How to treat osteochondrosis

Unfortunately, osteochondrosis is already a common occurrence in people over 30. Degenerative-dystrophic changes in intervertebral discs and spinal bones most often occur due to a passive lifestyle, malnutrition, extra pounds, strenuous physical work, etc. The disease manifests itself with severe symptoms in stages 2-4, when the cartilage tissue structure is completely restored, it will no longer function. Complications of osteochondrosis (bulges, herniated discs, osteophytes, etc. ) can lead to a decrease in quality of life, disability.

Timely treatment of osteochondrosis increases a person's chances of having a full life. It is recommended to start therapy in the early stages of its development. To stop the development of the pathology and improve the general state of health, it is necessary to carry out a whole series of measures: medication, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, manual exposure. Surgical treatment is performed only in advanced cases, when complications are already present.

Characteristics of the disease

Osteochondrosis of the back begins with the destruction of the intervertebral discs. Under the influence of negative factors, the discs compress the cartilage lining, violating the integrity of its outer shell. The height of the disc decreases, it gradually collapses, then the pathology spreads to the tissues of the vertebrae.

There are many factors that influence the development of osteochondrosis of the spine:

• Long time sitting in the wrong position.
• Passive lifestyle.
• overweight.
• Heavy physical work.
• Back injury.
• Frequent nervous disorders.
• Wrong nutrition.
• Hypothermia.
• hereditary predisposition.
• Wearing shoes with heels, pregnancy in women, etc.

Reference. In stages 1 - 2, osteochondrosis can still be cured.

Doctors distinguish 4 stages of osteochondrosis:

• Grade 1 - cracks appear in the annulus fibrosus, the height of the disc decreases. There is discomfort in the affected area, the back gets tired faster.
• Grade 2 - the height of the disc continues to decrease, the muscles, ligaments sag, the mobility of the vertebrae increases. There is pain, especially after physical exertion.
• Grade 3 - discs are slightly displaced, bulges appear, the likelihood of subluxations or arthrosis of the spine joints increases. A pronounced pain syndrome appears, mobility is limited, sensitivity is impaired in the damaged area.
• Grade 4 - osteophytes appear in the vertebrae, so the body stabilizes the spine. Bone growths compress nerves, injure the vertebrae, and increase the risk of fibrous ankylosis (fusion of spinal joints).

Important. Osteochondrosis can affect the cervical, thoracic and lumbar segments of the spine.

Disease of the cervical region is manifested by pain in the neck, upper limbs, cephalia (headache). In addition, dizziness, hearing and visual disturbances, etc. may occur.

Thoracic osteochondrosis is easily confused with heart disease, as the pain syndrome is located in the chest region.

Symptoms of Lumbar Osteochondrosis - Painful pain, limited mobility, aches, impaired sensation of lower body.

The clinical picture of osteochondrosis is diverse, so you should not make a diagnosis yourself. See a doctor if you have any suspicious symptoms.

The treatment regimen for osteochondrosis

In most cases, when detecting osteochondrosis, conservative methods are used. It is important to carry out a comprehensive treatment to get rid of pain, normalize the functionality of the spine and prevent complications.

The treatment regimen for osteochondrosis is as follows:

• Limitation of physical activity.
• Taking medication.
• Physiotherapy procedures.
• Physiotherapy.
• Massage.
• Manual therapy.
• Spine stretching.

It is possible to cure osteochondrosis just by combining the above methods. The treatment plan for each patient is prepared separately by a doctor, taking into account the degree of the disease, the age and the characteristics of the organism.

Effective treatment will help get rid of osteochondrosis symptoms in 1-3 months. Then maintenance therapy is carried out for 12 months. This will help consolidate the results, prevent relapses.

It is possible to treat chondrosis of the back (stage 1 of osteochondrosis) without medication. The patient can perform physiotherapy exercises, reduce the load on the damaged area of the back, use applicators (Lyapko roller, Kuznetsov iplicator), improve nutrition, give up bad habits.

Medicines

It is treated with medications recommended for exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Medications will help relieve pain, inflammation, improve blood circulation to the affected area, and normalize motor activity.

With osteochondrosis, the following drugs are used:

• NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation.
• Drugs with a vasodilating effect. They are used because of muscle tension, blood vessels narrow to expand their lumen and improve blood circulation.
• Muscle relaxants relax spasmodic muscles, normalize blood flow, relieve pain, improve mobility, and accelerate tissue repair.
• Chondroprotectors stop the destruction of the cartilage lining.
• Psycholeptics based on herbal or synthetic components relieve or reduce emotional stress without causing a hypnotic effect.
• Preparations based on B-complex vitamins accelerate the recovery of damaged nerve fibers.

All of these medications help fight chronic osteochondrosis, but they can be taken for medical reasons.

Non-narcotic opioid analgesics are used to relieve severe pain in the acute period of illness. Glucocorticoids are used for the same purpose. However, these medications negatively affect the body, so they can be taken as a last resort.

In addition to pills and injections, during the exacerbation of osteochondrosis, creams and gels with a local irritating and warming effect are used.

Physiotherapy

Complex therapy of osteochondrosis is always complemented by therapeutic exercises. However, exercises for different parts of the spine are different.

In order not to overload the neck, other muscle groups should also be involved during classes. Training begins with a warm-up and ends with relaxation exercises.

Complex for cervical osteochondrosis:

• Lie on your back, lift your head, hold for 5-7 seconds.
• Do not change the starting position (IP), put your hands on your shoulders, rotate your elbows in different directions.
• The IP is the same, alternately raise your hands above your head, plucking one and then the second shoulder blade off the floor.
• Press the back of the head to the floor, hold for 4 seconds.
• Connect the shoulder blades, stay for 5 seconds.
• Turn sideways, lean head on hands, lift free limb with head, fix for 4 seconds. Repeat to the other side.
• Lie on your stomach, place your hands behind your head, lift your head, hold for 4 seconds.

If you experience severe pain and dizziness, stop exercising and see a doctor.

Reference. Thoracic osteochondrosis is less common than cervical or lumbar osteochondrosis as it is the least mobile department. In addition, it is strengthened by muscles and ribs.

Exercises for injuries of the thoracic segment of the spine:

• Lie on your back, bend your knees, press them against your chest with your hands, slightly lift your lower back off the floor, tighten your abdominal muscles, hold for 5 seconds.
• SP same, raise arms, straighten legs, understand opposite arm and leg, fix. Repeat for other members.
• Turn over onto your stomach, open your arms to the sides. Lift your hands and head off the floor, hold for 3 seconds.
• Get on all fours, lift your head, arch your back as you inhale, lower your head as you exhale, round your back.

Move smoothly, avoid sudden movements.

For the treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis, the following exercises are used:

• Lie on your back, alternately pull your knees to your chest.
• PI the same, remove the right arm and leg and then the left limbs.
• Put your hands behind your head, tear it off the floor and at the same time pull your socks towards you.
• Bend your legs at the knees, stretch your right knee to your left foot and vice versa.
• Perform the "Bike" exercise forwards and backwards.
• Roll on your side, swing your leg up.
• PI the same, pull your knees to your chest.
• Get on all fours, taking turns moving your hands to the sides.

These exercises help stretch and relax tense muscles, increase blood circulation and lymph flow.

There are many more exercises. To make a complex that suits you, consult a doctor.

physiotherapy procedures

Physical therapy helps relieve pain, reduces inflammation, improves blood circulation and trophism.

In the treatment of osteochondrosis, the following physiotherapeutic procedures are used:

• Medication electrophoresis helps relieve pain in the presence of neurological disorders.
• Electrotherapy improves blood circulation, tissue nutrition.
• Laser therapy relieves inflammation, anesthetizes, accelerates tissue healing, activates biological processes in nerve tissues.
• Shockwave therapy improves local blood circulation, metabolic processes, reduces swelling, pain.
• Tensor therapy - traction of the spine under the weight of your own body weight. It helps to get rid of excruciating pain syndrome.
• Balneotherapy is a complex of procedures using fresh, mineral or sea water. After a course of treatment, pain is relieved, blood microcirculation improves.

In addition, diadynamic therapy, amplipulse therapy, ultrasound, magnetotherapy and the vibration method can be used for osteochondrosis.

Reference. Osteochondrosis is treated with bees, this technique is called apitherapy. During the procedure, bee venom is injected into biologically active points to enhance the effect of the complex treatment. Insect venom relieves pain, improves mobility, blood microcirculation, conduction through nerve pathways, increases the elasticity of intervertebral discs.

Manual therapy

In the treatment of osteochondrosis, the patient shows not only massage, but also manual exposure (soft and hard).

With the help of massage, the specialist normalizes muscle tone, improves blood circulation and restores nerve cell activity. The session starts with kneading and rubbing, these techniques help prepare the body for further exposure.

After a warm-up massage, the doctor proceeds with mobilization and self-mobilization. During the procedure, it gently acts on the joints of the spine, gradually increasing the amplitude. Self-mobilization consists of performing movements by the patient himself under the supervision of a doctor. These procedures help to increase the interarticular gap, reduce blood stasis in the veins and improve trophism.

To restore the correct position of the displaced vertebrae, the doctor proceeds with the manipulation technique. He makes sudden and rapid movements in the affected areas, placing the vertebrae in their usual place. Helps relieve pain, muscle spasm, improve mobility.

Heads up. Manual therapy for osteochondrosis can cause serious complications (fracture, displacement of a vertebra, damage to nerves, blood vessels, ligaments or muscles). To prevent this from happening, you need to find an experienced specialist.

Treatment of orthopedic hardware and devices

Devices for the treatment of osteochondrosis can be used at home, but only after a doctor's approval.

Also, for the health of the back, the patient can wear orthopedic braces. A special pillow or roller helps to unload the neck and lower back, it is used during rest or transport. To support the physiological curves of the neck, a medical collar is used. Posture correctors, corsets improve posture, unload the thoracic and lumbosacral segment of the spine.

Reference. You can wear corsets and correctors for no more than 2-3 hours a day. This mode will help to avoid weakening the muscles.

A special belt is used for the lower back. It can be used at work, while playing sports.

Folk remedies

Complex therapy can be supplemented with effective folk remedies. However, cervical, thoracic and lumbar osteochondrosis are accompanied by different symptoms, so different recipes are used to treat them.

Folk remedies for the treatment of the neck:

• Hold burdock leaves over steam for 5-10 minutes, attach to the neck, secure with a bandage. You can also soak the gauze in a burdock decoction and use it as a compress.
• Make a decoction of birch leaves, apply a compress to the affected area.
• Peel the horseradish root, squeeze the juice, mix it with vodka (1: 1), rub the neck.
• Pour 250 g of needles into 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes. Drink it twice a day after a meal.

Also, with cervical osteochondrosis, you can take baths with conifer decoctions.

If the thoracic region is affected, use the following recipes:

• Mix dandelion root, mint, birch buds, cilantro in equal proportions. Pour 100 ml of boiling water 3 tbsp. I. collection, cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add 75 g of butter and sunflower oil to the hot mixture, cook for another 20 minutes. Rub the warm ointment into your back.
• Grind black radish or horseradish, squeeze out the juice, rub the affected area.
• Steam absinthe or flaxseed, put them in a cloth bag, apply to the thoracic back.

At home, you can massage your back with a tape massager.

If the lumbosacral region is affected, use the following remedies:

• Drink decoctions of blueberry leaves, thyme, hop cones, cinquefoil.
• Apply a compress of horseradish juice or raw potatoes.
• Rub the lower back with an ointment of 200 g of melted lard mixed with beeswax and marshmallow roots.

Also, with lumbar osteochondrosis, you can wear a woolen belt, which has a warming effect.

Before using any folk remedy, consult your doctor.

Surgical intervention

Operation is prescribed in the presence of complications, which are accompanied by numbness of the limbs, severe and prolonged pain, involuntary urination or defecation. In addition, surgical treatment is required for cauda equina syndrome (compression of the nerve endings in the lower spinal cord).

Surgical techniques will help eliminate the cause of the pain and stabilize the spine:

• A facetectomy is the removal of the facet joints that compress the nerve bundles.
• Foraminotomy - an increase in the lumen of the root canal, removing the osteophyte. After the procedure, the nerve is released from the breach.
• Laminectomy is the removal of the back of a deformed vertebra that is compressing the spinal cord.
• Laminotomy is used to widen the opening through which nerve roots pass.
• Discectomy - removal of the affected disc or part of it with intervertebral hernia. This is a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, after which the patient recovers more quickly.
• Corpectomy is the removal of the entire vertebra and the discs adjacent to it. The free space is then filled with a bone graft.

Spinal fusion (fusion of the vertebrae) is performed to prevent destabilization of the spine. Also, special screws, rods, plates are used to fix the vertebrae.

Heads up. After the operation, there is a risk of complications: damage to the spinal cord, nerve bundles, infection of the affected area, urinary disorders, etc. Therefore, surgical intervention is performed only in extreme cases.

Rehabilitation after surgery can take several months. During this period, the patient must abandon physical activity, bad habits, follow the recommendations of doctors.

Assessments

According to patients, it is very difficult to completely cure osteochondrosis. Those who underwent complex therapy at an early stage of the pathology got rid of pain and improved their physical shape. Patients who sought help in advanced stages of the disease still experience relapses of osteochondrosis.

First evaluation, female, 42 years old

"I was diagnosed with 2nd degree osteochondrosis of the neck. At first she was treated with painkillers and muscle relaxants (injections, pills), then she took a chondroprotector and did gymnastics. In addition, she visited a manual specialist. After a few months, the pain disappeared. I intend to take the course again to consolidate the result. I do gymnastics every day.

Second evaluation, female, 38 years old

"I started having low back pain about 2 years ago. When I couldn't take it anymore, I went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the neck, the rheumatologist prescribed medication, physiotherapy, massage. Approximately 2 weeks after starting treatment, the symptoms almost disappeared. Now I do gymnastics, I go to the pool for prevention.

Third evaluation, female, 41 years old

"I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the neck, as well as a C5-C6 hernia. I took medicine, had massage, went to an osteopath, and have been doing gymnastics regularly for 2 years. However, nothing helped, the pain just disappeared for a while, plus my hands started to go numb. The doctor prescribed a discectomy, after the operation the condition improved, but not for long. I think you will have to be treated for your whole life. "

The most important

As you can see, osteochondrosis requires long-term treatment and self-discipline. Therapy should be comprehensive: medications (in the acute period), exercise therapy, physical therapy, massage, manual exposure. The patient must change their lifestyle, exercise regularly, give up bad habits, eat right, use orthopedic devices. You can supplement therapy with medical devices and folk remedies, but only after the doctor's approval. In the presence of complications, an operation is performed, followed by a long rehabilitation. The patient must strictly follow the doctors' recommendations to speed up the recovery.