All the signs and symptoms of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine

In this article, a detailed look at all the signs and symptoms of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. Osteochondrosis is a degenerative destruction of the vertebral discs and the vertebrae themselves with degenerative manifestations.

However, due to the violation of the integrity of the intervertebral component, things are more terrible pathology, a hernia and protrusion, even bone destruction.

What is osteochondrosis

You need to remember that the process of destruction of the vertebrae and discs is irreversible and to bring back the original performance will not work. All you can do is slow the process of destruction.

Cervical osteochondrosis is far more dangerous than, as in this spine, there is a huge number of nerve fibers and blood vessels are functioning directly with the head brain and body in General. The vertebrae in the cervical region are very closely Yes friend that is also a danger.

Any squeezing of the nerve endings, arteries, blood vessels, disrupts the blood supply and nutrition of the whole organism, which leads to the phenomenon of the emergence of a number of symptoms.

Symptoms

Cervical osteochondrosis can not be disassembled, due to the similarity with other pathologies. And at the initial stage, you can even take it for normal fatigue or overexertion. And often the diagnoses are false. When diagnostics are important to determine which nerve branches are clamped, because maybe the brain is suffering the hell of lack of circulation.

Common manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis are as follows:

• Headache. This is the first and sustained symptom. With the development of the disease, pain is worse. The pain is similar to migraine, but docked painkillers. Of course, if you run the disease, the painkillers no longer work. Mostly people feel pulsation in the temporal and occipital region. Found and parietal locations.
• Weakness in the arms. It is considered a sign of damage to the nerve branch responsible for the regulation of innervation of the upper limbs. Defeat can be very strong, even paralysis.
• The difficulties of mobility, the phenomenon of the appearance of crunch. With cervical degenerative disc disease is often difficult to turn your head. Also limited the movement of the head forward and backward. And in this case accompanied by a crunch of joints.
• Numbness in the hands or on other parts of the whole. Hands or fingers may lose sensitivity. If you do not treat low back pain, numbness intensifies even full or partial paralysis of the entire whole. Depends on the area of lesion of ad which nerve endings are damaged.
• The deterioration of hearing and vision. Hours when this phenomenon is the sense of numbness of tongue and lips, flashing "flies" before the eyes, blurring of objects. Lose affects these organs because of the proximity to each other and Yes the lack of oxygen in the brain.
• The lack of air. Phenomenon is when lesions of cervical are often due to irritation of the phrenic nerve. The patient can not breathe, feels shortness of breath and dyspnea, phenomenon is the snoring. The result is hypoxia, constant fatigue, loss of memory, attention, weakness and malaise.
• Dizziness. Very unpleasant symptom that disrupts the coordination of movements. Hours accompanied by nausea, fainting, noises in the ears. Feel the vibrations of the floor under his feet. Appears when oxygen starvation of the brain due to dysfunction of blood vessels and arteries.

Reasons

A lot of them. Yes, this hour didn't eat appeared clear opinion why low back pain affects a particular area of the spine. Hello, the factors are well known.

Lifestyle

The most common cause phenomenon of phenomenon of cervical degenerative disc disease. Because the modern man doesn't move. The model of society and social behaviour is changing, progress is not in place and low back pain more and more "younger".

In this group include:

• sedentary lifestyle — lack of exercise;
• poor diet and excess weight;
• permanent strained or awkward position (common among drivers and office workers);
• the lack of stress on the spine, which weakens the muscular corset;
• on the contrary, too much load on the spine is torn off.

Injury

In injuries of the spine, in 90% of cases suffering from cervical. Often violations are discovered, but hours for the development of the disease requires hours.

Disruption in the hormonal

For this reason, can suffer not only the elderly, but also young, during the restructuring of the whole organism. It is worth noting that in this case, the disease is preventable and treatable.

If to speak about menopause in women and hormonal diseases, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, treatment is symptomatic.

Genetic predisposition

This factor of the phenomenon is more related, because genetics are not the reason for the development of the disease. Hello, it affects the phenomena of the emergence of other reasons.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

This – scoliosis, bad posture.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis can be established only by a doctor. When phenomena Alen the first symptoms of osteoarthritis, be sure to consult with a specialist. Diagnosis is carried out by several methods.

For example, apply to:

• CT (computed tomography);
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging);
• dopplerographic study of the blood vessels;
• x – ray is often used app detection of the disease.

Each method is effective at a certain stage of development of osteochondrosis. For example, radiography will not be informative at early stages of pathology.

In severe disease, which is accompanied by disturbance of sensation, paralysis and fainting, held Doppler.

Hell of a period diagnosis depends on the success of the treatment. What he used, the more likely the minimum disruption of the spine.

The stage of the disease

To distinguish between 4 stages of development of osteochondrosis.

1. Phenomena are pain in the neck, the neck area on palpation. Thus react to the affected nerve branches. The pain is worse when moving the head, often when cornering. While at this stage the spine is intact, wonder intervertebral space.
2. Characterized by pain shooting character, radiating to the arm or shoulder that occurs when moving the head. Pain similar to a migraine. Develops insomnia. At this stage of the disease the vertebral disks begin to change destructive.
3. The pain becomes constant, amplifying. Phenomenon is the numbness and stiffness of the limbs, head movements difficult. In the hands of the increasingly felt weakness. Suffers from attention and memory. The intervertebral discs have been broken on them cracks, and joint capsule bulges. The formation of a herniated disc.
4. Complete destruction of not only disks but also of the vertebrae. The bone was also destroyed. At this stage, surgical intervention is necessary, because the phenomena which came hernia phenomena are a consequence of the paralysis of not only them, but all intact.

It is believed that low back pain can be treated at home only on the first two stages. The third requires a more professional observation and treatment under the supervision of a neurologist or vertebrologist.

Treatment at home

Is it worth mentioning that the treatment even at the first stage without consulting a doctor should not be pursued. Still, for the diagnosis of cervical degenerative disc disease in addition to advice necessary to make a diagnosis and examinations. Because low back pain may be masked under another more serious etnia pathology associated with heart failure.

If the diagnosis is wrong, then the treatment will be designed late. The consequences can be terrible – cerebral ischemia, stroke, spinal nerve compression, and other diseases that threaten the patient's life.

At home treatment consists of:

1. drug therapy;
2. massage;
3. of medical gymnastics.

A very important choice and treatment in a comprehensive manner. Otherwise the result may not be or will be but temporary.

Medication

The appointment and use of drugs necessary for the relief of severe pain, the mobilization of the disease, relieving symptoms.

Drugs can be administered different directions:

• which reduce pressure and improve brain function – the so-called neuro-protectors. They are large group of medical drugs;
• which improve eyesight;
• prevent phenomena lenny numbness, or to relieve the muscle spasm – muscle relaxants;
• anti-inflammatory –;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory – reduce inflammation about the pain in the acute phase. They are available not only in tablets but also in capsules, ointments and solutions for injections. Not intended for prolonged use due to the hard impact on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract;
• b vitamins (B1, B6, B12). Help to restore the health of the brain and nervous system. Responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses.

Vitamins can be taken in pill form or injections under the scheme. The second option allows for much better effect;

Chondroprotectors occupy a special place. Are drugs invented to improved nutrition of the intervertebral cartilage, which slows their dystrophic and degenerative changes. Effective only on the first two stages.

Massage

It phenomena is an integral part of treatment. Traditional massage on the advice of experts should be held courses every six months. Today, there are a lot of methods of treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical area and there are plenty to choose from.

For example, the practice of manual techniques that are proven and that give good result in treatment.

Recently, the phenomenon which was the direction of osteopathy, is very interesting, because considering the human body as a single unit with the skeletal system, mental and nervous. They are all one. The treatment is carried out by hand.

Acupuncture also phenomena is a good solution, subject to its experienced team.

Hirudotherapy or leech therapy for effectiveness is on a par with acupuncture.

Gymnastics

We already talked about the fact that one of the factors that influence the development of osteochondrosis of the phenomenon is the low physical load on the back muscles. In our days we most of the time we spend in a seated position without changing your posture, which can be quite uncomfortable.

Important information! You cannot perform exercises during acute pain.

To maintain and strengthen the muscular system need daily to follow the ten simple exercises. They are particularly relevant at the initial manifestations of the disease.

1. Starting position – standing, bare shoulder width apart, stomach in, and shoulders back. From this position raise the arms out to the sides and up, connecting at the top with subsequent abstraction ago. Feel how the blades are connected. After that, the position a is aligned. So retry 7 times.
2. Yip, same thing. Okay, hang on as hard as you can to the elbows looking forward. Then move the hands back so that the palms touched elbows. Do not forget to constantly suck in her stomach. Repeat up to 10 times.
3. Better this exercise to perform while standing, but if it is difficult or phenomenon appeared dizziness, a sitting position. Keep your neck straight, and shoulders straighten. The head should turn left and get the chin and shoulder without lifting it. The same in the other direction. The exercise is done alternately and repeat like 5 times.
4. Similar to exercise # 3, only the head does tilt forward and back at a very slow pace.
5. Slowly and carefully, make a semicircle with the head tilted forward hell the left shoulder and right and back. Attention! It is impossible to make a circular motion, only a semicircle!
6. IP – standing. Is clenched fists and propping up his chin. Press the chin on your hands for 5 seconds, then, change the position on the occipital region. Very effective exercise for training the muscles of the neck. Repeat 4 times.
7. Seated hands rest on her hips, and the head is tilted more forward. Ideal is the situation when the chin rests on the chest. In this perspective, rotate your head left then right. It is important that the entire hour chin touched his chest. Repeat up to 10 times.
8. Need a chair with a low back. Be good if this exercise is performed at least 4 times. Shoulders straightened. The task is to try to look at the wall behind him.
9. Sitting on the chair. Hands between his knees. Inhale – tilt to the side. Exhale – straight position. Will alternate left and right so 7 times.
10. Exercise on the belly. Lying down need to bend up, trying to fix a as possible and longer. Repeat 6 times.

The complex is only done at a convenient time and gradually increase the number of repetitions.

Folk remedies

Treatment of folk remedies phenomenon is more activities aimed at warming the patient zone. Hello, here you need to be wary of such practices, as the neck is in great proximity and brain. And so, instead of heal, can harm.

In the treatment of folk recipes, it is better to choose with a softer impact, preventing serious iznaga irritation.

Recipes:

• Ointment Ada's grandmother. Does ed and camphor 10 ml, analgin – 10 tablets, crushed, alcohol – 300 ml All mixed and neck smeared with a thin layer overnight.
• Potato poultice of grated potatoes and honey. Superimposed on the night.
• Compress the hell. Fresh leaves of horseradish are processed over the steam and superimposed on the neck as a compress for 15 minutes.
• A compress of aloe. Taken 1 part of the leaves of aloe ground is added to 2 parts honey and 3 parts of alcohol of the product. The mixture should stand for 12 hours. Compress is applied for 15 minutes maximum.