Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, a characteristic feature of which are destructive changes in the discs and vertebrae of the cervical spine. The disease occurs quite often, since the cervical vertebrae during human life are constantly experiencing severe stress and almost continuous stress. Every person who cares about their health should know what cervical osteochondrosis is, its symptoms, treatment at home of which is quite possible, if a specialist doctor considers it acceptable. But in some cases, inpatient treatment is required.
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 at first do not attribute the discomfort experienced to serious symptoms that require a visit to a doctor. The fact is that injuries in the spinal column 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 of blood pressure. Often the symptomatology itself is rather vague.
The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, which need to be paid close attention, are:
- Dizziness of a systemic and non-systemic nature. It arises as a result of a sharp pathological compression of the vessels of the brain, a sharp 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 limbs. The attacks of pain and discomfort most often occur after sleep. Often, the pain is accompanied by a sound characteristic of injured discs - a crunching sound when trying to move the neck. A sharp pinching of the nerves leads to muscle relaxation in different parts of the body, muscle weakness can appear for no reason, for example, in the leg. Sometimes the sensitivity in the cervical-collar zone decreases sharply.
- Sharp jumps and drops in blood pressure, closely associated with the impact of the central nervous system on the blood supply function of the body. The pressure rises sharply with prolonged uncomfortable position of the body, 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
Therapy will be prescribed depending on the stage of development of the disease, the period of exacerbation or remission, the intensity of manifestations of symptoms and signs.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is not done quickly, it is rather long. In order to restore the musculoskeletal system, the body will need a lot of time, effort and the use of complex therapy methods.
Drug treatment
The complex of drugs, doses and duration of the course are selected strictly by the doctor depending on many factors: the stage of development of the disease, the patient's age, the individual tolerance of the components of the drugs, and so on. The following drugs are used:
- Analgesics, pills and injections. They help to remove pain syndrome and relieve a person of discomfort provoked by destructive changes.
- Hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs necessary to eliminate the aggressive response of the body to the destruction of bones 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 over the damaged area.
- Oral drugs help well in complex therapy. They can be warming, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, chondoprotective or complex (containing several types of active substances).
Gymnastics
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, special gymnastics is remarkably helpful, which includes exercises aimed at strengthening the natural forces of the body, launching an accelerated regeneration process and restoring the lost musculoskeletal functions of the spinal column. In some cases, the usual set of exercises is complemented by various sports such as swimming or yoga. The decision on additional loads for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is made only by a doctor. During physiotherapy exercises, it is forbidden to sharply bend or tilt your head, you need to 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 must follow a special diet. During illness, the body needs a balanced diet that contains the nutrients necessary for quick recovery. You need to try to give up harmful, sweet, fatty, hard to digest food, salty and peppery. The menu should contain a large amount of cereals, nuts, dairy products containing calcium, lean meat and fish, fruits and vegetables.
Other items of complex treatment
Surgical intervention is used only in the most extreme cases, when the destructive destruction of the spinal column is so strong that no conservative therapy can restore damaged bones, nerves and discs.
For any pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, a course of massage therapy is used for additional effects on the muscles. The massage is performed in a prone position, face down, extremely rarely in a sitting position - only in cases where the pathology is at an initial stage of development. It is best to trust a specialist, since in case of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, self-massage can bring a lot of harm and irreparable side effects. The loads on the muscles, their intensity, the frequency of tapping and stroking in this case are strictly limited.
In order to relieve the load from the damaged spine, you need to 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 spinal column to the desired shape and position, without injuring it and without creating a negative side effect.
As a rule, the method of treating cervical osteochondrosis in each clinical case combines the complex use of the above methods.