The spine is the backbone of a person. It bears the burden of walking. Wear occurs faster than other parts of the body. A sedentary lifestyle can exacerbate this. The cause is unknown, but there is a set of risk factors.
Before treating osteochondrosis, you should consult a doctor who will perform an examination and make a diagnosis. Positive results are guaranteed if you follow your doctor's instructions.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is a disorder of the intervertebral disc that is characterized by destruction. The disease affects one or more intervertebral discs. Symptoms and treatment are linked. Types of diseases are distinguished based on symptoms:
- Arm, shoulder pain, headache with tinnitus, dizziness, pigmentation, goosebumps in front of cervical osteochondrosis. Occurs in 25% of cases.
- Chest pain, numbness, and pain in the heart, stomach, and other organs are signs of damage to the chest area. 13% of cases are confirmed.
- Pain in the lower back, legs, groin, impaired sensitivity of the lower extremities, pelvic organs - lumbosacral osteochondrosis. Common species - 50% of cases.
- Pain in multiple areas of the spine is a common osteochondrosis.
Pain is considered the determining factor, with numbness, soreness, tingling sensations in the extremities. Unpleasant manifestations are muscle spasms, stiffness of movement, pain that occurs with sudden movement, sneezing, coughing.
Based on the symptoms, the doctor makes an initial diagnosis, prescribing special procedures for hardware research - X-ray, tomography, MRI. These are ways to make an accurate diagnosis, to determine if there is a concomitant disease - herniation, herniation.
When surgery is required, symptoms often indicate later stages of disease development. Treatment is aimed at eliminating pain and stopping the progression of the disease.
Conservative treatment
The patient's treatment is prescribed by the attending physician, a committee of physicians who treat difficult cases. Conservative treatment is common - treatments from different fields of medicine. Conservative management of spinal osteochondrosis includes recreational activities:
- Therapeutic exercise - restores mobility to the spine and prevents disease.
- Manual therapy is a way to relieve muscle spasms and improve blood circulation and metabolic processes.
- Reflexology is a method of relieving muscle spasms and stimulating the production of substances that inhibit the inflammatory process.
- Underwater spa massage. Water sports unload the spine, heal.
- Traction therapy is a group of techniques that stretch the spine and reduce pressure on the discs and nerve endings.
- Ultrasound, laser therapy, electrical, magnetic, vibration stimulation - types of hardware therapy that relieve muscle spasms and improve microcirculation.
- Therapeutic diet. Choose your diet so that your body gets the necessary vitamins, trace elements.
- Psychotherapy. Promotes one's confidence in recovery and activates the body's internal resources.
- medical treatment. take medicine.
Spinal osteochondrosis is best treated in a nursing home. At home, one is faced with scheduling problems. Without enough time to follow the instructions, it is impossible to diet yourself and stick to it. Hospitalization is also not ideal - hospitals, equipment, doctors lack orthopaedic products.
Treatment in special centers and sanatoriums is comprehensive. The duration of treatment is not set. It can take a week to a month to clear up severe symptoms. Repair, recovery disk takes more than 3 months.
Many doctors from complex procedures prescribe medication, hardware treatments. Preparations for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine help to cope with the exacerbation of the disease. It is reasonable to take anti-inflammatory drugs with analgesic effect, antispasmodics, antioxidants that stimulate microcirculation, help the recovery of nerves, cartilage tissue.
When treated with medication alone, they forget the inner capacity of the body and they treat the patient without him. This is a mistake, lack of medicine. A conservative approach can improve the patient's condition.
What else can be done to treat osteochondrosis?
If conservative treatment is not sufficient, surgical treatment is prescribed. Sometimes only surgery can relieve the condition. Doctors remove the hernia and replace the worn disc with a new one. The rehabilitation period is carried out according to the conventional treatment.
Cost of treating osteochondrosis compared to cardiovascular disease, influenza. To make it cheaper, alternative treatment options are being considered. It is worth purchasing equipment for spinal osteochondrosis to reduce pain. You can perform the procedure yourself at home with the help of a loved one.
Another option is traditional medicine. There are many ointment formulations, oral herbal decoctions, in compressed form. Many recipes for different stages, disease types.
Self-administration can make a patient's condition worse, so you should consult your doctor before taking any medication. The option for self-medication is to believe in healing and follow your doctor's instructions.
prevent disease
It is best not to look for a cure for spinal osteochondrosis, but to prevent it from happening. It is worthwhile to develop good habits in daily life and nutrition. Precaution:
- Morning massage of back, extremities - rubbing, kneading, independent.
- Gymnastics, exercise. Worth including swings, turns, leans, jumping in place, pull-ups.
- Exercise in the workplace. If the job requires staying in one position for an extended period of time, it may be worth doing a few exercises for a five-minute distraction every hour or two.
- Swimming is a sport that can help with spinal problems.
If the disease has successfully developed, the prevention and treatment of spinal osteochondrosis should be combined to complement each other.
It is important to observe proper nutrition. It should contain vegetarian dishes, steamed dishes, oven baked. The diet should have lots of protein, not mushrooms. Spices, spices are welcome, salt and pickles are excluded. It is not recommended to drink strong tea, coffee, alcohol, abuse sweets, starchy foods. It is worth eating 5-7 times a day. A day, eat no more than 2 kg of food, a liter of water. They are separated due to lack of vitamins.
An active lifestyle, proper nutrition - the keys to a healthy spine and body. Treatment is difficult, but it helps eliminate unpleasant pain. If osteochondrosis is diagnosed, you will have to change your lifestyle forever.
This article was written for general education development. In order to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment, be sure to consult your doctor.