Today in the article we will talk about the disease of the century - about osteochondrosis (popularly called chondrosis). This disease used to be attributed to people over the age of 50, but now it's "younger" and affects everyone, starting with children as young as 15.
As terrible as it may seem, more and more people are being diagnosed with osteochondrosis. According to statistics, almost 80% of the inhabitants of planet Earth suffer from this disease of the spine.
Read more about the disease of civilization later in the article and how you can live with it.
What is osteochondrosis?
This is a bone and cartilage disease that is manifested by degenerative-dystrophic disorders of the cartilaginous structures of the spine and causes severe pain.
These degenerative diseases, i. e. changes in the spine, arise under the influence of normal life factors, i. e. simply by doing something, standing, walking, moving, carrying heavy things, etc. Our spine is constantly doing the hardest work, it fulfills three main functions: supportive, protective (protects the spinal cord) and the function of devaluation during walking and other body movements due to intervertebral discs.
During life, the cartilage gradually wears out, loses moisture, which leads to microcracks. There is a change in the height of the intervertebral discs and the vertebrae begin to irritate the spinal nerve, which leads to attacks of pain.
When the intervertebral disc loses its elasticity, excessive stress leads to its so-called protrusion and a hernia occurs. It begins to affect the spinal nerve even more, in these cases, for example, when we talk about cervical chondrosis, the pain radiates to the hands, the fingers are numb.
If you have pain in your neck, thoracic spine or lower back, we recommend that you consult a neurologist or vertebrologist who specializes in spinal disorders. The sooner you seek help, the sooner you will get rid of pain and reduce the risk of complications.
Reasons for the development of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis can develop for a variety of reasons. Experts studying this disease believe that the main reason is the uneven, improper distribution of the load on the spine. For this reason, a change in the structure of the intervertebral discs is observed at points of overload.
However, there are other reasons that contribute to the development of the disease:
- heredity;
- age-related changes;
- injuries or congenital injuries of the spine;
- metabolic failure, obesity;
- flat feet;
- rachiocampsis;
- concussions;
- various infectious diseases;
- overload of the spine during sports;
- exposure to chemicals.
There are also so-called risk factors, the presence of which can cause the development of the disease:
- driving a car or working on the computer every day;
- improved, serious training in the gym;
- overweight;
- unhealthy diet;
- not very active lifestyle;
- Smoking;
- hypothermia;
- nervous shocks;
- incorrect posture;
- uncomfortable shoes and high heels;
- pull weights;
- weakness of the back muscles;
- Dependence on the weather, living in unsuitable climatic conditions.
If you belong to one of these risk groups, be sure to take up osteochondrosis prevention (a little lower) to prevent the development of osteochondrosis.
types and symptoms
There are four types of osteochondrosis in total. We'll talk about that in this section.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical region
It is considered the most dangerous type of disease, since the cervical vertebrae are very mobile and can lead to displacement even with a small load. what is the dangerThe fact is that the vertebral artery passes here - this is a vessel that affects the pressure and condition of the brain. This artery supplies blood to the areas of the brain responsible for blood pressure, the rhythm of heart contractions, and vestibular stability. When the vertebrae are moved, the artery is pinched, which disrupts the blood flow or the brain is no longer supplied with sufficient blood. The consequences are headaches, flashing black dots ("flies") in the eyes, dizziness, jumping pressure, memory problems and a general decline in mental abilities.
Pain in the neck radiating to the shoulder, under the shoulder blade, arm, fingers become numb.
Osteochondrosis of the chest region
This is a rather rare condition because the thoracic spine is the least mobile and is well protected by ribs and muscles. The cause of the development of osteochondrosis of the chest region is often scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It is quite difficult to recognize this particular disease, since its symptoms are very similar to other diseases, often osteochondrosis of the chest causes pain in the heart area, mimicking the symptoms of angina pectoris.
This disease manifests itself with pain in the spine between the shoulder blades, numbness and weakness of the muscles in the arms, lancinating, aching pains in the chest ribs, aggravated by deep inspiration.
Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine
It is considered the most common type of disease - osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, since the greatest load falls on this particular part of the ridge. The lower back suffers the most from a sedentary lifestyle. Due to pinched nerves in this part of the spine, a person experiences persistent sharp or aching pain in the lower back that usually radiates to the back of the thigh and buttocks down to the lower leg.
Attacks of pain are accompanied by numbness of the toes, tingling, crawling crawling on the back of the leg. The normal functioning of the urogenital system and intestines is disturbed.
Widespread osteochondrosis of the spine
It is characterized by the simultaneous defeat of two or all three sections of the ridge.
stages
In this section we will talk about the stages of development of the disease and how they manifest themselves. In modern medicine, there are 4 stages of spinal diseases:
- 1st stage
At the first stage, it is quite difficult to diagnose this disease and, in principle, suspect it in yourself. Patients experience general back discomfort and often attribute this to overwork, hard work, stress and not even thinking about going to the doctor. The disease usually proceeds sluggishly and in a latent form, it is often detected by accident during a general examination of the patient (X-ray or MRI).
- 2 level
The second stage is characterized by the appearance of attacks of pain, since the process of cartilage destruction begins. Without treatment, the size of the intervertebral discs in the patient quickly decreases, they protrude slightly, this stage precedes the formation of an inguinal hernia. There is compression of the nerve roots, therefore there is a pain syndrome.
- 3 steps
In the third stage, patients experience serious changes in the spine. The development of lordosis, scoliosis, curvature of the upper part of the ridge (kyphosis), a hump begins, a herniated disc occurs. Proper therapy, of course, will no longer be able to fully restore the spine, but it will decently improve its condition and reduce such defects as hump or curvature.
- 4 levels
If the disease has reached the fourth stage, irreversible changes to the spine are already present. It becomes difficult to move because every movement causes excruciating pain. The cartilage is compressed, the vertebrae shift, the bone tissue grows. Often at this stage, patients are given a disability.
Medical treatment
After a specialist (orthopedist, neuropathologist, vertebrologist) makes a full diagnosis and diagnoses osteochondrosis, he prescribes complex therapy, which includes various methods of treatment. With the right combination, you can achieve very good treatment success:
- preparations
Treatment is initially aimed at relieving attacks of pain, for this analgesics and local painkillers are prescribed. Then anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antioxidant therapy is performed. After you need to restore normal blood circulation.
- exercise therapy
When the drug treatment is over and the inflammation is eliminated, you can and should go to exercise therapy courses, in principle, you can do the exercises yourself at home, but it is better to train first with a specialist, and then apply the one acquired at homeKnowledge.
- Manual therapy
Manual therapy is also very useful, it helps to increase the distance between the vertebrae, release pinched nerves and blood vessels, facilitate and accelerate tissue healing. Displaced vertebrae are removed. The most important thing to look for when choosing a chiropractor is whether they have a doctorate degree, a neurologist certificate, and a chiropractor certificate. If at least something is missing, then you should not be treated by this specialist.
- acupuncture
Reflexology (acupuncture) is no less effective. It can be said that it has a miraculous effect, almost from the first session you will feel its analgesic effect, swelling at the site of a pinched nerve will subside, and muscle spasms caused by an attack of pain will be relieved. Relieves inflammation, eliminates the numbness of the fingers characteristic of this disease and restores the passage of nerve signals.
- stone therapy
Stone therapy or stone therapy warms up the muscles very well, improves blood circulation and nutrition of the intervertebral discs.
- magnetotherapy
With magnetic therapy, the patient will also be able to feel much better. It helps reduce blood viscosity, improve nutrition of damaged tissues, reduce swelling, restore mobility and more.
- Swimming pool
Quite often, patients are recommended special exercises in the pool, as well as floating - this procedure allows you to completely relax the spine, since they are in a saline solution, thanks to which the patient "floats" and removes all the load from the spine.
In principle, for the prevention of osteochondrosis, you can go swimming in any SPA salon, this service is provided almost everywhere.
- operation
In extremely severe cases, surgery is prescribed to remove the hernia and affected discs and stabilize the spinal structure. Surgery poses a great risk to the patient and is therefore performed in emergencies.
At an early stage of osteochondrosis, you can quickly get rid of it, and you just need to do some exercises to prevent its re-development. The complex of therapy is selected by the attending physician, taking into account all the characteristics of your body.
treatment at home
As already mentioned, it is important to do the first exercises of physical therapy under the supervision of a specialist, so as not to overload the spine. But after a few sessions, you can do the exercises at home.
After home gymnastics, people with a diagnosis of spinal disease are recommended to do self-massage. You can ask someone close to you to help you.
You need to start with gentle strokes along the entire spine. Then the neck, chest and lower back muscles are kneaded in a circular motion or by pinching, firm pressure with the fingertips is not necessary. You can also rub the spaces between the ribs, even without pressing hard.
It is very important if you have a disease, which we will talk about in the article, to eat right. What diet to follow and what foods are best excluded from the diet will be discussed in the next section.
Diet for osteochondrosis
Proper nutrition with chondrosis includes the use of products containing substances that promote the formation of cartilage in the spine - mucopolysaccharides. Most of them are in various jelly, jelly, jelly. For dessert, jelly is perfect, the main component of which is gelatin, and which, in turn, is saturated with mucopolysaccharide.
In addition, you need to drink plenty of water, the lack of which leads to damage to the intervertebral discs, and this leads to the first manifestations of the disease.
Vegetables and fruits are one of the most important foods for chondrosis, their use is necessary for the healthy functioning of the comb. They contain polyunsaturated fatty acids that the body needs.
What can and should you eat?
The body needs many trace elements:
- One of them is calcium, it is found in milk, almonds, hard cheese, cottage cheese and legumes.
- Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium: eggs, sea fish, butter. It is also advisable to spend a lot of time in the sun.
- Calcium is only stored in bone tissue when there is sufficient magnesium in the body. It is found in cucumbers, nuts and avocados.
- In addition, it is important to eat foods containing phosphorus: fish, soybeans, peas, white cabbage.
- B vitamins are also very important for our disease, to get them you need to eat: beef, pork, mushrooms, seafood, grains. Vitamin A is also useful and is found in carrots, melons, pumpkins and liver.
As you can see, the diet in general isn't terrible, you don't have to go hungry, you just have to eliminate something from your menu, but there is something you can replace these products with.
Which is not recommended
- The first thing to say is to reduce the amount of salt consumed. A salt-free diet is particularly useful in the case of cervical osteochondrosis.
- The bans also include marinades, semi-finished products, spicy foods, pickles.
- Sweets, like salt, slow blood flow, and if we already have impaired blood supply to the brain, sweets will only aggravate the situation.
- We exclude coffee and all kinds of sodas from the menu, as they are very good at flushing calcium from the body, as well as potassium, magnesium and other important minerals.
And, of course, it is very important to monitor your weight, especially with lumbar chondrosis, because the lumbar region already takes all the brunt, and if the body weight is large, imagine how difficult it is for him to cope with it!
The diet can also be followed as a preventive measure, even if you do not have a diagnosis of osteochondrosis, all the vitamins and minerals shown in the chondrosis diet will be very useful for your body in any case.
Listen carefully to your body and don't be afraid to seek medical help if needed.
We wish you good health!