The spine is the backbone of a person. He carries the burden of walking. Abrasion occurs more quickly than other parts of the body. A sedentary and sedentary lifestyle exacerbates the situation. The causes of occurrence are unknown, there is a group of risk factors.
Before treating osteochondrosis, you should consult a doctor who will perform an examination and make a diagnosis. If you follow the doctor's instructions, a positive result is guaranteed.
Symptoms of Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is a lesion of the intervertebral discs, characterized by destruction. The disease affects one or more discs. Symptoms and treatment are interrelated. According to the symptoms, the types of the disease are distinguished:
- Pain in arms, shoulders, tinnitus-like headaches, dizziness, colored spots, chills 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. Common species - 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 of the limbs, pain, tingling. An unpleasant manifestation is muscle spasm, stiffness of movement, pain that occurs with sudden movements, sneezing, coughing.
Based on the symptoms, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis, prescribes special procedures for hardware research - x-rays, tomography, MRI. These are ways to make an accurate diagnosis, determining the presence of concomitant diseases - protrusion, intervertebral hernia.
Symptoms usually indicate the later stages of disease development, when surgery is needed. Treatment aims to eliminate pain, stopping the development of the disease.
Conservative treatment
Treatment for the patient is prescribed by the attending physician, a board of doctors in difficult cases. Conservative treatment is widespread - treatment methods from different fields of medicine. Conservative treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine includes recreational activities:
- Therapeutic exercise - restores spinal mobility, disease prevention.
- Manual therapy is a way to relieve muscle spasms, improve blood circulation and metabolic processes.
- Reflexology is a way to relieve muscle spasm, stimulate the production of substances that inhibit inflammatory processes.
- Underwater whirlpool. Water sports unload the spine, heal.
- Traction treatment is a set of techniques that stretch the spine, reducing pressure on discs and nerve endings.
- Ultrasound, laser therapy, electro-, magnet-, vibrostimulation - types of hardware treatment that relieve muscle spasms, improve microcirculation.
- Therapeutic Diet. The diet is selected so that the body receives the necessary vitamins, trace elements.
- Psychotherapy. It promotes a person's faith in recovery, activates the body's internal resources.
- Medical therapy. Taking medication.
It is better to treat osteochondrosis of the spine in a sanatorium. At home, a person faces the problem of organizing time. There is not enough time to follow the instructions, it is not possible to go on a diet on your own, stick to it. Hospital treatment is also not ideal - the lack of orthopedic products in the hospital, appliances, doctors.
Treatment in special centers, sanatoriums is given in full. The duration of treatment is not defined. It will take anywhere from a week to a month to clear up severe symptoms. It will take more than 3 months for rehabilitation, disk restoration.
Many doctors in the complex of procedures prescribe drugs, hardware treatment. Preparations for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine help to cope with exacerbations of the disease. It is justified to take anti-inflammatories with analgesic action, antispasmodics, antioxidants that stimulate microcirculation, contribute to the restoration of nervous and cartilaginous tissues.
When treating only with drugs, they forget about the internal capacities of the body, they treat the patient without it. This is a mistake, a lack of remedy. Conservative methods can improve the patient's condition.
How else to treat osteochondrosis?
If conservative treatment is not enough, surgery is prescribed. Sometimes surgery alone will alleviate the condition. Doctors remove hernias, put new discs in place of worn ones. The rehabilitation period is carried out as usual treatment.
The cost of treating osteochondrosis is compared with cardiovascular disease, flu. To make it cheaper, alternative treatment options are being considered. It is worth buying a device for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine, which relieves pain. Procedures can be carried out at home on their own, with the help of loved ones.
An alternative is traditional medicine. There are many recipes for ointments, decoctions of herbs taken orally, in the form of compresses. Many recipes for different stages, types of diseases.
Self-medication will worsen the patient's condition, so you should consult a doctor before taking the drug. The option of self-treatment is to believe in the cure, to follow the doctor's instructions.
Disease prevention
It is better not to look for a way to treat osteochondrosis of the spine, but to prevent its occurrence. It pays to develop good habits regarding daily routine, nutrition. Preventive actions:
- Morning massages of the back, limbs - rubbing, kneading, performed independently.
- Gymnastics, exercise. It is worth including rocking movements, turns, tilts, jumps in place, push-ups.
- Workplace exercises. If the job involves a long stay in a certain position, it's worth taking five minutes off every hour or two to do some exercises.
- Swimming is a sport that helps to solve problems with the spine.
If the disease managed to develop, then prevention, treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine must be combined, complemented.
An important point is the observance of proper nutrition. It should contain vegetarian dishes, steamed dishes, baked in the oven. The diet should have lots of protein, not mushrooms. Spices, spices are welcome, salt and pickles are excluded. It is not recommended to drink strong tea, coffee, alcohol, abuse sweet and starchy foods. It is worth eating 5-7 times a day. For a day, do not eat more than 2 kg of food, a liter of water. With a lack of vitamins, they are prescribed separately.
An active lifestyle, proper nutrition - the key to the health of the spine, the body. Treatment is difficult, but it will help to eliminate unpleasant pain. If osteochondrosis is diagnosed, 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.