Osteochondrosis is a degenerative condition of the bones that most often affects the spine and knees. This mainly causes excruciating pain and movement problems. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out complex therapy.
Osteochondrosis - what is it?
It is based on a violation of endochondral ossification. However, this condition is the result of local ischemia of the vitreous cartilage in the translations of the developing bone. This condition is often called juvenile osteochondrosis precisely because it develops in the developing skeletal system.
In patients with osteochondrosis, the cartilage tissue is ischemic, depleted, and as a result dies. The cartilage does not mineralize but ossifies and then detaches from the bone in which it formed because it is not very strong. The separation of cartilage from the bones may be due to mechanical factors.
Osteochondrosis can take many forms, but patients often have:
- Osteochondrosis of the spine, which in most cases involves the lumbar or cervical spine.
- Osteochondrosis of the knee with aggravation of tuberculosis of the tibia, which forms the knee joint.
In this article, we will pay special attention to osteochondrosis of the cervical spine (SHO).
Osteochondrosis - causes
Osteochondrosis is a disease, the degenerative-dystrophic causes of which depend largely on the form of the disease that occurs in a particular patient. In the case of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, its development may be due to a violation of the tension of the structures responsible for the stabilization of the spine. The cause of the disease can also be a gradual loss of the absorption properties of the intervertebral discs. In the case of osteochondrosis of the knee, it usually occurs as a result of a fracture of the tibia of the tibia. This is an overload resulting from an imbalance between the cross-section of the muscle, the surface of its attachment and the forces acting on a very small area, i. e. , the tubercle of the tibia.
Characteristics of osteochondrosis of the cervix
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine differs in manifestations from osteochondrosis of the lumbar and thoracic regions.
The neck area contains many blood vessels and nerves, including the vertebral artery, which enters the spinal canal. Therefore, with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, when the vertebrae are displaced, nerve formations appear in the lateral incisions (which can irritate the muscles and the areas around the ligaments).
When the vertebral artery is compressed due to narrowing of the artery (stenosis), the blood supply to the brainstem and cerebellum is reduced.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are caused by the following factors: compression of the spinal cord (cervical rhizocitis), compression of the spinal cord (myelopathy), damage to the spinal cord due to circulatory disturbances.
Radical syndromes (cervical sciatica)
The symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are related to compression (compression) of the nerve roots. The pain can start from the neck to the shoulder and spread to the outer surface of the shoulder, forearm and fingers. May affect the sensitivity of the skin on the forearm, hand and fingers.
Spinal artery syndrome
Headache (paroxysmal, persistent, impulsive, intensifying when you turn your head), dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears.
SHO treatment
In the acute stage, accompanied by severe pain, topical administration of analgesics and corticosteroids is indicated to relieve muscle tension in the motor part of the vertebrae and reduce pain.
Combinations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anticonvulsants, analgesics and vitamins are effective.