In the modern world, the resonance of the disease cervical osteochondrosis is difficult to overestimate.Osteochondrosis of the cervical region is much more common than in other spinal regions.Almost everyone over the age of twenty-five suffers from this condition, to one degree or another.
Cervical osteochondrosis develops mainly due to a sedentary lifestyle, which is especially facilitated by the historical transition of a person from physical to mental work, which, although to a moderate extent, is accompanied by work in a sitting position.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a degenerative-dystrophic disease of the cervical spine, leading to damage to the intervertebral discs, which is common in general in the disease of osteochondrosis.Since this part of the spine is, by nature, quite mobile, but also vulnerable due to a poorly developed muscular corset, any negative effect on the neck or back has a detrimental effect, primarily on the cervical spine.Since degenerative changes most often develop in the most mobile spinal regions, in the cervical region, it is the nerve endings at the C5...C7 level that suffer most often.
Since the symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are very contradictory, they are not always considered only symptoms of this disease, which often leads to seeking help from specialists in other areas of medicine.Let's look at them in a little more detail.
Cervical osteochondrosis and its symptoms
Due to the fact that the cervical spine is quite compact compared to its other sections, even minor tension in the neck muscles or displacement of the cervical vertebrae can cause compression or pinching of the nerve roots, which can also affect the vessels located in this section.Well, osteophytes - bone growths, called “salt deposits” in traditional treatment and formed during the development of the disease of cervical osteochondrosis, lead, therefore, only to a significant worsening of the course of the disease.
The clinical manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis, that is, its symptoms, can be divided into reflex symptoms and radicular symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis.
Reflex symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Reflex symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis include the so-called "lumbago", which is expressed in the appearance of sharp, sharp pain in the neck and noticeably intensifies with each movement.Given this, patients often adopt a forced head position, which is the most comfortable.Additionally, it is entirely possible for a typical “crunch” to occur when turning or other head movements.
When suffering from cervical osteochondrosis, patients often experience headaches of a compressive nature and radiating to the eyeballs or temporal part of the head.In addition, the acuity of visual perception can sometimes decrease, as if “everything was floating before your eyes”.
Vertebral artery syndrome can also develop when its nerve plexus is irritated, which is very often, due to dizziness in the patient, misdiagnosed as a cerebral circulatory disorder.This symptom of cervical osteochondrosis can be manifested by sudden movements of the head and is complicated by nausea and possible vomiting.
In addition to the above, the reflex symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis also include cardiac syndrome, in which sensations similar to an attack of angina pectoris arise.But this manifestation of the symptoms of osteochondrosis is usually combined with a complex of other signs of this disease, therefore it usually does not cause difficulties in making the correct diagnosis.
Radicular symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
As a rule, radicular symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis appear due to compression of the spinal nerve ending - the root.In this case, sensory disturbances affecting motor functions depend entirely on the specific nerve root that is damaged, namely:
- C1 – decreased sensitivity in the occipital region;
- C2 – appearance of pain in the parietal or occipital region of the head;
- C3 – impaired sensitivity and appearance of pain in the neck area, where the spinal root was injured, with possible impairment of speech function due to loss of sensitivity of the tongue and its control;
- C4 – appearance of pain and decreased sensitivity in the dorsal scapulohumeral region, as well as pain in the heart and liver, with a simultaneous decrease in muscle tone of the neck and possible respiratory disorders of respiratory function;
- C5 – decreased sensitivity and pain on the outer surface of the shoulder;
- C6 – pain radiating from the cervical spine to the scapula, external humeral surface, forearm and further from the wrist to the thumb;
- C7 – the same pain as with C6, but radiating from the scapula to the posterior humeral surface, and further from the forearm to the 2..4 fingers of the hand, with a decrease in sensitivity in the painful area;
- C8 – decreased sensitivity and pain extending from the neck to the shoulder, then from the forearm to the little finger.
Cervical osteochondrosis and its treatment
Cervical osteochondrosis is a rather complex and extremely unpleasant disease, the treatment of which requires systematicity, duration and stages.Therapeutic treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is aimed primarily at completely stopping the painful symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis and eliminating inflammation in the area of the neck affected by the disease.
Patients treated for cervical osteochondrosis are treated with conventional analgesics.Although recently, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which effectively relieve pain and reduce the activity of inflammation, have also become very popular in the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Among other things, in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, chondroprotectors are also used, which slow down the process of destruction of cartilage tissue and, according to many experts, also contribute to the regeneration process.Additionally, patients are prescribed B vitamins, which improve metabolic processes in the patient's body.
But the use of external gels or ointments for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is not effective, but it makes sense, because when rubbing on the skin, additional massage of the cervical spine is performed.
Physiotherapy procedures are additionally combined with traditional drug treatment of cervical osteochondrosis and, in particular, the use of magnetotherapy by means of special therapeutic devices is particularly effective.In addition to the above, therapeutic massage, physiotherapy and manual therapy are also used.But in particularly severe cases of the disease, surgery may be necessary.
Prevention of cervical osteochondrosis
Prevention of cervical osteochondrosis in itself is not difficult.Recommended :
- maintain an active and healthy lifestyle,
- playing sports, or at least morning exercises,
- competent organization of the workplace,
- respecting the work and rest schedule,
- when working in a sitting position for a long time - during working hours, warm up several times and take care of the correct position and posture of the head while performing work.
It is also important to choose a comfortable pillow and mattress for sleeping.But for those who already suffer from this condition, daily use of specialized orthopedic products for comfortable sleep is highly recommended.