Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, characterized by destructive changes in the discs and vertebrae of the cervical spine. The disease occurs quite often, because the cervical vertebrae in the course of human life are constantly under severe stress and almost continuous stress. Anyone who is concerned about their health should know what cervical osteochondrosis is, its symptoms, the treatment of which at home is quite possible, if a specialist doctor considers it acceptable. But in some cases, hospital treatment is necessary.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis develops gradually, regardless of which cervical vertebra is affected. At each stage of the pathology there will be its own symptoms and signs.
Cervical osteochondrosis is a great danger to the body because some patients do not initially attribute the discomfort experienced to severe symptoms that require a visit to a doctor. The fact is that injuries of the spine lead to disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, causing symptoms and signs that are in no way characteristic of the usual injuries of the musculoskeletal system, for example, instability in blood pressure. Often the symptomatology itself is quite vague.
The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, which should be given special attention, are:
- Dizziness of a systemic and non-systemic nature. It occurs as a result of a strong pathological compression of the brain vessels, a strong compression of the nerve roots by the vertebrae and a reflex increase in intracranial pressure.
- Pain in the cervical spine, sometimes radiating to the shoulder, scapula and various parts of the upper extremities. Pain and discomfort attacks most often occur after sleep. Often the pain is accompanied by a characteristic sound of injured discs - a cracking sound when you try to move your neck. Sharp pinching of the nerves leads to muscle relaxation in different parts of the body, muscle weakness may appear for no reason, for example, in the leg. Sometimes the sensitivity in the cervical neck area decreases sharply.
- Sudden jumps and drops in blood pressure, closely associated with the impact of the central nervous system on the body's blood supply function. The pressure increases sharply with prolonged uncomfortable body position, stress, sharp turns of the head and neck.
If the above signs appear, you should immediately consult a specialist doctor to establish the correct diagnosis and prescribe the most effective treatment.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
Treatment will be prescribed depending on the stage of development of the disease, the period of exacerbation or remission, the intensity of the manifestations of symptoms and signs.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is not done quickly, it takes quite a long time. In order to restore the musculoskeletal system, the body will need a lot of time, effort and the use of complex therapeutic methods.
Medical treatment
The drug complex, doses and duration of treatment are chosen strictly by the doctor depending on many factors: the stage of development of the disease, the age of the patient, the individual tolerance of the components of the drugs, etc. The following drugs are used:
- Pain relievers, pills and injections. They help to get rid of the pain syndrome and relieve a person from the discomfort caused by destructive changes.
- Hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs necessary to eliminate the body's aggressive response to bone destruction and pathological effects on muscles.
- Chondoprotectors - medicinal preparations containing active substances capable of restoring bone tissue, causing its regeneration and strengthening;
- Muscle relaxants are pharmacological agents that weaken the intensity of painful muscle tension in the damaged spine.
- Synthetic vitamin preparations containing a complex of minerals and trace elements that can normalize metabolic processes and fill nutritional deficiencies with useful substances.
- In addition to tablets and injections, various ointments and gels can also be used for local action on the skin of the damaged area.
- Oral medications help well in complex therapy. They can be warming, analgesics, anti-inflammatory, chondoprotective or complex (containing several types of active substances).
Gymnastic
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, special gymnastics are remarkably useful, which include exercises aimed at strengthening the natural forces of the body, starting an accelerated process of regeneration and restoring the lost musculoskeletal functions of the spine. In some cases, the usual set of exercises is supplemented by various sports such as swimming or yoga. The decision on additional loads for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is taken only by a doctor. During physiotherapy exercises, it is forbidden to sharply bend or tilt the head, you should try to avoid rotations. A set of exercises for sports is selected by a specialist doctor depending on the individual characteristics of the patient and the specific clinical case.
Nutrition
It is imperative that when treating osteochondrosis, the patient follows a special diet. During illness, the body needs a balanced diet containing the nutrients necessary for rapid recovery. You must try to give up harmful, sweet, fatty, hard-to-digest, salty and peppery foods. The menu should contain a large amount of grains, nuts, dairy products with calcium, lean meat and fish, fruits and vegetables.
Other elements of complex processing
Surgical intervention is used only in the most extreme cases, when the destructive destruction of the spine is so strong that no conservative therapy can restore the damaged bones, nerves and discs.
For all pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, a course of massage therapy is used for additional effects on the muscles. Massage is performed in a lying position, face down, extremely rarely in a sitting position - only in cases when the pathology is at an initial stage of development. It is better to trust a specialist, because with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, self-massage can lead to a lot of damage and irreparable side effects. The loads on the muscles, their intensity, the frequency of tapping and caressing in this case are strictly limited.
In order to relieve the load from the damaged spine, you should try to give the vertebrae and discs an anatomical shape. Modern orthopedic products (orthopedic collars, pillows and mattresses) help to quickly and comfortably return the spine to the desired shape and position without injuring it or creating negative side effects.
As a rule, the method of treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in each clinical case combines the complex use of the above methods.