Osteochondrosis is a disease in which the vertebrae are damaged, causing compression of the intervertebral discs. This causes pain due to pinched nerve fibers. The narrowing of the blood flow leads to the disruption of the internal organs. When this disease manifests itself in the cervical spine, it affects the blood supply to the soft tissues of the head and brain, disrupting the passage of nerve impulses to the central nervous system.
Why does cervical osteochondrosis occur?
This condition can be caused by:
- Hereditary tendency to decrease the volume of intervertebral discs.
- Back, neck or limb injuries.
- Weakening of skeletal muscles.
- Difficult working conditions.
- Improper or excessive weight training.
- Infectious diseases.
- Shoes that cause changes in gait that increase the load on the spine.
- Unbalanced diet.
- Genetic diseases.
Cervical osteochondrosis and most of the causes that provoke its symptoms can be prevented.It is required to create the right conditions for work, as well as choose physical activities that strengthen the muscles that support the spine. But it is not always possible to do this in time, because a person rarely thinks about a problem that does not yet exist. Therefore, you should know what the most common symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are:
- decreased range of motion;
- constant or throbbing pain;
- cracking of the vertebra during head movement;
- headaches that do not go away with medication;
- numbness of one or more limbs;
- tremors of the limbs or involuntary muscle contractions;
- dizziness, loss of coordination of movements or consciousness;
- tinnitus (ringing or ringing in the ears);
- problems in remembering or using learned information;
- memory loss;
- problems with the work of the sphincters of the rectum and bladder neck.
Each osteochondrosis in the neck is unique and affects different functions of the body, so some symptoms may not be present. However, patients always have difficulty turning their heads, pain, and when their condition worsens, there is headache and dizziness.
How to determine the disease at home
Pain from osteochondrosis can be both pulsating and short-term, as well as long and continuous. When the neck is affected, the discomfort extends to the shoulder girdle and is most often located on the side of the working arm. In this case, the pain can be both in the neck and between the shoulder blades, and the whole arm can be affected.
The complexity of the diagnosis comes from the fact that anxiety can change over time due to changes in body position, stress or other reasons. Therefore, the first signs of osteochondrosis can be attributed to overstrain or muscle tension. But over time, attacks of pain and stiffness become more frequent and intense, which requires identifying the cause and starting treatment.
It is quite difficult to independently determine the cause of pain in cervical osteochondrosis at home.Other options should be excluded to justify suspicions of osteochondrosis. Often, the pain is caused by muscle tension, wrong posture while sleeping or at work. Therefore, it is necessary to improve these conditions in order to understand whether they are the main source of unpleasant feelings.
If neck problems persist, this is a serious symptom that can indicate both osteochondrosis and other diseases, such as:
- tumors;
- infections;
- compression of nerve roots.
Therefore, you should see a doctor and take an X-ray. This will tell you if there are any injuries or other signs of external influences.
After it became known that the neck is affected by osteochondrosis, regardless of the methods of obtaining information, it is still not clear what causes the disease. You can independently determine only violations of working conditions, power loads and damage. The rest of the diseases can be recognized only after a complete examination - this is necessary, because an infection affecting the spine or other similar disorders poses a serious threat to health and life.
How to treat osteochondrosis with drugs and folk remedies
After making a diagnosis, you should accept a treatment plan prepared by the doctor or create it yourself. When selecting its points, it is important to emphasize an integrated approach in selecting tools and systematically implementing all recommendations.
What to do with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine:
- to administer medicine;
- use folk remedies;
- conduct physiotherapy;
- change your lifestyle to eliminate the root cause of the disease.
Medicines include:
- Oral and topical preparations that relieve pain and reduce inflammation, but do not contain steroid substances.
- Painkillers containing corticosteroids.
- Muscle relaxants.
- Antidepressants (if there is depression, the work of the central nervous system causes a disturbance of the emotional background).
- Anti-inflammatory ointments.
- Plasters for pain relief.
Folk methods include:
- Herbal decoctions and infusions used orally. The effect of funds depends on the raw materials used for them. These can be both general strengthening compounds that saturate the body with useful substances, and pain relievers or anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Compresses - the most warming to remove the spasm of the neck muscles and allow the spine to return to its original position.
- Rubbing - the application of folk remedies to the skin, often combined with massage or self-massage. It has a different direction of action, but it is most often used to relieve pain, warm up and relax muscles.
Physiotherapy includes:
- Massage performed by a medical professional - medical procedures have a beneficial effect on the spine and back muscles. In the case of neck disorders, you cannot use the services of a massage therapist who specializes in conducting only relaxation sessions.
- Self-massage - properly performed movements help to warm the neck muscles, relieve spasms and restore blood circulation in the cervical and shoulder regions.
- Improvement of working conditions, correct selection of furniture to maintain correct posture, and in sedentary work - frequent breaks during which physical movements are performed.
- Increasing the number of walks, using shoes with shock-absorbing soles. Walking helps to create the right load on the back, especially in the lumbar region, due to which the clamps in the skeletal muscles are removed and the spine returns to the anatomically correct position.
- Conducting a warm-up that affects other parts of the body, including exercises for both the neck and shoulder girdle in the morning. In this case, all movements are done only with own weight or, rarely, light dumbbells are allowed.
- Sauna or bath - a visit to the steam room with a course of 10-12 times can significantly reduce the tension in the back muscles and activate the body's metabolic processes.
- Procedures prescribed by a doctor and carried out with the help of special equipment (electrophoresis, etc. ).
In addition, swimming in the pool is a good way to maintain optimal muscle tone, relieve spasms and eliminate atrophy. This should be done constantly and should start as soon as the inflammation stops. The first visits should be given a moderate load on the shoulder girdle, after which it should be gradually increased until swimming becomes a full-fledged exercise.
According to the doctor's recommendations, if the disease has not passed into a moderate or severe form, remission occurs quickly enough. However, it should be remembered that even the complete disappearance of symptoms is not a sign of treatment.