Today, cervical osteochondrosis has significantly rejuvenated. The reason for this is the increase in living conditions, a significant decrease in mobility during work and leisure, and the desire for fast food. They lead to metabolic imbalance and increase the trauma of cervical intervertebral discs even with minor physical force or impact.
Therefore, it is not surprising that there are many requests on the Internet - osteochondrosis of the cervical spine: symptoms and treatment. We present a brief overview of these questions, as they are always individual in nature, and a vertebrologist or neurologist can answer them only during an appointment.
Characteristics of the disease
With osteochondrosis of the neck, the discs of the intervertebral space are destroyed. Normally, they perform a shock absorbing and protective function.
Because they are between the vertebrae, they prevent the vertebral bodies from touching each other. When walking and doing more active movements, they can compress, giving flexibility to the spine. In addition, thanks to the disc-ligamentous apparatus, passages are created for the nerves coming out of the spinal cord.
When the discs and ligaments are destroyed, the vertebrae begin to rub against each other. Friction causes neck pain and other discomfort. As the vertebrae come closer together, the nerves are compressed and additional symptoms appear in the parts of the body where the affected neurons are responsible. Neurological symptoms occur.
Osteochondrosis can affect any part of the spine and the symptoms will be different. Disk destruction can occur in several areas at once.
More load falls on the lower back, which means that the discs and ligaments here are subject to the most changes. However, it is osteochondrosis of the cervical region that is most affected by people. After all, the main vessels for blood supply to the brain pass through the neck, and there are many nerves and nerve endings.
Statistics show that the cervical region is most affected. It is the most mobile of all parts of the spine. In a video on the Internet, you can see how the disease develops and its complications.
Cervical osteochondrosis symptoms in women are not fundamentally different from those in men. There is a difference: the most common symptom of the disease in women is headache.
Reasons
The classic reasons for the development of cervical osteochondrosis include:
- low mobility, lack of adequate physical activity;
- disturbance of metabolic processes;
- salt deposits, especially in the cervical region;
- unbalanced diet;
- incorrect body position when working on a computer, driving a car or other static activities.
If you have a tendency to degenerative joint disease or salt deposits, the risk of developing the disease increases due to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Classification of clinical manifestations
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, symptoms and treatment of the pathology are closely related to each other, but complex therapy is prescribed only after instrumental clarification of the diagnosis. Currently, the following classification of manifestations exists.
Radicular syndromes or cervical radiculitis
Radicular syndromes is the medical term for a group of symptoms caused by compressed nerve roots located between the vertebrae of the neck. Initially, this compression manifests itself in the form of paresthesia - numbness, tingling sensation and the feeling of "gas bubbles" on the skin.
Ignoring and treating such manifestations leads to further progression of the disease. Acute (quick or delayed) pain develops into a chronic pain syndrome.
Manifestations characteristic of cervical radiculitis depend on the localization of degenerative processes, i. e. nerve roots are compressed between which vertebrae:
Irritation-reflex syndrome
Pain occurs between the shoulder blades in irritative-reflex syndrome when the roots of the lower cervical vertebrae are compressed.
This syndrome is characterized by diffuse, burning-sharp pain in the neck, back of the head or upper back. They occur after sleep or at the beginning of movement after taking a long static position. It is possible that the pain spreads painfully to the heart or the shoulder joint.
Vertebral artery syndrome
Osteochondrosis of the cervical and thoracic spine, symptoms (and their treatment) may manifest as signs combined with Vertebral Artery Syndrome:
- headaches - point-like, pulsating or burning, diffusely distributed;
- localization places - above the eyebrows, on the temples, on the crown of the head, on the back of the head;
- pain is constant, but sometimes occurs in the form of attacks;
- the intensity of pain increases after the first movements from static positions;
- in weakened people, nausea may develop, coordination of movements may be disturbed, dizziness and fainting may occur;
- Possible decrease in hearing and visual acuity, "rabbits" in the eyes, tinnitus, snoring.
On a note! Often, the only symptoms of neck osteochondrosis are pharyngeal symptoms. These include: pain, dryness and/or difficulty swallowing. However, the cost of ignoring such symptoms can be enormous. These symptoms are typical of some inflammatory diseases that can turn into cancer.
Heart syndrome
The initial diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is often complicated by the presence of cardiac syndrome in the patient.
It is characterized by:
- increased heart rate;
- attacks or prolonged pain in the heart area, which are often mistaken for angina pectoris;
- Chest pain worsens after sudden movements or heavy lifting.
Therefore, if angina is detected, an experienced doctor sends the patient to an X-ray of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, because with a parallel diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment at home will be specific.
For example, a vertebrologist is obliged to warn the patient that if the "heart pain" is not eliminated by nitroglycerin or another coronary dilator drug, it should not be taken several times in a row in a short period of time. It is enough to drink ibuprofen or nurofen forte.
For your information! There is another way to distinguish a real angina attack from a painful coronary syndrome. With the latter, the patient can walk quickly.
Minor symptoms
nausea
Nausea and belching are the result of problems with blood circulation in the brain. Often, patients associate this symptom with nutritional errors, begin to limit the amount of food they eat and change their diet.
Nausea and belching can themselves reduce appetite. All these events cause a person to lose body weight and cause the imbalance of nutrients in the body.
An attack of nausea can end with vomiting, which occurs with careless turns of the head, bending of the body or vigorous physical activity. In this case, poor blood circulation leads to insufficient nutrition of the inner ear and balance center.
Feeling of suffocation
A feeling of lack of air occurs when the phrenic nerve is compressed in the cervical region of the spine. This important nerve is an element of the cervical plexus and regulates how deep the breath is and how often the breathing movements are made.
Patients have difficulty breathing with all their strength. Shallow breathing leads to a decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the blood, shortness of breath, and in severe cases, suffocation.
Breathing may stop at night, often accompanied by a snoring attack. If a person sleeps in an uncomfortable position and the head and neck are not anatomically correct, night problems are provoked.
If these problems are accompanied by unsatisfactory hygiene of the room where a person sleeps, the room is poorly ventilated, dusty, and if there is no flow of fresh air at night, the patient experiences hypoxia. Oxygen deficiency occurs in all tissues of the body, the patient who wakes up will not feel comfortable
A feeling of tinnitus
Tinnitus occurs due to problems with the blood supply to the vestibular apparatus. The blood vessels to it pass through the cervical vertebrae of the spine.
Disturbances in the parts of the inner ear cause the sensation of different sounds:
- background noise;
- jingle, jingle.
Such a complex of complaints is usually called cochlear or cochlear syndrome.
Important: if the patient does not consult a doctor with these symptoms, the hearing acuity decreases over time.
Patients often think that such disturbances are related to the hearing analyzer itself. Even a doctor may find it difficult to understand the condition, especially if there are no clear signs of osteochondrosis.
But when there are problems with the vertebrae, there are specific hearing symptoms. Osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebra can be distinguished by the features of its formation, which is why sounds arise when a person stays in one position for a long time.
Throat problems
Often, osteochondrosis can make itself felt only with a complex of pharyngeal symptoms:
- Sore throatoccurs unrelated to food intake, you can follow the difference between the appearance of symptoms and sudden movements of the head and neck.
- Sensation of a foreign body in the throatappears and disappears.
- There are complaints of itching and dry throat, strong unpleasant sensations can cause the patient to cough. Coughing will lead to a progressively dry and scratchy feeling. These complaints are the result of simultaneous damage to both nerve fibers and blood vessels.
Important: such symptoms can be observed with the formation of inflammation and tumors in the region of the cervical vertebrae.
Vision problems
Deterioration of visual function is less common, occurs in people with atherosclerotic lesions of the vessels of the head and with a decrease in general pressure.
The vessels supplying the eyes also pass through the cervical vertebra with their osteochondrosis, the following complaints arise;
the appearance of a "curtain" in the eyes; decrease in clarity and sharpness of vision; the appearance of black dots or bars; difficulty focusing on a particular subject.
Symptoms are not permanent. Patients note that vision sometimes worsens and sometimes improves.
A distinctive sign of osteochondrosis is the inability to influence the state of vision with the help of glasses, drugs and gymnastics. Eliminating the symptoms is possible only after treating the root cause of the problem.
Loss of consciousness
Impaired blood supply to the brain can cause loss of consciousness or fainting. This happens when blood flow to the brain is temporarily cut off.
In this case, compression in the cervical region does not necessarily occur; In response to this effect, a significant spasm occurs in the vessels.
Consciousness returns to a person quickly enough. This is facilitated by changing the body position. The unconscious person should be placed in a horizontal position and the legs should be elevated. Thus, the blood from the lower part of the body will help to restore the blood supply to the suffering brain.
As a rule, such short-term conditions do not cause complications or consequences. If the disruption of blood flow to the brain is stronger, the consequences are possible.
Important: after fainting, the patient should consult a doctor to be examined and prevent repeated attacks.
Despite the short duration of the condition, an unconscious person should call an ambulance.
Blood pressure problems
The presence of osteochondrosis in the cervical spine causes an increase in blood pressure. This can be especially noticeable for middle-aged people and the elderly. This is due to the fact that the center responsible for the vascular response to changes in the external environment is located in the brain and also suffers from insufficient blood supply.
The presence of irritating factors in the form of deformed vertebrae aggravates the situation. VSD symptoms arise against the background of cervical osteochondrosis. Depending on a person's tendency, hypertensive or hypotonic crises occur. Often, one type of crisis gives way to another.
Temperature fluctuations
Temperature changes are not a specific symptom of osteochondrosis. If the body temperature rises, this indicates that the focus of infection or neoplasm has formed in the body. The immune system responds in the form of temperature.
However, patients may feel a warming or even burning sensation of the skin at the problem site, i. e. along the back of the neck.
When several symptoms combine, a person starts to feel bad. General health deteriorates, mood drops, irritability and inattentiveness appear. For a patient with severe pain or blurred vision, it becomes difficult to perform daily tasks and perform productive work activities.
Important: if any complaint, even if it is not related to problems with the spine, prevents you from leading a normal lifestyle, then you should consult a specialist as soon as possible and determine the cause of the discomfort.
Risk of disease
Cervical osteochondrosis poses a great threat, because the area it affects is the most important vascular pathways that supply the brain and spinal cord with numerous nerve branches. All symptoms of osteochondrosis have a significant negative impact on the patient's well-being and quality of life.
However, this disease has life-threatening complications:
- Intervertebral hernia is considered the next stage in the development of osteochondrosis. Occurs in the absence of treatment. People who suffer from neck or back pain without consulting a doctor for a long time are faced with such a diagnosis.
- Compression of spinal cord processes causes their damage and radiculopathy develops. At the same time, growths and osteophytes are formed in the vertebrae. All this threatens the patient with loss of mobility and sensitivity of the areas responsible for the affected nerve fibers.
- One of the most dangerous complications is vertebral artery syndrome with cervical osteochondrosis. This artery supplies important parts of the brain - the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum. When this vessel is compressed by osteochondrosis, ischemia of the spinal cord and brain occurs. There is a risk of a stroke.
- If the disease is not treated for years, when there are deformations of the spine, there is a possibility of damage to the spinal cord, which is located inside the spinal column. The cost of failure to treat is life-threatening organ damage.
If a person detects signs of cervical osteochondrosis exacerbation, he should consult a specialist as soon as possible. Deformation of the vertebrae can cause severe trauma to the spinal cord, which is very dangerous for a person.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
Cervical osteochondrosis symptoms and home treatment require the consent of treating specialists. A video with a set of exercises for the neck muscles is not posted in this article. There are many of them on YouTube.
However, you should know that the guidelines for exercise therapy with this diagnosis prohibit:
- running;
- perform any jumping movements;
- pump the muscles of the shoulder girdle and neck with dynamic exercises, especially with weights or resistance.
It is important! If there is an exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, treatment with symptoms and physical exercises, self-massage and physiotherapeutic procedures are stopped. Visiting a chiropractor during the acute period is also prohibited. Rest and medication with pain relievers or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory tablets and ointments are indicated.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies is not very effective and is possible as an adjunctive therapy method in the rehabilitation phase. Nevertheless, vertebrologists praise the treatment with leeches and strictly do not recommend the treatment with bee stings;
Allergy is an insidious disease, its occurrence cannot be predicted, and an acute allergic reaction - Quincke's edema can cause anaphylactic shock and can be fatal.
Among non-traditional methods for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, we can recommend:
dynamic and static yoga classes; Wushu, Taiji and Qigong gymnastics; acupuncture and Su-Jok.
In addition to daily physical exercises, it is necessary to give up bad habits, control the daily drinking regime and balance your diet, as well as do special morning exercises for osteochondrosis of the lumbar region. The weekly menu should include raw and semi-cooked vegetables, seasonal fresh fruits, fermented milk drinks and daily meals.
Natural meat of dietary species and fish from the herring or salmon family should be eaten daily. Replace coffee and tea with rose water and natural juices.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is a long process, not months, but years. Osteochondrosis cannot be cured, but significant remission can be achieved. The results will depend only on the patient himself, his diligence in following the recommendations and leading a healthy and active lifestyle.
Frequently asked questions
What are the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine?
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can manifest itself as pain in the neck, shoulders, arms, dizziness, tinnitus, numbness or tingling in the arms, restriction of neck mobility.
How to treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home?
To relieve the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, you can use relaxation techniques, exercises to strengthen the neck muscles, massage, hot compresses, pain-relieving ointments and gels.
What exercises help with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine?
Stretching and strengthening exercises for the neck muscles, head rotation, neck bending and turning, as well as exercises to improve posture are useful to strengthen the neck muscles and eliminate the symptoms of cervical spine osteochondrosis.
Helpful tips
Tip #1
For osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, it is recommended to do special exercises to strengthen the neck and back muscles. This will help improve blood circulation and reduce stress on the spine.
Tip #2
You can use cold compresses or warm compresses to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Cold helps reduce swelling, while heat improves blood circulation and relaxes muscles.
Tip #3
It is important to monitor your posture and not stay in the wrong position for a long time. Taking regular breaks to stretch and adjust your work position can reduce stress on the cervical spine.