Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is much less common than cervical or lumbar. This is due to the fact that the vertebrae in the thoracic region are much more firmly connected to each other, and movement in the joints is minimal. In addition, this part of the spine has muscle protection and is more rigidly fixed by the ribs.
Nevertheless, osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is such a disease, the treatment of which should not be postponed until later, since it can lead to rather undesirable consequences.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The main reason is the dystrophic-degenerative changes that occur in the intervertebral discs. This may be due to the presence of scoliosis or to the following factors:
- Heredity
- Eating and metabolic disorders
- Overweight
- Increased physical activity
- Physical inactivity, prolonged stay in one position
- Spinal injury
- Nervous tension
- Advanced age
- Smoking
- Hypothermia
All these factors affect the nutrition of the intervertebral discs, which leads to metabolic disorders and the appearance of degenerative transformations of them.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
A similar pathology is felt by painful sensations.
They are of two types:
- Dorsago or thoracic lumbago. This is a sudden, sharp, intense pain that occurs in the spine when you try to stand up after being in the same position for a long time, usually long work at a table in a reclined position. body. Pain is felt even during breathing, muscles are tense, movement of the thoracic and adjacent spine is limited.
- Back pain (back pain). In this case, the pain is not so pronounced, at rest it causes only slight discomfort. But when you try to bend down or take a deep breath, it gets stronger. In this state, the mobility of the spine decreases, the back muscles are tense.
Signs of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine may be manifested by pain between the ribs. This is due to the compression of the nerve roots, which leads to decreased sensitivity and limited mobility.
- With the defeat of the first root, a decrease in sensitivity occurs and pain occurs in the upper thoracic vertebra, spreading to the suprascapular region to the elbow joint.
- If there is compression of 2-6 roots, the pain is concentrated in the ribs and spreads from the spine to the interscapular and axillary regions.
- Compression of the 7th and 8th root causes tension in the muscles of this area and the appearance of painful sensations of a belt nature from the costo-vertebral joints to the epigastric region.
- The defeat of the roots 9 and 10 causes pain in the lower thoracic vertebrae, spreading to the navel, 11 and 12 - below the navel.
Visceral manifestations of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Radicular syndromes are quite often accompanied by complaints about internal organs:
- The defeat of the upper thoracic roots may be accompanied by pain in the esophagus and pharynx, there the appearance of a foreign body is felt. These symptoms may occur periodically or be constant, and when you press on the area of the spine affected by osteochondrosis, it becomes stronger.
- If the middle chest roots are affected, discomfort and a pain sensation occurs in the stomach, aggravated by prolonged lying down on a hard surface facing upwards and by movements in the corresponding part of the spine.
- If the pathological changes have occurred below, there is discomfort in the duodenum, which intensifies when coughing or sneezing, rotating the torso or sitting for a long time.
Osteochondrosis of the chest area can cause stomach upset. In this case, there are:
- Nausea
- Stomach pains
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- pain in the left hypochondrium
- Flatulence
- Possible vomiting
As part of the disturbance of the normal functioning of the duodenum, the following events may occur:
- Pain in the epigastric region and back
- belching
- Nausea
- Heaviness in the right hypochondrium
- Sometimes bloating and vomiting
Quite often, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine can provoke the appearance of symptoms characteristic of heart disease:
- Burning chest on the left
- Cutting, burning, pressing pain of the heart
- Feeling of constriction in the throat
Osteochondrosis can cause spasms of the larynx (laryngospasm), in attacks where breathing becomes difficult and becomes wheezing, a cough may occur. In this case, it is very important to establish whether these symptoms are not pulmonary pathology.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Due to the fact that a variety of pathologies can be masked under this disease, you need to be examined by a neurologist who, after examination, will give instructions for the following studies:
- x-ray
- CT (computed tomography)
- MRI
As a rule, this is enough to identify the pathology and make a diagnosis.
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, the main objectives are:
- Ease the pain
- Restore the functions of the spinal roots
- Slow dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs
For this, the following procedures are quite effective:
- Vacuum and laser therapy
- Acupuncture
- Whirlpools
- Electrophoresis
- Inductometry
- Massage
- Traction (traction)
- Magneto and pharmacopuncture
- Exercise therapy
Drug treatment of osteochondrosis:
- NSAIDs
- Chondroprotectors
- Ointments
- Muscle relaxants whose action is aimed at relieving muscle spasms
If the listed methods did not lead to a positive result, the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is carried out surgically.
The operation consists of two stages:
- Removal of the cause of the pain (decompression).
- Discectomy - removal of an intervertebral disc or only part of it.
- Foraminotomy - enlargement of the root canal to prevent compression of the nerve by a bone disc or spur.
- Facetectomy - removal of facet joints located between the processes of the vertebrae of the joints to remove the entrapment of nerve fibers.
- Laminectomy - the back part of the vertebra is removed, which compresses the spinal cord when deformed.
- Laminotomy - the difference from the previous operation is the removal of a fragment of the posterior part of the vertebra.
- Corpectomy - removal of a vertebra and adjacent discs with insertion of a bone implant.
- Stabilization of the spine. When a vertebra or a disc is removed, the supporting structure of the human body is disrupted, which can lead to the development of serious neurological disorders. In order to avoid negative consequences, the vertebrae must be fixed. Most often, the method of spinal fusion (spinal fusion) is used, in which conditions are created for the fusion of the bones of the spine. The resulting voids are filled with grafts from the patient's or donor bone, as well as special biological substances that stimulate the restoration of bone tissue.
Treatment of osteochondrosis with alternative methods
In this case, it should be about pain relief, which can only be used in conjunction with full-fledged treatment. For this, various herbs are used which have anti-inflammatory, local anesthetic and sedative properties.
To consolidate the positive result of treatment, it is necessary to eat well, try to avoid stressful situations and reasonable physical activity. In this case, osteochondrosis will bother you much less often.