presence or absence of pain.
You need to know how to cure cervical osteochondrosis and how long it takes to treat it. Treatment includes:
- conservative therapy (pharmacological or non-pharmacological);
- Surgical intervention;
- complex method of two methods.
Characteristics of classical therapy.
To ensure that osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be cured, you need to correctly use simple methods: recreational physical education, massage, self-massage. This can bring an improvement in the well-being of a patient who feels pain in the neck with this ailment.
But with a long course of degenerative processes, it would be nice to be examined in a hospital or outpatient clinic. This will help to choose a suitable method of treatment procedures.
If this is not possible, it is important to use light methods, for example, exercises aimed at hydration (filling the joint space with fluids due to a change in the blood supply to the neck and the back of the head).
Improving physical education
By accurately performing the exercises of therapeutic gymnastics, you can achieve excellent results. For example, there are many methods of treating osteochondrosis of the neck, but not all of them are based on increasing the nutrition of cartilage and bone tissues.
The task of exercise therapy is to restore blood circulation in the modified area. During a visit to exercise therapy, you cannot forcefully turn or tilt your head, you can only imitate such movements. It seemed that everything is so simple, but it works.
In order to correctly perform exercise therapy, you must use physical exercises, excluding:
- prolonged stress on the neck joints (do an exercise for no more than two minutes);
- twists, bends, rotations of the neck (such actions relieve the development of pathology in the joints and intervertebral discs).
It is useful to make a slight flexion of the head, which does not cause the movement of all the joints, but increases the flow of blood to them. Such actions are similar to light nods of the head, in the form of consent. After half an hour, you can perform a movement similar to an expression of disagreement.
It is also helpful to do a similar exercise of moving your head forward, keeping the front part, and back, trying to keep the back part of your head as well. All this can be done at home.
Massage
Massage the cervical region very carefully, without applying much force. Any inept action can lead to negative consequences. The movements cover the neck, the neck area and the upper part of the back. The patient during the massage lies on his stomach or sits.
Some characteristics of the technique:
- strokingAt this stage, the upper layers of the skin are affected. Do this with the palm of your hand or fingertips in the direction of your head, down to the upper third of your mid-back. Caresses from the base of the neck can be done in a zigzag pattern.
- squeezingThe masseur tries to have a more penetrating effect on the tissues of the upper third of the back. In this case, the thumb and index fingers are involved. They move down the neck, covering the skin, which is similar to squeezing. It is important to be very careful not to touch the tissues near the vertebrae.
- Trituration. At this stage, there is an effect on the deeper tissues. You need to try not to overdo it, so as not to get worse.
Having taken a comfortable position, without looking up from watching your favorite movie, you can do the massage yourself. In this case, stroking, rubbing in a circle on the neck and shoulders are used. An excellent result will be if during self-massage you rub special ointments that can increase blood circulation and eliminate pain in the massaged part.
Applicator
The applicator is a plastic frame with spikes to act on a specific area of the skin. Lying on it or simply applying it, the patient causes irritation of the skin receptors, which are responsible for physiological processes in the body.
Many users have found the applicator to be effective and temporarily relieve pain.
It is also worth noting that when using the device, working capacity increases, there is a positive effect on skin elasticity, sleep and blood flow, regeneration of joint activity occurs. There are diseases in which it is convenient to abandon the use of the applicator. These are ailments of an infectious, tumor, skin and vascular nature.
Before you start using the device, you should consult a doctor or experiment by applying the applicator for a short time. By observing, you can see the result in well-being.
Use of orthopedic pillows.
An excellent preventive way in the fight against osteochondrosis is to sleep on orthopedic pillows. As a rule, the state of osteochondrosis is worsened by pressing on the cervical artery and nerve roots during rest on an uncomfortable pillow.
Special items allow you to evenly distribute the position of a person during sleep, which significantly improves the process of blood flow to the head.
To choose the perfect pillow, you need to take into account the characteristic anatomical properties of a person, the volume and quality of the filler. If the pillow is chosen correctly, it will bring great benefits to a patient with cervical osteochondrosis.
drugs and medications
These are not all ways to treat cervical osteochondrosis. Medical treatment will also come to the rescue here.
In the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, drugs are as follows:
- Analgesics are nonsteroidal drugs that relieve pain. As a rule, they are taken in tablets or capsules. It should not be forgotten that such drugs can irritate the mucous membrane in the digestive tract;
- anti-inflammatories (steroids). A hormonal drug that relieves inflammation and thus relieves pain. The most common medication is tablets and ointments containing hydrocortisone, prednidazole, dexamethasone;
- chondroprotectors - drugs that have components in their composition that replace the action of elements of cartilage tissue. Taking a long period can get a good result;
- Muscle relaxants are medications that relieve tension in the muscles. In most cases, they are applicable in surgery and orthopedics as an additional pain relief remedy. They are taken parenterally under medical supervision. To treat osteochondrosis, it is necessary to use products based on Glycerin, Benzimidazole. They have a huge list of contraindications;
- vitaminsAs part of the treatment of the disease, vitamins have a positive effect on the peripheral nervous system and improve its conductivity. B1, B6, B12 are water-soluble vitamins, A, C, D, E, B are fat-soluble. There is a practice of using different drugs together, attributing vitamins and painkillers to them;
- ointments and gels for external use. One of the very easy methods of treatment at home are gels, ointments. They have anti-inflammatory, warming and analgesic properties. You can hear about them regularly on TV. Since they can be easily purchased at a pharmacy, the drugs are used for self-medication, even in cases where there is no confirmation of the symptoms of the disease. It is especially worth considering that with cervical osteochondrosis they are ineffective.
Never forget that before starting any treatment, you should consult the corresponding doctor, since self-medication usually has bad consequences.
Preventive actions
It is easier to prevent a disease or delay it as long as possible than to cure it. Thus, the minimization of the factors that manifest themselves during the course of the pathology is achieved. The basis of health is the observance of a correct lifestyle. This includes the use of moderate physical activity, control of body weight, systematic warm-up with a sedentary lifestyle.
All this depends on the desire of the person himself and the habits that are established since childhood. But throughout a person's life, different things can happen. This can be received microtrauma of the spine or a congenital disease of the musculoskeletal system. If the patient has a tendency to develop osteochondrosis, then it is important to be attentive to those jobs that have more physical activity and also try not to make sudden movements.
If there is excess weight of more than 10 kilograms, then it can aggravate the load on the back. If you can't refuse enhanced physical activity, you need:
- carry the load in turn, now on one side of the body, then on the other;
- wear a corset to protect your back;
- after finishing the work, try to unload the spine. To do this, you need to take a horizontal position or hang on the horizontal bar.
It is important to try not to expose yourself to sudden changes in temperature and humidity. An increase in humidity and a drop in temperature have a negative effect. Some tips to help reduce the risk of exacerbation of osteochondrosis:
- for sleep, it is recommended to use not only an orthopedic pillow, but also an orthopedic mattress, since they do not disturb the blood flow in the spine;
- systematic swimming;
- proper nutrition.
If there is a diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the spine, sports that increase pressure on the spine and have a traumatic effect are not recommended. You have to stop running, jumping, lifting weights. You should not take a bath in the bathroom during the exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Following such easy recommendations, using massage (in some cases), you can guarantee a quiet life with a diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine until retirement age.