The spine is the support of a person.Supports the load when walking.Abrasion occurs faster than in other parts of the body.A sedentary and sedentary lifestyle aggravates the situation.The causes are unknown;There is a group of risk factors.
Before treating osteochondrosis, you should consult a doctor who will conduct an examination and make a diagnosis.If you follow the doctor's instructions, a positive result is guaranteed.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is an injury to the intervertebral discs, characterized by their destruction.The disease affects one or more discs.Symptoms and treatment are interrelated.Depending on the symptoms, the types of disease are distinguished:
- Pain in the arms, shoulders, headaches with the appearance of tinnitus, dizziness, color spots, goosebumps before the eyes with cervical osteochondrosis.It occurs in 25% of cases.
- Chest pain, numbness, pain in the heart, stomach and other organs are signs of damage to the thoracic region.Diagnosed in 13% of cases.
- Pain in the lower back, legs, groin, impaired sensitivity of the lower extremities, pelvic organs: osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region.A common type: 50% of cases.
- Pain in various parts of the spine is a common osteochondrosis.
Pain is considered the determining factor;there is a feeling of numbness in the extremities, pain and tingling.An unpleasant manifestation is muscle spasm, stiffness of movement, pain that arises with sudden movements, sneezing, coughing.
Based on the symptoms, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis and prescribes special procedures for hardware examination: x-rays, tomography, MRI.These are ways to make an accurate diagnosis and determine the presence of concomitant diseases: protrusion, intervertebral hernia.
Symptoms often indicate late stages of the disease, when surgical intervention is required.Treatment aims to eliminate pain and stop the progression of the disease.
Conservative treatment
The patient's treatment is prescribed by the attending physician or, in difficult cases, a council of doctors.Conservative treatment is widespread: treatment methods from different fields of medicine.Conservative treatment of spinal osteochondrosis includes health measures:
- Therapeutic exercise: restores spinal mobility, prevents diseases.
- Manual therapy is a way to relieve muscle spasms, improve blood circulation and metabolic processes.
- Reflexology is a way to relieve muscle spasms and stimulate the production of substances that inhibit inflammatory processes.
- Underwater hydromassage.Water sports relieve stress on the spine and improve health.
- Traction treatment is a set of techniques that stretch the spine, reducing pressure on the discs and nerve endings.
- Ultrasound, laser therapy, electrical, magnetic and vibration stimulation are types of hardware treatment that relieve muscle spasms and improve microcirculation.
- Therapeutic diet.The diet is selected so that the body receives the necessary vitamins and microelements.
- Psychotherapy.Promotes a person's faith in recovery, activates the body's internal resources.
- Drug therapy.Taking medications.
It is better to treat spinal osteochondrosis in a sanatorium.At home, a person faces the problem of organizing time.There is not enough time to follow the instructions;It is impossible to create a diet on your own and follow it.Hospital treatment is also imperfect: there is a shortage of orthopedic products in the hospital, of equipment and of doctors.
Treatment in special centers and sanatoriums is provided in full.The duration of treatment cannot be determined.Severe symptoms will take between a week and a month to disappear.Rehabilitation and restoration of the disc will take more than 3 months.
Many doctors prescribe medications and hardware treatments as part of a variety of procedures.Medications for the treatment of spinal osteochondrosis help to cope with exacerbations of the disease.It is justified to take anti-inflammatories with an analgesic effect, antispasmodics, antioxidants that stimulate microcirculation and promote the restoration of nervous and cartilaginous tissues.
By treating only with medicines, they forget about the internal capabilities of the body and treat the patient without it.This is a mistake, a lack of medicine.Conservative methods can improve the patient's condition.
How else to treat osteochondrosis?
If conservative treatment is not sufficient, surgery is prescribed.Sometimes only surgery will relieve the condition.Doctors remove hernias and install new discs to replace worn ones.The rehabilitation period is carried out as usual treatment.
The cost of treating osteochondrosis is compared to that of cardiovascular diseases and the flu.To make it cheaper, alternative treatment options are being considered.It is worth purchasing a device for the treatment of spinal osteochondrosis, which relieves pain.The procedures can be carried out at home independently, with the help of loved ones.
An alternative option is traditional medicine.There are many recipes for ointments and herbal decoctions that are taken orally in the form of compresses.There are many recipes for different stages and types of diseases.
Self-medication will worsen the patient's condition, so it is advisable to consult a doctor before taking the medication.One option for self-medication is to believe in a cure and follow your doctor's orders.
Disease prevention
It is better not to look for a way to treat spinal osteochondrosis, but to prevent its occurrence.It is worth developing useful habits in terms of daily routine and nutrition.Preventive measures:
- Morning massages of the back and extremities: rubbing, kneading, performed independently.
- Gymnastics, exercises.It is worth including swinging movements, twists, push-ups, jumping in place and pull-ups.
- Training in the workplace.If your job involves staying in a certain position for a long time, you should take a five-minute break every hour or two to do a couple of exercises.
- Swimming is a sport that helps solve spinal problems.
If the disease has already developed, prevention and treatment of spinal osteochondrosis should be combined and complement each other.
An important point is to maintain proper nutrition.It should contain vegetarian dishes, steamed dishes, baked in the oven.The diet should contain a lot of protein, not mushrooms.Herbs and spices are acceptable, salt and pickles are excluded.It is not recommended to drink strong tea, coffee, alcohol or abuse sweets and flours.You should eat 5 to 7 times a day.Eat no more than 2 kg of food and a liter of water per day.If vitamins are missing, they are prescribed separately.
An active lifestyle and proper nutrition are the key to a healthy spine and body.The treatment is complex, but it will help eliminate unpleasant pain.If you are diagnosed with osteochondrosis, you will have to change your lifestyle forever.
The article was written for general educational development.To establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment, be sure to consult a doctor.