Osteochondrosis is a disease that affects not only the elderly, but also the young. Most often found in those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. This disease affects the spine, and more specifically its different departments. It occurs due to improper metabolism and is dystrophic for intervertebral discs. They undergo degeneration, lose their elasticity and plasticity. Disks can grow together, and insufficient depreciation occurs.
Features of the disease
The disease affects various areas of the human skeleton. At first, it does not manifest itself in any way, but over time, a pain syndrome occurs. It is accompanied by inflammation of the area that is affected.
Osteochondrosis is manifested in such areas of the spine as:
- cervical spine;
- thoracic region;
- lumbar
- shoulder girdle;
- lower and upper limbs.
Sometimes pain is localized in the heart. These may be false symptoms of heart disease. In fact, such pain may indicate osteochondrosis. Also, this disease is today considered a disease of the century. Its treatment is difficult due to the late manifestations of pain symptoms. Prevention of the disease are constant exercises from osteochondrosis.
Signs of osteochondrosis
As mentioned earlier, the disease affects not only the elderly, but also young people. It follows that the correct diagnosis and diagnosis will help to avoid a large number of problems. But it is very important to monitor your body yourself and listen to the various signals that it gives. The disease is fraught with many dangers. At first glance, it seems that only the intervertebral discs and cartilage are deformed, but this is not so. With the development of the disease, vertebrae also undergo very strong changes, thereby completely depriving the affected area of mobility. The intervertebral discs fuse together, change and pinch the nerve endings that lead to the brain.
Osteochondrosis brings not only discomfort and pain, but also affects the general well-being of the patient. The main symptoms of the disease include:
- frequent dizziness;
- back pain;
- fatigue and pain in the muscles of the back;
- crunch of the vertebrae with body movement;
- numbness of the lower and upper limbs;
- goosebumps that appear for no apparent reason;
- severe headaches;
- feeling of cold in the arms and legs;
- muscle cramps.
All of the listed symptoms are only a small part of the disease. If you do not start performing exercises from osteochondrosis in time, the disease can worsen, and the symptoms will become much brighter.
Causes of the disease
To date, there are several main causes of this disease. People who are constantly faced with stress and stress already automatically fall into the “risk group” of this disease. Also affected by this disease are people who have:
- There are a variety of spinal injuries.
- Improper posture.
- Are exposed to strong physical exertion.
- Smokers.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- The load on the spine due to constant vibration (drivers).
- Strong emotional shocks and stress.
- Diseases associated with the endocrine system, as well as somatic.
- Hormonal disorders in the body.
- Improper and irrational nutrition, in which the body does not receive enough vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
And this is only a small part of those factors that can contribute to the occurrence of osteochondrosis.
Treatment and prevention of spinal disease
Treatment consists of several stages. At the first sign of back discomfort, it is recommended that you immediately consult a specialist. He will help establish the cause and give recommendations on the further course and disposal of the disease.
The first stage is a medical one. The doctor will prescribe special drugs that will help relieve inflammation and restore cartilage. Next is a set of exercise therapy exercises that restore spinal mobility. Massages and manual therapy are also prescribed. In especially difficult cases, experts recommend surgical intervention.
One of the main factors in the prevention of spinal disease is a properly equipped berth. The mattress on which the patient rests should be rigid, preferably with an orthopedic base. Also, there are important preventive exercises for osteochondrosis. If you deal with it in a complex, then the disease will not only cease to progress, but the functionality of the vertebrae will also improve.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae
Specialists identify several dangerous parts of the spine that affect osteochondrosis. And the cervical spine belongs to them. The reasons for this are obvious, since in this area there are the largest arteries that provide nutrition to all internal organs. The vessels and nerve fibers that feed and supply nerve impulses to the brain are also very close. And this can lead to very serious problems and, in turn, to complications. Sometimes, against the background of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, mental illness and a variety of depressive states can develop. Also common symptoms that a person has osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are:
- headaches in the occipital area;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- increase in blood pressure.
How to do gymnastics?
The disease affects young people aged twenty-five years. It all depends on whether the person is at risk. Experts say that the best prevention of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a complex of therapeutic exercises. It is perfect for preventive procedures and restores neck mobility. But it is important to adhere to the rules when doing gymnastics:
- Exercises from osteochondrosis are performed only during the period of remission.
- Pain during exercise should be absent.
- All actions are done very measuredly and without sharpness.
- You should always keep your posture and remember that the correctness of the exercises depends only on it.
- Gymnastics is performed strictly on time, it is recommended to allocate fifteen minutes to a group of exercises.
Given all these rules, it is recommended to realize that before giving the body physical activity, it is necessary to consult a specialist.
Cervical Exercises
The disease has several forms: acute and chronic. In acute form, in order to remove the pain symptom, you need to do everything slowly and consistently. Sharp movements are not allowed. A set of exercises:
- Standing or sitting body position. Hands are located along the body. It is necessary to produce neck movements alternately in different directions. The chin is on the same line, where the shoulders are.
- The position of the body is the original. The head moves forward, touching the chin of the chest. The neck is slightly springy.
- The next exercise, the pose is the same. The chin is slowly pulled back, provided that the head remains flat.
All this neck exercise is repeated ten times. In the chronic form, the exercises are somewhat modified.
Exercises for the chronic form of cervical osteochondrosis
Exercises must be done very slowly and carefully. Additional loads, on the contrary, will bring even greater damage.
Exercises:
- Body position while sitting or standing. With a palm with a gradual load, press on the forehead. In this case, the hand should give resistance to the head.
- A continuation of this exercise is that the hand moves to the temporal zone and presses on the head towards the shoulder.
- The last exercise is to slowly and symmetrically lift and relax your shoulders. The shoulders are raised up and down. At the top, they are tense, when lowering them, you need to slowly relax them.
Such neck exercises help relieve pain and stimulate blood circulation in the intervertebral discs.
Exercise therapy for breast osteochondrosis
Thoracic osteochondrosis is one of the problematic in the treatment and prevention. Since the rib cage with the ribs creates a very rigid corset and is almost motionless, it is difficult to get to such vertebrae. There are a number of exercises that the exercise therapy doctor recommends for the prevention of the disease in the chest:
- Starting position - standing. It is required to slowly lean forward, while the back should be flat. When the body remains at floor level, the head needs to be thrown back and the shoulder blades are reduced. Lock in position for several minutes.
- Standing and straightening your posture, you need to take turns to raise your shoulders. Exercise is performed ten times on one shoulder.
- In a sitting position with a flat back, put one arm over the shoulder behind the back, the other through the lower back. Hands hold together in a lock and slowly bend over. After the position of the hands changes. Exercise to perform fifteen times on one side.
Gymnastics for osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine
The lumbosacral spine also suffers from a disease such as osteochondrosis. In general, the occurrence of the disease can provoke severe physical exertion. Usually a person does not control when lifting heavy objects. And so the whole load falls on the lower back. Therapeutic exercises of the lumbar spine will improve the back performance and help to avoid complications. Exercise is recommended to be performed slowly and smoothly, without sudden movements.
- From a standing position it is required to do slow inclinations back and forth. 15 approaches in two directions.
- Starting position on all fours. In turn and very slowly should arch and arch the back.
- Remaining in the same position, place one hand behind your back and slowly turn the body sideways. After changing your hand and doing the same.
- Lie on your back, the surface should be solid. Place your hands behind your head and slowly stretch your spine.
Contraindications
Gymnastics with osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, cervical and thoracic has its own contraindications. First of all, you can not perform exercises with exacerbation of the disease. It is also worth abandoning exercise therapy if acute pain bothers and is accompanied by other complications.
It is not recommended to do gymnastics in acute respiratory infections, inflammatory processes or recent diseases. The body at such moments is still very weak, and physical activity will not allow it to fully recover. And this greatly affects the immune system. It should be remembered that before any physical exercise, the exercise therapy doctor should do a full examination and give recommendations.