How to treat osteochondrosis

Unfortunately, osteochondrosis is already common in people over the age of 30. Degenerative-dystrophic changes on the intervertebral discs and bones of the spine most often occur due to a passive lifestyle, malnutrition, excess weight, hard physical work, etc. Cartilage tissue is completely restored and will no longer work. Complications of osteochondrosis (protrusion, disc herniation, osteophytes, etc. ) can lead to reduced quality of life, disability.

Timely treatment of osteochondrosis increases a person's chances of a full life. It is recommended to start therapy in the early stages of its development. In order to stop the development of pathology and improve general health, it is necessary to implement a number of measures: drugs, 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 lining of the cartilage, disrupting the integrity of its outer shell. The height of the disc decreases, it gradually collapses, then the pathology spreads to the vertebral tissues.

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

• Prolonged sitting in the wrong position.
• Passive lifestyle.
• Overweight.
• Hard physical work.
• Back injury.
• Frequent nervous disorders.
• Wrong diet.
• 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:

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

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

The disease of the cervical region is manifested by pain in the neck, upper limbs, cephalgia (headache). In addition, dizziness, hearing and vision disorders, etc. may occur.

Thoracic osteochondrosis can be easily confused with heart disease because the pain syndrome is localized in the chest area.

Symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis - excruciating pain, limited mobility, pain, impaired sensitivity of the lower body.

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

Osteochondrosis treatment scheme

In most cases, conservative methods are used to detect osteochondrosis. 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:

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

Osteochondrosis can be cured only by a combination of the above methods. The treatment plan for each patient is compiled separately by the doctor, taking into account the degree of the disease, age and characteristics of the organism.

Effective treatment will help to get rid of the symptoms of osteochondrosis in 1 to 3 months. Maintenance therapy is then performed for 12 months. This will help consolidate the results, prevent recurrences.

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

Medications

It is treated with drugs recommended to worsen osteochondrosis. Medications will help relieve pain, inflammation, improve blood circulation in the affected area and normalize motor activity.

The following drugs are used for osteochondrosis:

• NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation.
• Drugs with vasodilating action. They are used due to muscle tension, narrow blood vessels to expand the lumen and improve blood circulation.
• Muscle relaxants relax muscle cramps, normalize blood flow, relieve pain, improve mobility and speed up tissue repair.
• Chondroprotectors stop the destruction of cartilage.
• Psycholeptics based on herbal or synthetic components calm or reduce emotional stress without causing a hypnotic effect.
• Vitamin B-based preparations accelerate the recovery of damaged nerve fibers.

All these drugs help in the fight against chronic osteochondrosis, they can only be taken for medical reasons.

Opioid non-narcotic analgesics are used to relieve severe pain in the acute period of the disease. Glucocorticoids are used for the same purpose. However, these drugs have a negative effect on the body, so they can be taken as a last resort.

In addition to tablets and injections, creams and gels with locally irritating and warming effects are used during the exacerbation of osteochondrosis.

Physiotherapy

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

In order to avoid overloading the neck, other muscle groups should be involved during classes. The exercise starts with warming up and ends with relaxation exercises.

Cervical osteochondrosis complex:

• Lie on your back, raise your head, fix for 5-7 seconds.
• Do not change the starting position (IP), put your hands on your shoulders, rotate your elbows in different directions.
• IP is the same, alternately raise your arms above your head, tearing one and then the other blade off the floor.
• Press the back of the head to the floor, fix for 4 seconds.
• Connect the blades, hold for 5 seconds.
• Roll over on your side, rest your head on your hands, lift your free limb with your head, fix for 4 seconds. Repeat for the other side.
• Lie on your stomach, put your hands on the back of your head, raise your head, fix for 4 seconds.

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

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

Exercises for lesions of the thoracic spine:

• Lie on your back, bend your knees, press them to your chest with your hands, gently lift your lower back off the floor, tighten your abdominal muscles, hold for 5 seconds.
• SP the same, raise your arms, straighten your legs, grasp the opposite arm and leg, fix. Repeat for the other limbs.
• Roll over on your stomach, spread your arms to the side. Lift your arms and head off the floor, fix for 3 seconds.
• Get up on all fours, raise your head, bend your back as you inhale, lower your head as you exhale, round your back.

Move smoothly, avoid sudden movements.

The following exercises are used to treat lumbar osteochondrosis:

• Lie on your back, alternately pulling your knees toward your chest.
• PI the same, separate the right arm and leg, and then the left limbs.
• Put your hands behind your head, tear it off the floor, and pull your socks towards you at the same time.
• Bend your legs at the knees, extend your right knee to your left foot, and vice versa.
• Perform the "Bike" exercise back and forth.
• Roll over on your side, swing your leg up.
• PI same, draw your knees to your chest.
• Stand on all fours, alternately move your arms to the side.

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

Physiotherapy helps relieve pain, reduces inflammation, improves circulation and trophism.

The following physiotherapeutic procedures are used in the treatment of osteochondrosis:

• Drug 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 nervous tissues.
• Shock wave therapy improves local blood circulation, metabolic processes, reduces swelling and pain.
• Detenzor therapy - traction of the spine under the weight of its own body weight. It helps to get rid of unbearable pain syndrome.
• Balneotherapy is a complex of procedures that use fresh, mineral or sea water. After treatment, pain is relieved, blood microcirculation improves.

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

Reference. Osteochondrosis is treated by bees, this technique is called apitherapy. During the procedure, bee venom is injected into biologically active points in order 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 is shown not only massage, but also manual exposure (soft and hard).

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

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

To restore the correct position of the displaced vertebrae, the doctor switches to the manipulation technique. Performs sharp and fast movements in the affected areas, placing the vertebrae in their usual place. Helps relieve pain, muscle spasms, improve mobility.

Attention. Manual therapy of osteochondrosis can cause serious complications (fracture, vertebral displacement, damage to nerves, blood vessels, ligaments or muscles). To prevent this from happening, you need to find an experienced professional.

Hardware treatment and orthopedic devices

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

In addition, for back health, the patient can use orthopedic devices. A special pillow or roller helps to relieve the neck and lower back, is used during rest or in transport. A medical necklace is used to support the physiological curves of the neck. Posture correctors, corsets improve posture, relieve the thoracic, lumbosacral segment of the spine.

Reference. You can wear corsets and concealers for no longer than 2-3 hours a day. This method will help to avoid muscle weakness.

A special belt is used for the lower back. It can be worn 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 neck:

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

Also, in cervical osteochondrosis, you can bathe with a decoction of conifers.

If the chest is affected, use the following recipes:

• Mix dandelion root, mint, birch buds, coriander in equal proportions. Pour 100 ml of boiling water 3 tbsp. l. collection, cook 5 minutes on medium heat. Add 75 g of butter and sunflower oil to the warm mixture and cook for another 20 minutes. Rub warm fat on your back.
• Grind black radish or horseradish, squeeze the juice, rub the affected area.
• Steam wormwood or flaxseed, put them in a linen bag, apply to chest.

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

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

• Drink decoctions of cranberry leaves, thyme, hop cones, parsley.
• Put a poultice of horseradish juice or raw potatoes.
• Rub the lower back with 200 g of melted lard mixed with beeswax and marshmallow root.

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

Before using any folk remedy, consult your doctor.

Surgical intervention

Surgery is prescribed in the presence of complications, which are accompanied by numbness of the limbs, severe long-term pain, involuntary urination or defecation. Also, surgical treatment of cauda equina syndrome (compression of the nerve endings of the lower part of the spinal cord) is required.

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

• Facetectomy is the removal of facet joints that compress nerve bundles.
• Foraminotomy - increasing the lumen of the root canal by removing osteophytes. After the procedure, the nerve is released from the injury.
• Laminectomy is the removal of the back part of the deformed vertebra that compresses the spinal cord.
• Laminotomy is used to widen the openings through which nerve roots pass.
• Discectomy - removal of the affected disc or part of it with an intervertebral hernia. This is a minimally invasive endoscopic operation, after which the patient recovers faster.
• Corpectomy is the removal of the entire vertebra and the discs that are next to it. The free space is then filled with a bone graft.

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

Attention. After the operation, there is a danger of complications: damage to the spinal cord, nerve bundles, infection of the affected area, urination disorders, etc. Therefore, surgery is performed only in extreme cases.

Rehabilitation after surgery can take several months. During this period, the patient must give up physical activity, bad habits, follow the doctor's recommendations.

Reviews

According to patients, it is very difficult to completely cure osteochondrosis. Those who carried out complex therapy in the early phase of the pathology got rid of the pain and improved their physical shape. Patients who sought help in the advanced stage of the disease still suffer from relapse of osteochondrosis.

First review, female, 42 years old

I was diagnosed with grade 2 osteochondrosis. First she was treated with analgesics and muscle relaxants (injections, tablets), then she took a chondroprotector and did gymnastics. In addition, she visited a manual specialist. After a few months the pain disappeared. I plan to do it again. take a course to consolidate the result. I do gymnastics every day.

Second review, female, 38 years old

"I started having lower 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, a rheumatologist prescribed me medication, physiotherapy, massage. About 2 weeks after starting treatment. the symptoms have almost completely disappeared. Now I do gymnastics, I go to the pool for prevention.

Third review, female, 41 years old

"I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the neck, as well as hernia C5-C6. I took medication, went for a massage, went to an osteopath and have been doing gymnastics regularly for 2 years. However, nothing helped, the pain only disappeared for a short time, "The doctor prescribed a discectomy, after the operation the condition improved, but not for long. I think you will have to be treated for the rest of your life. "

The most important

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