Cervical osteochondrosis is a more dangerous type of disease than osteochondrosis of the thoracic and lumbar regions. This fact is explained by the fact that the neck is in close proximity to the head. Therefore, when the structures of the neck are damaged, various disorders begin in the work of the brain, organs of vision, hearing and speech.
Therefore, doctors advise starting treatment as soon as the disease is diagnosed. Especially if it's at an early stage.
Home treatment for cervical osteochondrosis may even be recommended. Right before starting treatment, you should get detailed instructions and recommendations from your doctor.
The reasons for the development of the disease
Knowing the reasons for the development of cervical osteochondrosis is necessary so that the treatment is not in vain. After all, if the factors that contributed to the development of pathology are not eliminated, osteochondrosis can recur.
The main causes of cervical osteochondrosis:
- Age - pathology often develops in older people due to physiological aging processes in the body. But over the past few decades, the disease has become "younger" and is diagnosed in 30-year-old patients. This is due to the modern lifestyle, professional factors, changes in food preferences.
- Profession or hobby - in most cases, degenerative-dystrophic changes in the tissues of ODA begin in people who overload the cervical spine or, on the contrary, do not provide a normal load. For example, professional heavyweight athletes overload their bodies with weight training. And people who work at a computer or generally in a sedentary sitting position, on the contrary, "underloaded". In the latter case, there are no dynamic loads, but static loads during a long period of immobility are very important.
- Injury, hypothermia of the neck, or surgeries performed in this area.
- Heredity.
- Metastases in tumor diseases of the spine or other organs.
- Bad mattress (too or not firm enough), inappropriate pillows, lying down or prolonged sitting (on a bed, sofa).
The reason for the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine may even be poor diet. Or there could be several reasons. The factors that contributed to the development of pathology will be established by the doctor during the diagnosis. And during and after treatment, it will be necessary to eliminate these factors or try to reduce their pathological influence.
Possible symptoms and complications
Cervical osteochondrosis may initially develop asymptomatically. Or discomfort in the neck and other signs are attributed to other diseases, fatigue, stress, weather conditions.
However, if multiple symptoms are present at once, this should be the reason for immediate medical attention:
- Neck pain that eventually spread to the head, face, shoulders, shoulder blades and arms. The pain may pass or intensify when you turn your head to a certain position.
- Crack in neck, limited mobility.
- Dizziness, fainting.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Reduced motor skills, coordination of movements, shaking hands.
- Violation of the sensitivity of the face, limbs or, conversely, the appearance of unusual sensations - goosebumps, tingling.
- Problems with the function of the organs of vision, hearing, speech.
- The appearance of hypertension or increased intracranial pressure without objective causes of the cardiovascular system.
The appearance of these symptoms is directly related to the dystrophic processes themselves in the cervical spine. And also with stenosis of the vertebral artery and compression of nervous tissue - these structures pass into the spinal canal and are damaged by the vertebrae.
If the disease is not treated, sooner or later dangerous complications will arise. First, the patient loses the ability to move freely - this is a disability, a permanent loss of the ability to work. Second, the progression of the pathology is reflected in the function of the brain, which can lead to trauma with a fall, stroke, coma, or death.
Home treatment
All methods of treating cervical osteochondrosis can be roughly divided into:
- etiotropic and pathogenic- those that affect the very cause of the development of the disease, as well as the mechanism of its development. These are certain types of medication, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, gymnastics, wearing a special collar.
- Symptomatic or palliative- those that eliminate the symptoms of the disease or help reduce their severity, intensity. They are aimed at relieving the patient's condition, improving his quality of life during the period of treatment and are used in addition to the first group of methods. These are blockages from novocaine, taking other anesthetic drugs, ointments, massages.
However, most methods of treating osteochondrosis are to some degree both etiotropic and symptomatic. In order to quickly cure osteochondrosis, you should try to use all available methods. In other words, therapy should be as comprehensive, comprehensive and complex as possible.
Today, surgical methods of treating osteochondrosis are widely used. But in the case of a mild form of the disease, their use is not justified.
Therefore, for home treatment, you should focus on these conservative methods:
- Change in lifestyle and diet.
- Receipt or external application of drugs.
- Treatment with home procedures - gymnastics, exercise therapy, massage (when calling a masseur at home).
- Wear a special necklace or kinesio tapes.
- Treatment with folk remedies.
Items 1, 3, 4 can also be used during rehabilitation after illness and as preventive measures (to avoid future relapses).
It is desirable that the treatment plan has been drawn up by a doctor, or at least agreed with him. Otherwise, it is possible to further harm the health of ODA, which will significantly affect the patient's condition and the cost of treatment.
Lifestyle and diet
Without normalizing the lifestyle, physical activity and reviewing the daily menu, the treatment will hardly make sense.
What needs to be changed:
- Quality of the sleeping place- buy an orthopedic mattress, in addition, it is advisable to buy an orthopedic pillow.
- Loads on the cervical spine- these should be moderate. It is advisable to give up intensive sports, to change physically hard work for another type of activity. With passive loads, you can also change the work. If this is not possible, you need to periodically stretch your neck during the working day, move your head more during the working period.
You also need to start eating well. After all, it is with food that all the necessary elements are provided to restore muscle, nervous, cartilage and bone tissue of the vertebrae. As a result, food should be rich in proteins, vitamins and microelements (calcium, iron, vitamins C, E, A, group B).
Drugs
The main groups of pharmacological drugs prescribed by doctors:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - relieve pain and stop the inflammatory process in the tissues.
- Preparations designed to relieve pain syndrome (including anti-inflammatory and warming effects). These include injections, corticosteroid pills, ointments, and creams.
- Means intended for tissue regeneration ODA - chondroprotectors.
- Antispasmodics and muscle relaxers to relax the muscle tissue in the neck.
- Vitamins and minerals, vitamin and mineral complexes.
All medications, except vitamins and pain relievers, should be taken during class. Periodic admission from one case to another will not give results, which will affect the effectiveness of treatment.
Procedures
At home, the ability to perform physiotherapy is limited. For example, you can only massage or stretch the spine by calling a specialist in your home, and not everyone can afford it. But self-massage and basic physical exercise are real and don't require financial costs.
Self-massage can be done with your hands, as the neck area is quite easy to reach. The self-massage technique is simple - you need to make gentle movements and folds. It is helpful to use a lubricant, such as petroleum jelly. The main thing is that the procedure does not cause pain.
You can also massage with a towel, rubbing your neck or with a stream of lukewarm water in the shower. Another good option is to take a stick, like a shovel handle - a round handle. Such a stick is placed on the back of the shoulders, grabbing the ends and pulling it up and down on the surface of the neck like a rolling pin. If possible, you can buy massagers. The Lyapko roller massager is very useful, it is not expensive, its effectiveness has been proven.
Neck gymnastics is also quite simple. You need to smoothly perform a variety of turns, tilting the head. However, with an exacerbation of osteochondrosis, the exercises do not need to be done, as the pain can be just unbearable. From there, neck muscle spasms may begin.
Wearing orthopedic structures is an effective treatment method
Wearing a personalized necklace has many advantages:
- Support the spine and relieve muscle tissue.
- More efficient tissue regeneration.
- Improved blood circulation, including in the vertebral artery. With cervical osteochondrosis - this is one of the main tasks.
- Fixation of the neck reduces mobility and pain.
- Protection of the neck region against possible injuries and further injuries.
However, the collar has its drawbacks. Wearing it is not always appropriate in the company of other people. It can also be difficult to review and perform necessary household chores or work manipulations. But for the period of treatment, you should try to wear a collar according to the schedule determined by the doctor.
Cervical taping as a method of treatment also has many advantages:
- Aesthetically acceptable, with the tape you can freely appear "in public". Colored bands, if not suitable for a particular situation, can be hidden by high-necked clothing.
- Don't restrict physical activity.
- Moisture resistant, does not need to be removed before showering.
- Improves blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, relieves pain and inflammation, edema.
- Relieves stress on muscle tissue.
- Massage, stimulate metabolic processes in muscles, their regeneration.
There is only one downside to kinesio tapes - their price, but many patients can afford to pay 100 rubles for a 5-meter roll.
Folk remedies for the treatment of osteochondrosis
For oral treatment you can use:
- Water infusion of bay leaves or lingonberries.
- Decoction of parsley root.
- Aqueous solution of celery juice.
- Eat sesame seeds.
- Herbal teas - own expense or purchased (chamomile, nettle, oregano, hops).
- Alcoholic infusion of chopped pine nuts.
For treatment with compresses and rubbing it is useful to use burdock, horseradish, red pepper (infusions, decoctions) and tar or clay, which are sold in pharmacies.
Home treatment for cervical osteochondrosis is quite effective in most cases. If the degenerative-dystrophic changes have already strongly progressed, it is recommended to combine home treatment with other methods of treatment. For example, use the services of a physiotherapist, massage therapist, chiropractor.
And if the disease is only just beginning to develop, drugs, home procedures and traditional methods can achieve a quick result. That is, to heal the spine without resorting to the services of specialists.