Osteochondrosis is a serious spinal disease that prevents the mobility of the vertebrae, changes their location, and results in compression of the nerve roots. There are several types of the disease, among which cervical osteochondrosis is considered severe. The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are bright, the diagnosis is not difficult.
Cervical osteochondrosis involves the destruction of the intervertebral space in the cervical spine. The location of the vertebrae changes, pinching occurs. The disease is fraught with consequences, it is worth knowing its symptoms. One in four people with low back disease has cervical osteochondrosis. The age of patients is decreasing.
Symptoms
The main, annoying symptom of osteochondrosis is pain. It comes at any time, in a few days or weeks. The severity and duration of pain syndrome depends on the stage of the disease. With cervical osteochondrosis, the neck aches at the site of inflammation. The disease affects several vertebrae, the pain spreads along the neck.
Cervical osteochondrosis differs from the types, showing severe symptoms. We are talking about headaches and dizziness. Osteochondrosis causes compression of nerve roots and irritation of surrounding nerve fibers. The nucleus of the intervertebral disc and the surrounding tissues also become inflamed.
There are many arteries and veins in the neck that suffer from osteochondrosis. Inflamed nerves cause spasms in the blood vessels, which negatively affects the openness. The blood lumen in the arteries narrows because they narrow, allowing less blood to pass through them. The head and brain suffer from oxygen starvation. Thus, headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea, vomiting.
Headaches, migraines in tandem with neck pain, cause despair, depression. To alleviate the symptoms, doctors do their best to return the patient to normal life and rhythm. The patient is subjected to the elimination of symptoms, it is worth knowing the methods, techniques.
Conservative treatment
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis require urgent medical attention. A neurologist treats low back pain. If you have symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic region, you will need to consult a cardiologist. The treatment of the disease is complex and multifaceted. Do not expect the disease to be gone after a week or two. Improvement should be noted in 2-3 weeks, treatment - in 3-4 months, if the disease is in the early stages. If a person later sees a doctor, it will not be possible to fully recover from osteochondrosis.
Much depends on the doctor's professionalism and experience. It is worth developing a treatment complex that affects different aspects of the disease. Drug treatment plays a leading role. Medicine is confidently advancing in the development of drugs for osteochondrosis, drugs that actively affect the site of inflammation. The key is to choose the right medication.
Conservative treatment involves taking drugs belonging to groups:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Medications are aimed at eliminating the focus of inflammation, they act gradually, slowly. For treatment, the patient is prescribed a course of 2-3 NSAIDs with an interval of two weeks. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have side effects that occur when the course of treatment is delayed for more than 10 days. Suffers from the gastrointestinal tract.
- Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis (neck pain, migraine) require the use of analgesics, severe painkillers. They stop the pain for a while. Accompanying methods are used to relieve pain for a long time: self-massage, physiotherapy exercises, hand therapy.
- Vasodilator drugs are important in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. Used to relieve vasospasm. It is recommended to choose carefully, individually. They have many contraindications. Self-selection, medication is not recommended. Illiteracy will aggravate the disease.
- Chondroprotectors are aimed at repairing damaged connective tissue. Osteochondrosis is a thin intervertebral space that destroys cartilage and connective tissue. Drug-free regeneration is slow because the microcirculation is disrupted and metabolic products do not leave the cells. Chondroprotectors increase microcirculation, remove metabolic products, stimulate metabolic processes in affected tissue cells. Cell regeneration is faster.
Drug groups are the mainstay of treatment for cervical osteochondrosis, but medications alone should not be avoided.
Therapy methods
When prescribing treatment, the doctor relies on important factors. Therapy is worth finding out if the patient is allergic to the drug to choose. The presence of chronic diseases is detected. The treatment regimen, its duration and direction depend on the collected anamnesis. History shows the severity of the disease.
Therapy is not limited to medication. The treatment is supplemented by methods:
- Physiotherapy. Methods include: magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, hydrotherapy, mud therapy, phototherapy. Electrophoresis and magnetotherapy are used in the treatment of diseases of the back, musculoskeletal system.
- Massage. It is recommended that you trust a qualified massage therapist. Massage of the neck area stimulates blood flow, improves the mobility of the vertebrae and temporarily relieves pain.
- Physiotherapy. An exercise therapist will design and coordinate a course of exercises that have a beneficial effect on the body, and will be an additional way to restore the body.
- Traditional methods. In folk medicine, there are many effective recipes for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck. Since plants cause allergic reactions and side effects, herbs and natural substances are worth treating skillfully. It is recommended to coordinate treatment with a doctor. This will save you from undesirable consequences and complications.
Treatment of symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis is prescribed by a doctor. Self-medication should be excluded, a serious illness requires a professional approach. With the wrong drugs, the positive dynamics are minimized.