Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, characterized by destructive changes in the cervical spine and vertebrae. The disease occurs quite frequently, because throughout human life, the cervical vertebrae are constantly under severe stress and almost constant stress. Everyone who cares about their health should know what cervical osteochondrosis is, its symptoms, and the possibility of treatment at home, if a specialist doctor deems it acceptable. However, in some cases inpatient treatment is required.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis develops gradually, regardless of which cervical vertebra is affected. Each stage of the pathology will have its own symptoms and signs.
Cervical osteochondrosis is a major danger to the body because some patients do not associate their previous anxiety with serious symptoms that require medical attention. The fact is that injuries to the spine cause disorders of the central nervous system and lead to common injuries of the musculoskeletal system, such as symptoms and signs that are in no way specific to blood pressure instability. Often the symptomatology itself is very vague.
The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis that need to be addressed are:
- Dizziness in a systemic and unsystematic nature. It occurs as a result of acute pathological compression of cerebral vessels, sharp compression of nerve roots by vertebrae and reflex increase in intracranial pressure.
- Cervical back pain sometimes spreads to different parts of the shoulder, scapula and upper extremities. Attacks of pain and anxiety most often occur after sleep. Often the pain is accompanied by the sound characteristic of damaged discs - a raspy sound when trying to move the neck. A sharp contraction of the nerves causes the muscles in different parts of the body to relax, and muscle weakness can appear for no apparent reason, for example in the legs. Sometimes the sensitivity in the neck and neck area decreases sharply.
- Acute jumps and falls in blood pressure, which are closely related to the effect of the central nervous system on the body's blood supply function. With prolonged restless body position, stress, sharp turns of the head and neck, the pressure rises sharply.
If the above symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a specialist to make a correct diagnosis and determine the most effective treatment.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
Therapy will be determined by the stage of development of the disease, the duration of inflammation or remission, the intensity of symptoms and signs.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is not quick, but very long. To restore the musculoskeletal system, the body will need a lot of time, effort and complex therapy.
Drug treatment
The drug complex, doses and duration of the course are selected by the doctor depending on many factors: the stage of development of the disease, the patient's age, individual tolerance of drug components, etc. The following medications are used:
- Analgesics, pills and injections. They help to relieve pain syndrome and relieve a person of anxiety caused by destructive changes.
- Hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs needed to counteract the body's aggressive response to bone destruction and pathological effects on muscles.
- Chondroprotectors - drugs that contain active ingredients that can restore bone tissue, causing its regeneration and strengthening;
- Muscle relaxants are pharmacological agents that reduce the intensity of painful muscle tension in an injured spine.
- Synthetic vitamin preparations with a complex of minerals and trace elements that can normalize metabolic processes and fill nutritional deficiencies with nutrients.
- In addition to tablets and injections, various ointments and gels can be used to have a local effect on the skin in the affected area.
- Oral medications help well in complex treatment. It can be warming, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, chondoprotective or complex (contains several types of active ingredients).
Gymnastics
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, special gymnastics aimed at strengthening the body's natural forces, initiating an accelerated recovery process and restoring the lost musculoskeletal function of the spine is very useful. In some cases, the usual set of exercises is complemented by various sports such as swimming or yoga. The decision on additional loads for cervical spine osteochondrosis is made only by a doctor. It is forbidden to tilt or tilt your head sharply during physiotherapy exercises, you should try to avoid rotations. A number of exercises for sports are selected by a specialist depending on the individual characteristics of the patient and the specific clinical situation.
Nutrition
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, it is important for the patient to follow a special diet. During an illness, the body needs a balanced diet that contains the nutrients it needs to heal quickly. You should try to avoid harmful, sweet, fatty, indigestible foods, salt and pepper. The menu should include plenty of grains, nuts, dairy products with calcium, lean meat and fish, fruits and vegetables.
Other substances of complex treatment
Surgery is used only in the most extreme cases, when the destructive destruction of the spine is so severe that no conservative therapy can restore the damaged bones, nerves and discs.
For any pathology of the musculoskeletal system, a course of massage therapy is used to have an additional effect on the muscles. Massage is performed in a prone position, face down, very rarely in a sitting position - only in the early stages of pathology. It is best to trust a specialist, because in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, self-massage can cause a lot of damage and irreparable side effects. The loads on the muscles, their intensity, and the frequency of strokes and strokes are severely limited.
In order to release the load from the damaged spine, it is necessary to try to give the spine and discs an anatomical shape. Modern orthopedic products (orthopedic collars, pillows and mattresses) help to quickly and comfortably return the spine to any shape and condition without damaging it or causing adverse side effects.
As a rule, the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in each clinical situation combines the complex use of the above methods.