The spine is made up of joints and vertebrae. Depreciation, mobility, nutrition is provided by intervertebral discs and joint capsules - cartilage structures with fluid inside. Ligaments hold a complex structure of bone and cartilage tissue, limit hypermobility, and reduce the risk of dislocation. Muscle tissue protects from damage and delivers nutrients. For a number of reasons (age, injury, exhaustion, changes in metabolism), cartilage structures are erased and thinned. The joints are fused together, the pressure in the spinal column changes.
Intervertebral discs are dense, durable formations that are damaged due to the incorrect position of the joints. When damaged, they leave their usual position, protrusions, hernias appear, which put pressure on the nerve endings. The process of autoimmune reactions starts - the body perceives a hernia as a foreign formation that needs to be fought. The muscle spasms, blood circulation is disturbed, the person experiences pain. Often the pain radiates to the internal organs. Against the background of neuralgia, tachycardia, heart pain, lung pain, and an unpleasant sensation in the stomach appear. In women, there is difficulty in raising the arm, tilting the head.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic and cervicothoracic regions develops imperceptibly. Often, the patient learns about the presence of a problem during the examination when dealing with complaints about the work of the heart. After the examination, the neurologist makes a diagnosis of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis.
Cervical-thoracic osteochondrosis
The first symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis can be detected independently at home. A change in posture is the difficulty of keeping your back straight for a long time, discomfort in the shoulder blades, an increase in kyphosis - the deflection of the spine. There are 2 tests to detect problems in yourself.
How to detect signs of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis:
Press your back against the wall as tightly as possible. Pay attention to the distance between the lower back and the wall. Normally, the back should be completely pressed against the wall. A large distance indicates the development of compensatory deflections - lordosis and kyphosis. Vertebrae and joints are mobile structures. Changes in one segment are compensated by flattening or deflection of the other. Changes in women occur during pregnancy, when the spine adjusts to the load when carrying a child. In women after 40 years, flattening of the lumbar region, developed kyphosis in the chest are often noticeable.
Stand up straight. As you inhale, stretch the top of your head and arms up, as you exhale, bend over, reach the floor with your hands. Normally, the hands should freely touch the floor. If you are doing the exercise in front of a mirror, then look at how straight your back is when tilted.
Scoliosis, a problem with excess weight, frequent colds worsen the situation, provoking a new exacerbation. Degenerative-dystrophic processes occur faster in weakened areas. Over time, the symptoms of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis become clearer:
- stoop, inability to control the correct posture;
- the appearance of a widow's hump at the level of the 7th cervical vertebra;
- discomfort under the shoulder blade (usually right);
- chest pain when taking a deep breath;
- difficulty in raising the arm, bringing the shoulder blades together;
- increased blood pressure, tachycardia.
Unfortunately, people do not always associate chest pain and symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine. After reading the available recipes, self-medication begins. Instead of massage and physical education, they take drugs to reduce pressure. Instead of chondroprotectors, mustard plasters are placed on the chest area.
Widow's hump
The widow's hump, scruff, withers is an accumulation of fat in the cervicothoracic spine. The withers appear where the muscles are least developed. This is not only an aesthetic problem. Stagnation of the cervicothoracic region prevents free rotation of the head. In women with a widow's hump, the head hurts very often, blood pressure changes, and there is a sensation of a lump in the throat. It is difficult to bring the shoulder blades together and apart, the hands go numb, it gets dark in the eyes, hearing is reduced, and when the head is turned, a crunch is emitted.
The disease got its name because in women over 45 years old, doctors noticed the formation of a seal in the cervicothoracic region. Previously, at this age, women became widows. Today, signs of withers can be seen in overweight young ladies. In men, the withers are not formed due to atomic features: developed trapezius, deltoid muscles and biceps.
Metabolic disorders, excess weight, physical inactivity, weak muscles of the upper limbs form a wen. It is very difficult to get rid of the formed withers, it is necessary to perform exercises, do massages, and follow a diet.
Bechterew's disease
A dangerous disease that occurs mainly in men, in which muscles atrophy, joints fuse. The biggest problem is that the disease is diagnosed in the late stages. It is very difficult to catch the moment of development, because patients come to a medical institution when the spine is already constrained.
The first pain symptoms appear in the sacrum, and eventually reach the neck. The deflection in the cervical-thoracic region increases, the body leans forward, acquiring the supplicant's position. Due to the change in the position of the chest, it becomes difficult to breathe. Irradiation of pain in the hands, increased blood pressure, muscle cramps torment the patient. Internal organs are affected - the heart, lungs, kidneys. Due to the wrong position, circulatory disorders hurt the eyes.
Timely diagnosis allows you to start treatment at an early stage. Taking medications (painkillers, muscle relaxants), exercise therapy, physiotherapy give good results. The patient needs to make a lot of effort to recover. In difficult situations, surgery is possible to eliminate immobility.
Hearing loss
With cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, blood circulation in the brain is disturbed. The blood in the vessels stagnates, noise and ringing in the ears begin. There is an audio problem. The brain compensates for it by creating phantom sounds. Conducted experiments showed that patients with circulatory disorders hear the sound, regardless of its presence. This is a protection system - if the ear cannot catch some sounds from the outside world, the brain creates these sounds itself.
The exacerbation of the disease is accompanied by congestion in the ears. In the presence of inflammatory processes - whistling, ringing, buzzing. In addition to hearing, vision deteriorates, memory is impaired.
Heart problems
During a spasm, the muscles compress the vertebral artery, which delivers blood to the brain. With a lack of nutrient fluid, the central nervous system gives a signal to increase heart rate to raise pressure. The heart beats faster, stronger, the pressure rises, nutrition is restored.
Medicine is taken to lower blood pressure - blood flow is reduced, the heart begins to beat faster again. Patients with osteochondrosis of the thoracic region rapidly develop cardiovascular diseases. They may be disturbed by a feeling of discomfort in the chest area, which is aggravated by moving the arms, taking a deep breath, turning, tilting.
Dorsalgia - back pain, appears due to pinching of the nerve roots. Reflex muscle contraction exacerbates the situation - blood flow is disturbed, edema appears. It is important to provide yourself with medical care in time and consult a doctor for help with regular pain.
Treatment of osteochondrosis
First aid for osteochondrosis is provided at home if you feel a sharp pain in your back, an unpleasant sensation in the chest area, it is difficult to raise your hand and move.
It is necessary to take NSAIDs. Remember that with osteochondrosis, medications with an anti-inflammatory effect help better. Analgesics are less effective, although they have fewer side effects. Rub the NSAID ointment or chondoprotector ointment into the site of inflammation. Massage movements will disperse the blood, relieve swelling, and the medicine will help to survive the exacerbation. You need to move through the pain - make circular movements with your hands, head, hips, bring your shoulder blades together. Stretch your back by leaning on a table or chair.
Warm compresses are not recommended. After all, blood will flow faster to the place of edema, it will not be able to pass through the vessels due to muscle spasm. As a result, swelling will increase, inflammation will spread. For pain in the thoracic region, stretch the spine on the horizontal bar, or with a Glisson loop. Correction with active traction is used only with well-developed muscles, and it is also not necessary to strive for a state of complete rest.
If the exacerbation recurs within a month, it is better to consult a doctor for examination, diagnosis and treatment. It is impossible to completely recover from osteochondrosis - there is no technique that would allow you to turn back the clock and stop degenerative processes.
But there are techniques that will help to cope with pain and adapt to the ongoing changes. These are drug treatment, massage, physiotherapy, manual therapy, vertebrorevitology, acupuncture and kinesiology.
After making a diagnosis, the doctor will choose a recovery option: prescribe the necessary medications that will help you survive the exacerbation, recommend procedures and manipulations for recovery.