Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease in which the delicate intervertebral pulp, which acts as a shock absorber between the vertebrae, turns into ossified tissue, and the roots and blood vessels are involved. This change is hidden under various manifestations, where the main feature of cervical spine disease is pain in the cervical region, in the upper back, radiating to the head. Mandatory treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is necessary.
Symptoms of Cervical Osteochondrosis
The disease is characterized by typical symptoms.
With cervical osteochondrosis, patients feel:
- bouts of dizziness, nausea, drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness;
- shortness of breathe;
- tongue numbness;
- angina attacks and other changes in the cardiovascular system.
All these symptoms encourage the patient to turn not only to a neurologist, but also to other doctors of specialties such as a cardiologist, therapist, orthopedist, which makes the correct diagnosis very difficult in the early stages of the development of the disease. The dystrophic process of tissue deviations of the cervical vertebrae, as a rule, affects middle-aged people. This is 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 neck, 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 carry the weight, keeping the skull in an upright position.
Effective treatment
Medicine does not stand still. 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 should know how to cure cervical osteochondrosis and how long it takes to be treated. Treatment includes:
- conservative therapy (drug or non-drug);
- surgical intervention;
- complex method of two methods.
Features 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 improve the well-being of a patient who has neck pain with this disease.
But with a prolonged course of degenerative processes, it would be nice to be examined in a hospital or an 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, doing exercises aimed at hydration (filling the joint space with fluids due to a change in blood supply to the neck and back of the head).
Improve physical education
By performing therapeutic gymnastics exercises accurately, you can get great results. For example, there are many methods for 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 to the affected area. During an exercise therapy visit, you cannot rotate or tilt your head strongly, you can only imitate these movements. It seemed that everything is so simple, but it works.
To properly perform exercise therapy, you need to use physical exercises, excluding:
- prolonged stress on the neck joints (exercise for no more than two minutes);
- turns, bends, rotations of the neck (such actions alleviate the development of pathology in the joints and intervertebral discs).
It is helpful to slightly bend the head, which does not cause all joints to move, but increases blood flow to them. Such actions are similar to slight 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 useful to do an exercise similar to moving your head forward, holding the front, and backwards, trying to hold the back of the head as well. All of this can be done at home.
Massage
Massage the cervical region very carefully, without applying too much force. Any inept action can lead to negative consequences. The movements cover the neck, collar area and upper back. The patient during the massage is on his stomach or sitting.
Some features of the technique:
- caressing. At this stage, the upper layers of the skin are affected. Do this with your palm or fingertips towards your head, down to the upper middle third of your back. Stroking from the base of the neck can be done in a zigzag pattern.
- squeezing. The masseuse tries to have a more penetrating effect on the tissues of the upper third of the back. In this case, the thumbs and forefingers are involved. They move across 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.
- Crushing. At this stage, there is an effect on the deeper tissues. You need to try not to overdo it, so it doesn't get worse.
Having taken a comfortable position, without looking up from 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, remove pain in the massaged part.
Applicator
The applicator is a plastic frame with tips to act on a specific area of the skin. Lying on it or simply applying it, the patient causes irritation in the skin receptors, responsible for the body's physiological processes.
Many users have noticed that the applicator is effective and temporarily relieves pain.
It is also worth noting that when using the device, the 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 worth abandoning the use of the applicator. These are infectious, tumoral, cutaneous and vascular diseases.
Before you start using the device, you need to consult a doctor or experiment with applying the applicator for a short period of time. By observing, you can see the result in well-being.
Use of orthopedic pillows
An excellent preventive way to combat osteochondrosis is to sleep on orthopedic pillows. As a rule, the state of osteochondrosis worsens due to pressure from the cervical artery and nerve roots during rest on an uncomfortable pillow.
Special items allow you to evenly distribute a person's position 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 filling. If the pillow is chosen correctly, it will bring great benefits to a patient with cervical osteochondrosis.
Drugs and Medicines
These are not all the 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 non-steroidal drugs that relieve pain. As a rule, they are taken in tablets or capsules. It should not be forgotten that these drugs can irritate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract;
- anti-inflammatory (steroids). A hormonal drug that relieves inflammation and thus relieves pain. The most common medications are tablets and ointments that contain Hydrocortisone, Prednidazole, Dexamethasone;
- chondroprotectors - medicines that have components in their composition that have a substitution of the action of the cartilaginous tissue elements. Taking a long period can get a good result;
- Muscle relaxants are drugs that relieve tension in the muscles. Most often, they are applicable in surgery and orthopedics as an additional remedy for pain relief. 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;
- vitamins. As part of the treatment of the disease, vitamins have a positive effect on the peripheral nervous system and increase its conductivity. B1, B6, B12 are water soluble vitamins, A, C, D, E, B are fat soluble. There is a practice of using several drugs together, assigning vitamins and pain relievers;
- 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 pain-relieving properties. You can hear about them regularly on TV. Because they are easily purchased at the 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.
One should never forget that before starting any treatment, one should consult the proper doctor, as self-medication often leads to bad consequences.
Preventive actions
It is easier to prevent a disease or delay it for as long as possible than to cure it. Thus, the minimization of factors that manifest 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, body weight control, systematic warming up with a sedentary lifestyle.
All this depends on the person's own desire and habits established from childhood. But over the course of 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, it is important to be aware of jobs that increase physical activity and also to try not to make sudden movements.
If there is excess weight of more than 10 kg, it can aggravate the load on the back. If you cannot refuse enhanced physical activity, you need to:
- carry the load in turn - now on one side of the body, then the other;
- wear a corset to protect your back;
- after finishing the work, try to unload the column. To do this, you must either stand in a horizontal position or hang from 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 bad effect. Some tips to help reduce the risk of an osteochondrosis exacerbation:
- for sleeping, it is recommended to use not only an orthopedic pillow, but also an orthopedic mattress, as 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 need to give up running, jumping, lifting weights. You should not bathe in the bath during the exacerbation of osteochondrosis. By following such easy recommendations, using massage (in some cases) you can ensure a peaceful life with a diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine until retirement age.