Osteochondrosis is a degenerative process that occurs in articular cartilage and adjacent bone tissue.Doctors define this disease as a degenerative-destructive lesion of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs: they lose moisture, their height and elasticity decrease.
Osteochondrosis "looked younger"
If just a few decades ago the articular cartilage began to deteriorate in people who crossed the 40-year mark, today the disease occurs even in adolescence.
Doctors cite many reasons for this unpleasant trend.An unhealthy lifestyle, along with an unfavorable environmental situation and an increasingly poor standard of living, provokes premature wear and deformation of bone and cartilaginous structures.
Constantly unnatural position, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet accompany every person.Few people think about the prevention of osteochondrosis, neglecting physical exercise, a balanced diet and an approach to preserving one's own health in general.The result of such ignorance is usually sad.
The main causes of osteochondrosis
Experts still argue about how many true factors in the development of the disease exist.Unconditional reasons include:
- individual predisposition;
- segmental circulation disorders;
- acquired changes with age;
- damage to the fibrous ring;
- overweight;
- constant loads;
- poor nutrition;
- bad habits;
- body failure during menopause;
- sedentary work.
Stages of development of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is classified into stages, taking into account clinical signs, the degree of tissue damage and the level of patient discomfort.The pathological process takes place in four stages:
- Preclinical.First, the basic level of nutrition of the intervertebral discs decreases, their elasticity and strength deteriorate.No changes can be detected on the X-ray.The patient may feel mild fatigue, mild discomfort, stiffness, dizziness, headache;
- Discogenic radiculitis stage.The fibrous ring begins to slowly deform (cracks and protrusions appear).The pain becomes sharper and more sudden, the discomfort becomes more noticeable.A symptom such as "lumbago" appears, the limbs begin to go numb;
- Vascular-radicular stage.The fibrinous ring completely loses its shape.From this point on, hernias can form.X-rays are very informative.Subjective feelings of patients are expressed (pain, sharp attacks of pain, constant discomfort).Frequent muscle spasms appear, and performance drops sharply.If nerve fibers suffer, then the first signs of dysfunction of internal systems are inevitable;
- As the height of the vertebrae decreases, friction begins between them.Osteophytes may occur as a compensatory mechanism.These are specific bone growths that help strengthen the area where the friction was most intense.But osteophytes can cause inflammatory processes in the surrounding soft tissues, worsening the pathological picture.
Disease symptoms: emphasis on patient well-being
Osteochondrosis is characterized by a whole galaxy of very different symptoms.This is due to the extent of the pathological process itself and its impact on most organs of the human body.There are several main syndromes that manifest in patients suffering from osteochondrosis:
- Static syndrome.When the vertebrae lose their shape, your posture inevitably changes.Signs of kyphosis, scoliosis and lordosis appear.Discomfort is accompanied by a feeling of stiffness;
- Neurological syndrome.Damage to nerve tissue leads to paresthesia (impaired sensitivity) of various zones, accompanied by a feeling of numbness, tingling, "crawling";
- Vascular syndrome.Due to the compression (squeezing) of large vessels and capillaries by a deformed vertebra, blood circulation is disturbed.Result: nausea, dizziness, pallor, signs of oxygen starvation;
- Symptom of trophism.Since tissue nutrition is disturbed (due to compression of small vessels), trophic ulcers may appear on the surface of the skin.
Cervical osteochondrosis
The first manifestation of cervical osteochondrosis is a headache.Analgesics do not relieve pain.Typically, the pain begins in the parietal zone, smoothly flowing into the temporal region.Over time, the patient begins to feel discomfort and numbness in the shoulder girdle.
Due to disturbed blood supply to the brain, a person may experience dizziness, nausea and increasingly severe tinnitus.If the nutrition of the optic zone is disturbed, then visual acuity usually decreases sharply.
Elderly people may suddenly lose consciousness and have difficulty with memory and coordination.Rare symptoms include shortness of breath, anxiety and hiccups.
Thoracic osteochondrosis
The thoracic region is the least affected.One of the main reasons for the appearance of pathology is considered to be scoliosis and improper work at a desk (meaning sitting work).The patient feels a dull aching pain from the very beginning of the development of the disease.As the disease progresses, other symptoms are provoked: chest pain, numbness, paresthesia, pain in the area of the liver and kidneys.
In the differential diagnosis, deformation processes in the thoracic region can be confused with myocardial infarction and intercostal neuralgia.This ECG and a more detailed examination (absence of cyanosis, pallor, pallor of the skin) make it possible to accurately specify the diagnosis.
Lumbosacral osteochondrosis
The most common type of osteochondrosis.This is due to the fact that this area of the spine bears the greatest load.Hernias that complicate the clinical picture most often occur here.
Main symptoms: prolonged pain, feeling of pain in the muscles, discomfort, rare lumbago, paresthesia, which stops from time to time and then reappears.The degree of sensitivity of the skin on the feet, legs and thighs may change.
A frequent cause of osteochondrosis in this department is trauma, mechanical compression and heavy physical activity.One of the most unpleasant consequences of lumbosacral deformities is "slipping" of the vertebrae and problems in the work of nearby organs.
What the pain in osteochondrosis will tell you about
Depending on where the deformation processes occur most intensively, the nature and specificity of the pain depends.The main feature: the damaged vertebrae pinch the nerve roots, causing pain in the area for which the nerve plexuses are responsible.
The problems can be distributed as follows:
- Cervical region – headaches, stiffness of the neck and shoulders, disorders of vision, breathing and other important functions;
- Thoracic region - pain in the heart, lumbago in the arm and internal organs, impaired digestive function, arrhythmias, problems in the work of the endocrine system.The pain is always strong and sharp;
- Lower back - pain, constant pain, failure of the genitourinary system, congestion in the pelvis, reproductive dysfunction.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
The doctor should collect as complete an anamnesis as possible.During the examination, the specialist palpates the areas where the pain is most pronounced.
The x-ray examination will be informative.Especially in the last stages of the disease.
Modern diagnostic methods include MRI and CT, which allow the most accurate examination of the process of destruction of cartilage and bone tissue.Also, with this technique, it is convenient to diagnose hernias and other soft tissue defects near the source of the disease.
ECG is used for differential diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region.The patient must undergo a general analysis of blood and urine.
Work at the computer and the development of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is an insidious disease.It affects both "office plankton" who sit at the computer all the time, and hardened workers who expose their health to extreme stress.Irrational work, neglecting the rules for the prevention of osteochondrosis and an unhealthy lifestyle cause rapid destruction of bone and cartilage tissue.
The generation of modern youth is too "computerized".Many medical experts cite this as one of the main reasons why osteochondrosis has become so common and affects very young people.Top tips from experts:
- It is necessary to monitor your posture and position at the table;
- Even during hard work it is important to take a break and "stretch" the body;
- You cannot tolerate discomfort while sitting at the computer.The body, especially the back, should be comfortable;
- Active lifestyle.Work or free time at the computer should alternate with sports recreation or light gymnastics.
Wrong lifestyle
An unbalanced diet causes osteochondrosis.Junk food attacks on several "fronts" at once.First of all, obesity caused by fast food and similar snacks is one of the root causes of spinal dysfunction.And deposited salts and other harmful elements in the bones only worsen the problem, accelerating the destructive processes.
Alcohol and smoking have similar effects.Harmful substances affect the cellular level, having a destructive effect on bone tissue and cartilage surfaces that are most sensitive to nicotine.
By reviewing your lifestyle, diet and eradicating bad habits, you can prevent the onset or progression of osteochondrosis.The possibility of easy and free movement is a real luxury, a gift of nature for every human being.Unfortunately, the value of painless movements becomes clear only when a pathological process immobilizes the human body.
Taking care of your health today means a happy, fulfilling life in the future.