Osteochondrosis is almost inevitable for a modern person with his static lifestyle. It overtakes every second and entails a bunch of concomitant diseases. In 80% of cases of pain in the back, neck and head are signs of osteochondrosis.
What is this punishment and how to live with it?
"We creak a little bit!" - Older people often talk about themselves. You can’t argue with this: with age all bones, all vertebrae begin to “creak” (crunch), sometimes you won’t even turn your head without a crunch. These are all signs of osteochondrosis, which over time deforms the intervertebral cartilage more and more, depriving them of mobility. But it would be a mistake to consider this ailment as a problem exclusively for the spine. It is obvious that it affects almost all organs and parts of the body.
Constant headaches, tinnitus are the consequences of osteochondrosis, which disrupts cerebral circulation, causing a narrowing of the vessels of the brain. Continuous tinnitus, especially at night, darkening in the eyes, sudden dizziness, and sometimes loss of consciousness can speak of this problem.
Absolutely everyone who suffers from this disease knows the expression “cervical migraine”. These are pulling pains from the surface of the shoulders and neck to the occipital and parietal parts of the head. The cause of this is most often a lesion of the vertebral artery against the background of osteochondrosis.
As for the spine, this is the "tree of life" of a person, and all internal organs are connected with it: kidneys, liver, stomach, heart, as well as sensory organs: eyes, ears. Any malfunctions in any of the listed systems can be signs of osteochondrosis. Not to mention how detrimental this disease affects the state of the limbs: a person is pursued by numbness of the hands and feet, a gradual decrease in the mobility of the hands, painful crunch in the shoulder and elbow joints.
Are there any effective treatments for osteochondrosis?
Unfortunately, we have to admit that today, for the most part, symptomatic treatment is advertised and given out as a panacea , that is, all kinds of painkillers and ointments that relieve pain. The methods of treatment largely depend on the source of the disease, on the features of its course, on its localization. Osteochondrosis, as you know, can be of different types: lumbar, cervical, thoracic, etc. If a young person gets sick (today this is very common), the cause may be a sedentary lifestyle, infections, injuries, rheumatism, heredity. In most cases, treatment started on time, based on physical activity, and special treatment exercises for osteochondrosis bring good results.
Another thing is age-related deformation of the bone tissue of the vertebrae. Alas, this is more difficult to deal with. Especially when it comes to a diagnosis such as a hernia of the intervertebral disc. Of course, this does not mean that treatment does not make sense. You can always alleviate the condition, albeit at the cost of great efforts. But first you need to go through a comprehensive check, because the signs of osteochondrosis can talk about different manifestations of the disease and its different localization. MRI, computed tomography, encephalogram, x-ray images - this is not a complete list of recommended diagnostic procedures. Based on a detailed examination, a neuropathologist can prescribe treatment: drug therapy, physiotherapy exercises, etc.
Often, the doctor recommends that the patient wear a special orthopedic corset, which greatly alleviates pain in the lumbar or cervical region.
Precautionary measures
This is the case when self-medication can be fraught with serious complications. In particular, when it comes to back pain. Many, unaware of the presence of a hernia of the intervertebral discs, without examination, make an appointment with a familiar masseur or manual therapist, for whom the healing process is a profitable business. Needless to say, what consequences may result from the manipulations of a self-taught massage therapist or homegrown manual technician who is poorly versed in active acupuncture points. No need to make yourself worse - this is the main advice. And one more tip - do not wait until the pain in osteochondrosis goes away by itself. Will not pass. One needs to take oneself seriously so that life does not become continuous misery.