In medicine, there are many diseases that people suffer from due to the natural structure of the body. Almost every person on earth has spinal problems to a greater or lesser extent. This is due to the crazy rhythm of life in which an increasingly younger generation begins to live.
Chondrosis of the chest is one of the ailments that everyone should know about. If you notice health problems in a timely manner, serious complications can be avoided. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with the symptoms and treatment methods of this pathology.
What is a disease?
Chondrosis of the chest (or rather, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine) is a degenerative-dystrophic disease, during which certain changes occur, affecting the intervertebral discs located in the sternum. This kind of ailment is relatively rare when compared with other pathologies of a similar type.
The disease is due to the fact that the thoracic spine is characterized by low mobility. This greatly reduces the risk of injury and possible deformation of the discs. The skeleton and muscles of a person allow you to properly distribute the load on the chest and back. In addition, the spine is slightly curved in the sternum, due to which strong tension is transmitted to the lateral and front sections.
However, if a person suffers from poor posture (most of the population), this leads to thoracic chondrosis and other pathologies. If we talk about the features of this ailment, then it is very difficult to diagnose on your own, since the symptoms can manifest in different ways, depending on many conditions.
Features of the disease
When the first symptoms of chondrosis of the thoracic spine are manifested, patients often confuse this ailment with angina pectoris. To more accurately determine the presence of problems, it is necessary to visit a vertebrologist.
Like any other pathology, chondrosis should be treated immediately. If the patient complains of numbness of the hands and pain in the area of the shoulder blades or in the right hypochondrium, then you should not postpone the visit to the specialist.
Thoracic chondrosis develops in several stages, the duration of each of them depends on the individual characteristics of the patient's body. In total, there are 4 stages of pathology, differing in their symptoms, clinical manifestations.
First stage
At this stage, the intervertebral discs begin to drastically lose water. Because of this, they become less resilient and resilient. However, there is no serious damage, and even experiencing serious stress, a person may not notice problems. Gradually, the intervertebral disc begins to flatten, its height decreases.
Already at the first stage, the doctor can identify the symptoms of chondrosis of the thoracic spine, and treatment will give better results. During this period, the formation of protrusions begins. Patients experience focal pain syndromes. This means that pain appears only in the place where there is a damaged vertebra. The pain is constant, sometimes with backache. In rare cases, patients complain of heart pain, uncontrolled muscle contraction (cramps) occurs.
The subsequent development of the disease
The second stage of thoracic chondrosis is characterized by cracks that begin to spread along the fibrous ring. During this period, an unstable state of the vertebral segment is observed. Patients begin to experience pain when moving. A long stay in one position brings great discomfort.
Also among the symptoms of breast chondrosis, characteristic of the second stage of the disease, it is worth highlighting the appearance of subluxations. In this case, patients have additional symptoms. They suffer from discomfort, weakness, intercostal pain. At the same time, pain is localized not only in the chest area, but can also spread to the limbs.
The danger of subluxations is that they do not always occur immediately. In some cases, they become noticeable when the ailment has moved into a more serious phase.
3rd stage
At this stage, it is almost impossible not to notice the presence of an ailment. The third stage of chest chondrosis is manifested in the form of a rupture of the fibrous ring. This leads to the formation of a hernia in the intervertebral disc region. In this case, patients experience very severe pain. Signs of a malfunction of other organs may appear.
For the third stage of development of the disease, disorders of the muscular-tonic and neurovascular type are characteristic. Scoliosis forms (in some cases, kyphosis). Because of this, there is a violation of the mobility of the spinal column. All these symptoms of chondrosis of the thoracic region suggest that the spine is gradually starting to lose the necessary fixation.
The final stage of the development of the disease
In the fourth stage, the disease progresses and there is a strong weakening of the intervertebral cartilage. Vertebrae located around the damaged vertebral segment begin to approach due to the fact that the usual cartilage resistance does not occur. A similar condition leads to deformation of the intervertebral joints and the development of spondylarthrosis.
At this stage, the human body is forced to compensate for lost functions. This leads to an increase in the width of the damaged vertebrae. Due to this, there is an increase in their area. At the fourth stage of the disease, tissue that is destroyed in the fibrous ring is replaced. It turns into bone material.
If we talk about symptoms, then at this stage, patients do not suffer from severe pain. Many note an improvement. However, this does not last long. After some time, a person notes the appearance of a restriction of mobility. This is because the damaged area of the spine gradually begins to ossify.
Symptoms
Treatment of thoracic chondrosis should be started immediately, as soon as the patient develops characteristic pain. However, it is worth learning to distinguish the first manifestations of the disease from the symptoms of other diseases. If we are talking about osteochondrosis of the chest, then in this case, immediately after an attack of severe pain, numbness of the chest will be noted, which gradually passes into the left arm.
It is worth considering that pain can occur in the normal position of the human body. You should also be wary if the pain syndrome is accompanied by a sensation of an unpleasant burning sensation in the sternum. In this case, an unpleasant syndrome is also observed in the heart, stomach, liver, and in some situations even in the kidney area. This is because the ailment is able to disguise itself as other pathologies.
As a rule, with the development of chondrosis of this type, pain is felt most acutely with a sharp tilt or a strong breath. Most often, exacerbation of symptoms is observed at night.
In addition to pain, patients complain of:
- The reduced mobility of the spinal column in the sternum.
- Goosebumps observed throughout the body.
- Reduced sensitivity. In this case, a person may not notice an increase in body temperature.
- Disorders of motor activity.
Other features of the course of the disease
In some situations, with the occurrence of chondrosis of the chest, a gastrological syndrome is noted. Very often this leads to incorrect diagnosis, as doctors believe that the patient suffers from problems associated with disruption of the digestive tract. As a rule, patients come to the gastroenterologist with complaints of severe pain in the epigastric region. Usually unpleasant sensations increase in the evening or after intense physical exertion. After resting, the patient notes a significant improvement.
However, it must be understood that, in contrast to gastritis and peptic ulcer, chondrosis does not occur seasonally or depending on the food consumed. Only these features help to distinguish these two ailments and correctly diagnose the disease.
It is also worth noting that during the development of osteochondrosis, the lesions affect the area of the 7-11th vertebra. Pain (strong, aching or paroxysmal) can spread to the area under the right rib.
Diagnostics
Since the symptoms of this ailment are very much reminiscent of signs of similar diseases, the use of high-precision hardware is necessary to accurately determine chondrosis. However, a standard examination by a vertebrologist is first performed. Thanks to the preliminary examination, it is possible to clarify in which particular area the pain center is localized. It is also important to study the patient’s medical history and exclude the possibility that he suffers from a hereditary illness.
The next stage of diagnosis requires additional research. First of all, CT is performed. Thanks to computed tomography, the doctor receives an accurate three-dimensional image, on which all problem areas are clearly visible. MRI may also be required. In this case, the picture will be layered. An ultrasound scan (ultrasound) will also be helpful.
Features of the treatment of chondrosis of the thoracic spine
First of all, it is worth understanding that it is impossible to completely get rid of this ailment, since this pathology refers to degenerative processes. This means that during the course of the disease, vertebral discs are destroyed. These negative processes lead to a violation of the biomechanics of not only the spine, but also the entire skeleton. Against this background, a person begins to suffer from a mass of neurological disorders.
Therefore, therapy should be comprehensive. This means that it is important not only to stop the process of destruction of the spinal discs, but also to try to restore their structure as much as possible. It is also necessary to take measures to restore the biochemistry of the spine. Additionally, measures are being taken to restore the nervous system.
Drug treatment
The main objective of this type of therapeutic measure is to eliminate the pain syndrome, which plays a key role in the development of pathology. If there is a displacement of the spinal disc, then this leads to compression of the nerve root. This is what causes severe pain. Due to the resulting spasms, biomechanics of the spine are disturbed.
If we talk about medicines, then, as a rule, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to treat breast chondrosis. Such drugs can relieve inflammation and reduce pain. However, these agents have a wide range of side effects.
Glucocorticosteroids and steroids are also used. These drugs can also not be called safe for humans. For example, glucocorticosteroids can trigger the development of gastric ulcer, diabetes mellitus (steroid type), increased blood pressure and other serious disorders in the functioning of body systems.
Some people prefer safer remedies. For example, vitamins of group B, thioctonic acid and other drugs are used to improve the metabolism of nerve tissues. However, you need to understand that the effectiveness of such treatment has not been proven and has not yet received any confirmation, therefore, when talking about how to treat breast chondrosis, it is better to give preference to drugs of a different type.
Local treatment
In this case, we are talking about a variety of ointments, gels and creams. It’s worth saying right away that funds of this type are ineffective. Since the affected vertebral disc is hidden under the costal skeleton, the likelihood that the drug can reach it is virtually eliminated.
Doctors use these drugs only as a placebo. This allows patients to escape from pain.
Non-drug treatment
Massage is a fairly effective tool that at the same time improves the patient's condition, but does not seriously harm his health. With the help of this treatment, it is possible to relax the back muscles and restore the biomechanics of the damaged spine. However, only a qualified technician can perform these procedures.