Today in the article we will talk about the disease of the century - about osteochondrosis (in ordinary people called chondrosis). Previously, this disease was attributed to people over 50 years of age, but now it is "younger" and affects everyone, starting with 15-year-olds.
As terrible as it sounds, more and more people are being diagnosed with osteochondrosis. According to statistics, almost 80% of the inhabitants of planet Earth suffer from this spinal disease.
Read more about the disease of civilization and how to live with it later in the article.
What is osteochondrosis?
This is a disease of the bones and cartilage, manifested by degenerative dystrophic disorders of the cartilaginous structures of the spine, resulting in severe pain.
These degenerative disorders, that is, changes in the spine occur under the influence of normal life factors, that is, simply by the fact that we do something, stand, walk, move, carry heavy things, etc. Our spine constantly does the hardest work, it performs three main functions: support, protection (protects the spinal cord), and the function of depreciation when walking and other movements of the body due to intervertebral discs.
Gradually, during life, cartilage wears down, loses moisture, which leads to microtears. There is a change in the height of the intervertebral discs, and the vertebrae begin to irritate the spinal nerve, which causes pain attacks.
When the intervertebral disc loses its elasticity, the excessive load on it leads to the so-called protrusion, and a hernia appears. It begins to affect the spinal nerve even more, in these cases, if we talk about cervical chondrosis, for example, the pain radiates to the hands, numbness of the fingers is felt.
If you experience pain in your neck, thoracic spine, or lower back, we recommend that you see a neurologist or vertebrologist, who deals specifically with spinal-associated diseases. 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 various reasons. Experts studying this disease believe that the main reason is the uneven and incorrect distribution of the load on the spine. Due to this, in places of overload, a change in the structure of the intervertebral discs is observed.
However, there are other reasons that contribute to the development of the disease:
- inheritance;
- age-related changes;
- injuries or congenital injuries of the spine;
- metabolic failure, overweight;
- flatfoot;
- rachiocampsis;
- brain concussions;
- various infectious diseases;
- spinal overload during sports;
- exposure to chemicals.
There are also so-called risk factors, the presence of which can cause the development of the disease:
- daily driving a car or working on a computer;
- improved and serious training in the gym;
- excess body weight;
- unhealthy diet;
- not very active lifestyle;
- of smoking;
- hypothermia;
- nervous shocks;
- wrong posture;
- uncomfortable shoes and high heels;
- drag weights;
- weak back muscles;
- climate dependence, living in unsuitable climatic conditions.
If you belong to one of these risk groups, be sure to take the prevention of osteochondrosis (a little further down) to prevent the development of osteochondrosis.
Types and symptoms
In total, there are four types of osteochondrosis. We will talk about them 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 even a small load can cause them to move. What is the danger? The fact is that it is here that the vertebral artery passes - this is a vessel that affects the pressure and state of the brain. This artery provides blood supply to the areas of the brain responsible for blood pressure, the rhythm of heart contractions, and vestibular stability. When the vertebrae are displaced, the artery is pinched, due to which the blood flow is disturbed, respectively, the brain no longer receives enough blood. The consequence of this is headaches, flickering black dots ("flies") in the eyes, dizziness, jumping pressure, memory impairment and a decrease in mental abilities in general.
Pain in the back of the neck, radiating to the shoulder, under the shoulder blade, the arm and fingers are numb.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
This is a fairly rare disease, since the thoracic spine is the least mobile and is well protected by ribs and muscles. The cause of the development of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is most often scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It is quite difficult to recognize this particular disease, because its symptoms are very similar to other diseases, often thoracic osteochondrosis causes pain in the heart area, which mimics the symptoms of angina pectoris.
This ailment manifests itself with pain in the spine between the shoulder blades, numbness and weakness of the muscles of the arms, throbbing and aching pain in the region of the thoracic ribs, aggravated by deep inspiration.
Osteochondrosis of the lumbar area
The most common type of ailment is considered - lumbar osteochondrosis, because the greatest load falls on this particular part of the ridge. The lower back is the one that suffers the most with a sedentary lifestyle. Due to pinched nerves in this part of the spine, a person feels a sharp or persistent pain in the lower back, usually radiating to the back of the thigh and buttocks, to the lower leg.
Pain attacks are accompanied by numbness of the toes, tingling, tingling, crawling down the back of the legs. The normal functioning of the genitourinary system and intestines is disrupted.
Generalized osteochondrosis of the spine
It is characterized by the defeat of two or all three sections of the ridge at the same time.
stages
In this section, we will talk about the stages of development of the disease and how they manifest themselves. There are 4 stages of spinal disease in modern medicine:
- 1 stage
At the first stage, it is quite difficult to diagnose this disease and, in principle, to suspect it in oneself. Patients feel general discomfort in the back and often attribute it to overwork, hard work, stress and do not even think about going to the doctor. The disease usually progresses slowly and in a latent form, often discovered by chance, during a general examination of the patient (X-ray or MRI).
- 2 stages
The second stage is characterized by the appearance of pain attacks, as the process of cartilage destruction begins. In the absence of treatment, the size of the intervertebral discs rapidly decreases in the patient, they protrude slightly, this stage precedes the formation of a hernia. There is compression of the nerve roots, in fact, therefore there is a pain syndrome.
- 3 stages
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 hernia of the intervertebral disc appears. Proper therapy, of course, will no longer be able to completely restore the spine, however, it will decently improve its condition and reduce defects, such as a hump or curvature.
- 4 stages
If the disease has reached the fourth stage, there are already irreversible changes in the spine. It becomes difficult to move, because every movement causes terrible pain. Cartilage compacts, vertebrae shift, bone tissue grows. Often at this stage, patients receive a disability.
Medical treatment
After a specialist (orthopedist, neuropathologist, vertebrologist) conducts a full diagnosis and diagnoses osteochondrosis, he prescribes complex therapy, which includes various methods of treatment. With the right combination of them, very good results can be achieved in the treatment:
- Preparations
First of all, treatment is aimed at relieving pain attacks, for which local analgesics and analgesics are prescribed. Then anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and antioxidant therapy is carried out. After you need to restore normal blood circulation.
- exercise therapy
When the drug treatment is completed and the inflammation is eliminated, you can and should go to exercise therapy classes, in principle, you can do the exercises at home on your own, but it is better to exercise first with a specialist, and then apply. the knowledge acquired at home.
- 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 main thing you need to pay attention to when choosing a chiropractor is whether he has a medical degree, a neurologist certificate, and a chiropractic certificate. If at least something is missing, then it should not be treated by this specialist.
- Acupuncture
Reflexology (acupuncture) is no less effective. It can be said that it produces a miraculous effect, almost from the first session you will feel its analgesic effect, the swelling at the site of a pinched nerve will subside and the muscle spasm caused by a pain attack will be relieved. Relieves inflammation, eliminates numbness of the fingers, characteristic of this disease, restores the passage of nerve signals.
- stone therapy
Stone therapy or stone therapy warms up the muscles very well, improves blood flow and nutrition of the intervertebral discs.
- magnetotherapy
With magnetotherapy, 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 much more.
- Swimming pool
Very often, patients are recommended special exercises in the pool, in addition to floating - this procedure allows you to completely relax the spine due to the fact that it is in a saline solution, thanks to which the patient "floats" and all spinal load.
In principle, as a prevention of osteochondrosis, you can go floating in any SPA salon, this service is offered almost everywhere.
- Operation
In extremely severe cases, an operation is prescribed, during which the herniated and affected discs are removed, and the spinal structure is stabilized. Surgery is a great risk for the patient, so it is performed in emergency cases.
At an early stage of osteochondrosis, you can get rid of it quickly, and you will just have to do some exercises to prevent it from developing again. The complex of therapies will be selected by the attending physician, taking into account all the characteristics of your body.
home treatment
As we mentioned earlier, it is important to perform the first exercises of exercise 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 for help.
You need to start with gentle movements along the entire spine. Then the muscles of the neck, chest and lower back are kneaded with circular or pinching movements, it is not necessary to press hard with the fingertips. You can also rub the spaces between the ribs, also without pressing too hard.
It is very important if you have an ailment, which we are talking about in the article, to eat right. What diet to follow and what foods are better to exclude from the diet in the next section.
Diet for osteochondrosis
Proper nutrition for chondrosis includes the use of products that contain substances that promote the formation of cartilage in the spine - mucopolysaccharides. Most of them are in various jelly, jelly, jellied fish. For dessert, gelatin is perfect, in which the main ingredient is gelatin, and it, in turn, is saturated with mucopolysaccharide.
In addition, you need to drink a lot of water, its lack 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 ridge. 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 cheeses, cottage cheese, legumes.
- Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium: eggs, sea fish, butter. In addition, it is recommended to be in the sun frequently.
- Calcium is stored in bone tissue only with a sufficient amount of magnesium in the body; it is found in cucumbers, nuts and avocados.
- Also, it is important to eat foods that contain phosphorus: fish, soybeans, peas, white cabbage.
- The B complex vitamins are also very important for our disease, to obtain them it is necessary to eat: beef, pork, mushrooms, shellfish, cereals. Vitamin A is also helpful and is found in carrots, melons, pumpkins, and liver.
In general, as you can see, the diet is not terrible, you will not have to go hungry, you will just have to exclude something from your menu, but there is something to replace these products.
What is not recommended to use
- The first thing to say is to reduce the amount of salt consumed. Especially if you have cervical osteochondrosis, a salt-free diet will be useful.
- Bans also include marinades, semi-finished products, spicy foods, pickles.
- Sweets, like salt, slow down blood circulation, and if we already have a disrupted blood supply to the brain, then sweets will only aggravate the situation.
- We exclude coffee and all kinds of soft drinks from the menu, as they do a very good job of removing calcium from the body, as well as potassium, magnesium and other important minerals.
And, of course, it is very important to control your weight, especially with lumbar chondrosis, because the lumbar region already takes on all the main load, and if the body weight is large, then imagine how difficult it is for him to bear it!
The diet can also be observed as a preventive measure, even if you do not have a diagnosis of osteochondrosis, all the vitamins and minerals that are shown in the chondrosis diet will in any case be very useful for your body.
Listen carefully to your body and don't be afraid to seek help from doctors if needed.
We wish you good health!