Cervical osteochondrosis is a degenerative dystrophic disease caused by the proliferation of bone tissue on both sides of the vertebrae, causing trauma to adjacent muscles, ligaments, nerves and spinal cord. These diseases usually cause pain in the neck or other parts of the body, and may also lead to a herniated disc.
Staying in a static position for a long time and repeated movement of the same type of head may cause cervical osteochondrosis.
The most obvious manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis are headache, dizziness, blurred vision, hearing loss, tinnitus, weakened voice, hoarseness, noring, motor coordination disorder, tooth degradation, numbness or chills in fingers, sore scalp, painOn the neck, throat.
Cause of occurrence
Cervical thoracic spine osteochondrosis occurs due to destructive changes in cartilage tissue. This process may be due to a variety of reasons:
- The genetic susceptibility of the disease;
- Overweight;
- Spinal injury (fracture, contusion);
- Poisoning, infection, abnormal metabolism in the body;
- Lack of vitamins, trace elements and body fluids;
- a sedentary lifestyle;
- Curved spine and poor posture;
- Flat feet;
- Instability of spine segments;
- Hypothermia;
- Work related to frequent changes in body posture, heavy lifting, and overwork;
- Stress, nervousness.
Symptoms
The symptoms of cervical sternal osteochondrosis directly depend on the target. In this regard, distinguish a group of syndromes that accompany the disease.
root
Root nerve syndrome occurs when the cervical root area (compressed nerve) is compressed. Also called cervical radiculitis. Pain that occurs in the neck will spread downward, and will spread down to the shoulder cap bone, and even to the outside of the forearm of the fingers. In some cases, in the symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, the forearm, hands or fingers have tingling, sticky, and runny nose.
Stimulus reflex
In the case of reflex reflex syndrome, the symptoms of cervical chondropathy may include severe burning pain in the neck or occipital bone, which occurs when moving after being stationary (sudden head turning, when sneezing, after falling asleep). The pain will spread to the shoulders and chest.
Heart
The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis in this syndrome generally coincide with the symptoms of angina. In this case, it is very important not to make mistakes in the diagnosis. For the main syndrome, the nature of the pain is paroxysmal and prolonged (up to several hours). Sudden movements caused by coughing, sneezing and sharp head turns can increase pain. The appearance of tachycardia and presystole is usually observed in the absence of circulatory diseases.
Vertebral artery syndrome
In this case, cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by symptoms such as convulsions or burning headaches. The most common is the capture of the super ciliary area, occipital bone, temples, and blackening. Usually, the pain will hardly stop, and only in some cases will it be episodic. The pain worsens when moving or staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time.
There may be hearing and visual impairments (decreased hearing and visual acuity, tinnitus, vestibular disease, eye pain). In the context of general physical weakness, nausea or loss of consciousness may occur.
Summarizing the above content, we can distinguish some of the most typical symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis:
- Continuous pain in the neck, extending to the shoulder straps, ears and eyes, the back of the head, and will not stop even at night;
- Pain in the hands, forearms, and shoulders, even with a slight load, will increase;
- Weaken muscle strength and reduce the sensitivity of hands, fingers, and movement difficulties;
- Neck pain when rotating and tilting the head;
- The tension of the neck muscles, the feeling of lying in the morning;
- Burning, numbness, numbness in the legs or arms;
- Extensive headache, mainly located in the occipital bone;
- Eyes turn black, tinnitus, tongue numbness, dizziness, head spin-fainting,
- vision and hearing loss;
- The hyperplasia of cervical connective tissue;
- Pain in the heart area.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home
The effectiveness of cervical osteochondrosis treatment depends on the timeliness of the initial treatment program aimed at reducing pain and neutralizing the inflammatory process. The treatment activities are divided into three stages:
- Pain neutralization;
- Activate blood supply and metabolic processes in the affected area of the spine;
- Physical therapy and manual techniques.
In the process of deterioration of cervical osteochondrosis and severe pain, in order to stop the pain syndrome and relieve the muscle tension in the spine motor segment area, the patient needs to follow the doctor's advice:
- Local administration via drugs
- Paravertebral block;
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics;
- Ointments and gels.
In order to improve the blood circulation of the spine, drugs for improving blood microcirculation, vitamin complex and niacin are prescribed for patients with cervical osteochondrosis.
Remedial gymnastics
Exercise therapy for cervical osteochondrosis is only performed during the remission period, avoiding huge effort and pain.
A set of exercises that can improve the mobility of the cervical spine and the flexibility of the neck muscles.
Repeat each exercise 5 to 10 times.
- Exercise 1. In a sitting or standing posture, lower your arms along your body and lay it flat back, rotating your head alternately to the left and right, keeping your chin strictly on your shoulders.
- Exercise 2. The starting position is the same. Tilt your head down until your chin touches your chest. The back muscles of the neck should be as relaxed as possible. Through elastic movement, the head can be lowered lower.
- Exercise 3. The starting position is the same. Pull back your neck, pull your chin back, and keep your head straight.
When the condition of cervical osteochondrosis worsened, and under the advice of the attending physician, manual treatment was carried out, including massaging the affected area.
Massage treatment of cervical sternal osteochondrosis
Before starting the massage procedure, it is necessary to prepare the patient's back by intensive surface massage for 2-3 minutes. The direction of stroking is from the lower border of the shoulder blade to the neck, and then from the neck to the shoulder straps. The last moment of preheating is to knead and shake the left and right sides alternately.
Usually, massage starts from the back and alternately strokes, squeezes and kneads. First, massage the blade area of the shoulder and gradually move it to the shoulder g belt. The neck massage starts from the scalp and goes down to the back. With no pain in the spine, squeeze your fingertips very carefully along several lines.
Massage the pectoralis major muscle in the supine position. In this case, use stroking, squeezing, and kneading.
Sitting massage is performed on a special massage chair. At the same time, tilt your head forward and relax your neck muscles as much as possible. The massage starts from the occiput and directs all movements to the back.