All the signs and symptoms of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine

This article provides a detailed razglyadev all the signs and symptoms of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. Osteochondrosis is a degenerative destruction of the vertebral discs and the vertebrae themselves with degenerative manifestations.

The violation of the integrity of the intervertebral component, the compound is more terrible pathology – hernias and protrusion of up to bone destruction.

What is osteochondrosis

We must remember that the process of destruction of the vertebrae and discs is irreversible and to restore the original performance will not work. All you can do is slow the process of destruction.

Cervical osteochondrosis is much more dangerous, because in this spine be a huge number of nerve fibers and blood vessels are functioning directly with the brain and body as a whole. The vertebrae in the cervical region are very close to each other, which also creates the danger.

Any squeezing of the nerve endings, arteries, blood vessels, disrupts the blood supply and nutrition of the entire body that can cause a number of symptoms.

Symptoms

Cervical osteochondrosis can not be disassembled, because of the similarity with other pathologies. And at the initial stage, you can even take it for normal fatigue or overexertion. And often diagnosed incorrect. When diagnostics are important to determine which neural processes constrained, perhaps because the brain suffers from lack of circulation.

Common manifestations of cervical degenerative disc disease are:

• Headache. This is the first persistent symptom. With the development of the disease, pain is worse. The pain is similar to migraine, but docked painkillers. Of course, if you run the disease, the painkillers no longer work. Mostly people feel pulsation in the temporal and occipital region. Found and parietal locations.
• Weakness in the arms. It is considered a sign of damage to the nerve process, which is responsible for the regulation of innervation of the upper limbs. The damage may be very strong, up to paralysis.
• Hampered mobility, crunch. With cervical degenerative disc disease is often difficult to turn your head. Also limited the movement of the head forward and backward. And in this case accompanied by a crunch of joints.
• A feeling of numbness in the hands or other parts of the body. Hands or fingers may lose sensitivity. If you do not treat low back pain, numbness increases until complete or partial paralysis of the body. Depends on the affected area from the damaged nerve endings.
• The deterioration of hearing and vision. Sometimes the connection is a feeling of numbness of the tongue and lips, flashing "flies" before the eyes, blurring of objects. Lose affects these organs because of the proximity to each other and lack of oxygen in the brain.
• The marriage of air. The connection is with the defeat of cervical are often due to irritation of the phrenic nerve. The patient can not breathe, feeling short of breath and asphyxiation, the compound is snoring. The result is hypoxia, constant fatigue, loss of memory, attention, weakness and malaise.
• Dizziness. A very unpleasant symptom, disrupts the coordination of movements. Accompanied sometimes by nausea, fainting, tinnitus. Feel the vibrations of the floor under his feet. Appears when oxygen starvation of the brain due to dysfunction of blood vessels and arteries.

Reasons

A lot of them. Still not connecting appeared clear opinion why low back pain affects a particular area of the spine. But, factors have long been known.

Lifestyle

The most common cause of cervical degenerative disc disease. Because the modern man doesn't move. The model of society and social behaviour is changing, progress is not in place and low back pain more and more "younger".

In this group include:

• sedentary lifestyle — lack of exercise;
• improper diet, excess weight;
• continuous tense, or uncomfortable (common among drivers and office workers);
• the lack of stress on the spine, which weakens the m atovi corset;
• on the contrary, too much load on the spine.

Injury

In injuries of the spine, in 90% of cases suffering from cervical. Often violations are discovered, but sometimes for the development of the disease the right time.

Disorders in the hormonal

For this reason, can be affected not only people in middle age, but teenagers, during the restructuring of the whole organism. It is worth noting that in this case, the disease is preventable and treatable.

If to speak about menopause in women and hormonal diseases, diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis, the treatment to be more symptomatic.

Genetic predisposition

This factor is more related, because genetics is not the basis for the development of the disease. But, it affects the appearance of other reasons.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

This – scoliosis, bad posture.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis can be established only by a doctor. When the first symptoms of osteoarthritis, be sure to consult with a specialist. Diagnosis is carried out by several methods.

For example, apply to:

• CT (computed tomography);
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging);
• dopplerographic study of the blood vessels;
• x-ray is a commonly used way to detect the disease.

Each method is effective at a certain stage of development of osteochondrosis. For example, radiography will not be informative at early stages of pathology.

In severe disease, which is accompanied by disturbance of sensation, paralysis and loss of consciousness, held Doppler.

From the time of diagnosis influenced the success of treatment. The sooner, the more likely the minimum disruption of the spine.

The stage of the disease

To distinguish between 4 stages of development of osteochondrosis.

1. The presence of pain in the neck, the neck area on palpation. Thus react to the affected nerve branches. The pain is worse when moving the head, often when cornering. While at this stage the spine is intact, the affected intervertebral space.
2. Is characterized by a shooting character, which shoots up the arm, or shoulder occurs when the movement of the head. Pain similar to a migraine. Develops insomnia. At this stage of the disease the vertebral disks begin destructively changed.
3. The pain becomes constant, amplifying. The connection is numbness and stiffness of the limbs, movements of the head can not. In the hands of the increasingly felt weakness. Suffers from attention and memory. The intervertebral discs have been broken on them cracks, and joint capsule bulges. The formation of intervertebral hernia.
4. Complete destruction of not only disks but also of the vertebrae. The bone was also destroyed. At this stage, surgical intervention is necessary, because the connection appeared hernia is a consequence of the paralysis of not only the hands but the entire body.

It is believed that low back pain can be treated at home only on the first two stages. The third requires a more professional observation and treatment under the supervision of a neurologist or vertebrologist.

Treatment at home

Is it worth mentioning that the treatment even at the first stage without consulting a doctor is not carried out. Still, for the diagnosis of cervical degenerative disc disease in addition to advice necessary to make a diagnosis and examination. Because low back pain can masquerade as more serious pathology associated with heart failure.

If the diagnosis is wrong, therefore the treatment will be designed late. The consequences can be terrible – cerebral ischemia, stroke, spinal cord compression, and other diseases that threaten the patient's life.

At home treatment consists of:

1. drug therapy;
2. massage;
3. of medical gymnastics.

It is important to approach treatment in a holistic manner. Otherwise the result may not be or will be but temporary.

Medication

The appointment and use of drugs necessary for the relief of severe pain, mobilization of diseases, withdrawal symptoms.

Drugs can be administered different directions:

• reduce pressure and improve brain function – the so-called neuro-protectors. They are large group of medical drugs;
• improve eyesight;
• prevent numbness or spasms of muscles – muscle relaxants;
• anti-inflammatory –;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory – reduce inflammation pain in the acute phase. They are available not only in tablets but also in capsules, ointments and solutions for injections. Not intended for prolonged use due to the hard impact on the mucosa of the GASTROINTESTINAL tract;
• b vitamins (B1, B6, B12). Help to restore the health of the brain and nervous system. Responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses.

Vitamins can be taken in pill form or injections under the scheme. The second option allows you to achieve the best effect;

Chondroprotectors occupy a special place. Are drugs invented to improved nutrition of the intervertebral cartilage, slows them dystrophic and degenerative changes. Effective only on the first two stages.

Massage

It is an integral part of treatment. Traditional massage on the advice of experts should be held courses every six months. Today, there are a lot of methods of treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical area and there are plenty to choose from.

For example, the practice of manual techniques that are proven and give good result in treatment.

Recently, the connection appeared in the direction of osteopathy, a very interesting volume that treats the human body as a single unit with a soft Azovo-skeletal system, mental and nervous. They are all one. Treatment be carried out by hand.

Acupuncture too is a good solution under the condition of holding it by an experienced technician.

Leech therapy or treatment p a appearances for the efficiency is on a par with acupuncture.

Gymnastics

We already talked about the fact that one of the factors, influencing the development of osteochondrosis is the small physical exercise on a soft when the keeps. In our days we most of the time we spend in a seated position without changing your posture, which can be quite uncomfortable.

Important information! You cannot perform exercises during acute pain.

To support and strengthen m atovi corset will need to perform daily ten simple exercises. They are particularly relevant at the initial manifestations of the disease.

1. Starting position – standing, naked, shoulder-width apart, stomach in, and shoulders back. From this position raise the arms out to the sides and up, the connection Douce at the top with subsequent removal ago. Feel like junctions connect the blades. After that, the position of the body aligned. Repeat 7 times.
2. Yip the same. Okay, hang on as hard as you can to the elbows looking forward. Then pull the hands back so that the palms touched elbows. Don't forget to involve the stomach constantly. Repeat up to 10 times.
3. Better this exercise to perform while standing, but if it is difficult or connection appeared dizziness, allowed sitting position. Keep the neck straight, and shoulders straighten. The head should turn left and touch chin to shoulder, not raising it. The same thing to the other side. Exercises performed alternately repeated 5 times.
4. Similar to exercise # 3, only the head does tilt forward and back at a very slow pace.
5. Slowly and carefully take the semicircle is tilted forward with his head, from left shoulder to right and back again. Attention! It is impossible to make a circular motion, only a semicircle!
6. IP – standing. You should make your hands into fists and propping up his chin. Press the chin on your hands for 5 seconds, then adjust the position on the occipital region. Very effective exercises for training the muscles of the neck. Repeat 4 times.
7. Seated hands rest on her hips, and the head is tilted more forward. Ideal is the situation when the chin rests on the chest. In this perspective, rotate your head first left and then right. It is important that the chin all the time touches your chest. Repeat up to 10 times.
8. Need a chair with a low back. It will be good if this exercise is performed at least 4 times. Shoulders straightened. The task is to try to look at the wall behind him.
9. Sitting on the chair. Hands between his knees. Inhale – tilt to the side. Exhale – straight position. Is performed alternately on the left and right to 7 times.
10. Exercises on the stomach. Lying to bend up, trying to fix the body as high as possible and longer. Repeat 6 times.

The complex is only done at a convenient time and gradually increase the number of repetitions.

Folk remedies

Treatment of folk remedies is more measures aimed at warming the patient zone. But here we must be wary of such practices, as the neck is in great proximity to the brain. And so, instead of heal, can harm.

In the treatment of folk recipes, it is better to choose a softer influence, avoiding serious irritation.

Recipes:

• Ointment from my grandmother. Does iodine and camphor 10 ml, analgin – 10 tablets, crushed, alcohol – 300 ml All mixed and neck smeared with a thin layer overnight.
• Potato poultice of grated potatoes and honey. Superimposed on the night.
• A poultice of horseradish. Fresh leaves of horseradish are processed over the steam and superimposed on the neck as a compress for 15 minutes.
• A compress of aloe. Takes 1 piece of aloe leaf, ground, is added to 2 parts honey and 3 parts of alcohol of the product. The mixture should stand for 12 hours. Compress is applied for 15 minutes maximum.