Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is common among city dwellers, office workers and people who spend several hours a day in one position.

But it can also develop at a young age. Therefore, everyone should know what cervical osteochondrosis is and how it is treated in order to seek help in time and stop the development of unpleasant symptoms and the destruction of the neck and shoulder joints.

Before you decide what to do if the osteochondrosis of the cervical spine worsens and you feel pain in the neck, you should visit a doctor and undergo diagnostics.

Diagnostics

Whether it is possible to permanently cure osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, whether it is even possible to treat the neck and how to do it, the doctor will tell you after a complete diagnosis. Due to the similarity of symptoms with other diseases, attention is paid to establishing the diagnosis. A patient who comes to a neurologist complaining of neck pain and dizziness will have to go through several stages before a complex therapy is developed.

Inspection

During the first visit to the neurologist, an initial examination of the patient is performed. The doctor's task is to determine the diagnosis, the possible cause of the onset and development of the disease, as well as to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms.

Specialist during the inspection:

• He listens to health complaints.Clarifies symptoms, frequency, intensity. It tries to determine what causes the attack to start.
• Clarify the details of the history,will determine the characteristics of the patient's daily life and the presence of concomitant diseases.
• Checks the functioning of reflexes,focusing on those whose work is affected by the nerve endings located in the neck.
• Tests muscle strength and sensitivity,will identify areas of numbness or a tendency to spasm or over-relaxation.
• He conductsexamination of the vestibular apparatus,which is also affected by the development of osteochondrosis.

During the process, the doctor examines the condition of the muscles. Their thinness or swelling indicate problems with nerve sensitivity. Another important symptom is pain and dizziness when turning or tilting the head.

Laboratory diagnostics

It is possible to prescribe a treatment regimen without errors during an exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, and provide effective help only by identifying the cause of the destruction of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs. And for that, additional research is being conducted in the laboratory.

In order to understand the development of the disease, a number of studies are carried out:

1. Total and ionized calcium.
2. Osteocalcin and osteoprotegerin- substances - indicators that the bones are gradually destroyed and that the cartilaginous tissue becomes thinner. If their amount in the blood is higher than normal, then the disease will continue to develop.
3. Creatine kinase– indicator of muscle tissue damage. If osteochondrosis has already caused the development of myositis and seriously threatens the muscles, this indicator in the blood will also be increased.
4. Research on microelements and vitaminsit is carried out to determine which of the trace elements and vitamins needed for metabolism and tissue repair are missing in the patient's body.

Instrumental studies

After discovering the speed of development and the causes of chondrosis, the doctor must determine the condition in which the patient was admitted.

For this purpose, hardware studies of the spine and intervertebral discs are carried out:

• Radiography.It shows serious changes in the bone structure, the appearance of deformations and neoplasms.
• M. R. Ievaluates the condition of nerve roots, bulging discs, vertebral inversions and small tumors.
• Ultrasound of cervical blood vesselsof blood vessels is carried out in order to determine their patency, and thus the ability to supply the brain with the necessary oxygen and nutrients.

• Electroneuromyography.An electric charge is passed through the nervous system, which is unpleasant, but it shows the level of passage of nerve impulses and the speed of their passage to the muscles, and thus the degree of damage.

There are many tips on how to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis forever, quickly relieve pain, eliminate dizziness and fight bouts of weakness at home. But it is necessary to understand that this is a serious disease that develops individually, and therefore the treatment regimen must be chosen by a specialist. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, without wasting time on traditional methods, you should contact the clinic.

Treatment

Almost everyone who was diagnosed with "chondrosis of the cervical spine" thought about how to cure the degenerative disease, whether it can and how to treat it, and whether it is possible to forget about neck pain forever if you follow the advice of doctors. The answer depends on the stage.

In the first and second stages, there are methods that allow the treatment of chondrosis of the cervical spine in men and women with good results for the neck at home.

The doctor's goal is to relieve pain, prevent further destruction of cartilage and bone tissue, and try to restore, if possible, the intervertebral discs to restore mobility. Complex therapy is always used to solve this problem, but sometimes surgical intervention is added to conservative treatment methods.

Drug treatment

Very often, men and women, faced with the stage of worsening inflammation due to osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, choose treatment at home, using a strong painkiller, but what to do if the pain in the neck returns, which treatment will be effective? The only correct answer is the appointment of a neurologist.

When chondrosis worsens, it is important not only to remove the symptoms, but also to cure what causes them, and therefore the range of drugs is not limited to painkillers.For the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, the following is used:

1. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,helps relieve pain and reduce tissue inflammation at the site of pinched nerve endings.
2. Topical gels and ointments,which should be prescribed by a doctor, because not all of them are compatible with drugs that are taken orally.
3. Muscle relaxantswill allow you to relax spasmodic muscles and release pinched nerves and arteries, get rid of stiffness, pain and dizziness.
4. Chondroprotectorsthey are used to stop the destruction and restore the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral discs and prevent the occurrence of hernias.
5. Vitamin complexesthey are used to improve tissue nutrition, speed up their recovery and enhance the effect of drugs, allowing the use of smaller doses.

If the patient is admitted with unbearable pain, a blockade based on hormonal painkillers will be used.

Treatment without drugs

Another method that has excellent reviews of men and women and is often used in the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine and shoulder girdle at home is physical therapy, but how and with what to treat should also be decided by the doctor. After all, there are no universal methods of physiotherapy that suit everyone. A set of effective methods is selected specifically for each patient.

The most effective are considered:

• Electrophoresis with painkillers.
• Physiotherapy. The set of exercises and their complexity vary depending on the stage of development of osteochondrosis.
• Massage and self-massage.
• Magnetotherapy.

Osteochondrosis surgery

In certain stages of the development of cervical osteochondrosis, what is prescribed for neck and back pain does not help, in which case you can take more difficult drugs or resort to a radical but effective method - surgery. The operation is prescribed for patients with irreversible changes in the structure of the spinal column. At the same time, collapsed and fused vertebrae, hernias and emerging neoplasms threaten human life and reduce its quality.

The surgeon will be able to remove bony growths, hernias, tumors and pinched nerve endings. After such an intervention, the patient will undergo rehabilitation, during which it is necessary to follow the doctor's recommendations, otherwise even the operation will not bring the desired effect.

How and how to treat cervical chondrosis at home or in the hospital, what to do to relieve pain in the neck and shoulders, get rid of dizziness and relieve inflammation of the vertebrae, what helps and what harms, the doctor must decide. By using other methods and means, you risk your health, because with such a disease, therapy should be built taking into account the patient's personal characteristics.

Prevention

In order not to know what the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is, you should think about prevention in advance. The disease is often hereditary, but following the recommendations will prevent the development of the disease or stop it in the first stages.

Traditional preventive measures for spine diseases:

1. Ensuring healthy physical activity. Light training 2-3 times a week. It is worth choosing a sport aimed at strengthening the muscular corset. Suitable for swimming, yoga, pilates, cycling, skating. In this case, the load should not be too heavy.
2. Daily activity even during sedentary work. To do this, just do exercises and walk.
3. Monitor your posture, not only while walking, but also while working.
4. An ergonomic workplace in which the space that occupies the attention is located so that the neck is not in a tense state.
5. Avoid heavy lifting and excessive physical activity.
6. Provide a comfortable place to sleep with an orthopedic mattress and pillows so that sleep is healthy and brings complete rest.
7. Give up bad habits, because alcohol, nicotine and drugs have an extremely negative effect on joints, bones and blood vessels.
8. Change your diet. It is worth reducing the amount of salt, spices, sugar and flour consumed in the daily menu. Avoid fast food, especially those cooked in oil, sugary sodas and juices.
9. Create a menu taking into account the need for microelements and vitamins. Pay attention to vegetables and fruits, lean fish and meat.
10. Drink clean water in sufficient quantities.
11. Once every few months, conduct a course of maintenance massage. Do regular self-massage if you feel tired in the shoulder area.

If, despite all attempts to preserve health, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine appears, then only a doctor can determine how long the disease will be treated after a detailed diagnosis. However, in order to prevent recurrence of exacerbation, a person with such a diagnosis will have to remember the rules of a healthy life throughout his life.