Osteochondrosis is a degenerative bone disease that most commonly affects the spine and knees. This leads primarily to excruciating pain and movement problems. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct complex treatment.
Osteochondrosis - what is it?
It is based on a violation of the enchondral ossification. However, this condition is the result of local ischemia of hyaline cartilage in the metaphyses of the growing bone. This condition is often called juvenile osteochondrosis because it develops in the developing skeletal system.
In patients with osteochondrosis, the cartilage tissue is ischemic, exhausted and thereby dies. The cartilage does not mineralize, but ossifies and then detaches from the bone on which it was formed, as it is not very strong. The separation of cartilage and bone can be due to mechanical factors.
Osteochondrosis can manifest itself in several forms, but patients often have:
- Osteochondrosis of the spine, which in most cases involves the lumbar or cervical spine.
- Osteochondrosis of the knee with stress on the tuberosity of the tibia, which forms the knee joint.
In this article we will pay special attention to osteochondrosis of the cervical spine (SHO).
Osteochondrosis - causes
Osteochondrosis is a disease, the degenerative-dystrophic causes of which largely depend on the form of the disease occurring in a particular patient. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, its development can be the result of a violation of the tension of the structures responsible for stabilizing the spine. The disease can also be caused by a gradual loss of the cushioning properties of the intervertebral discs. Osteochondrosis of the knee usually occurs as a result of an avulsion fracture of the tibial tuberosity. This is an overload caused by an imbalance between the cross section of the muscle, the surface of its insertion and the forces acting on an area that is too small, that is, the tuberosity of the tibia.
Features of osteochondrosis of the neck segment
Osteochondrosis of the cervical segment differs in manifestations from osteochondrosis of the lumbar and thoracic segments.
The neck region contains many blood vessels and nerves, including the vertebral artery, which opens into the spinal canal. Therefore, in osteochondrosis of the cervical segment, when the vertebrae shift, nerve formations appear on the lateral sections (which can irritate the muscles and areas around the ligaments).
When the vertebral artery becomes compressed due to narrowing of the artery (stenosis), the blood supply to the brain stem and cerebellum decreases.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
The symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are caused by the following factors: compression of the roots of the spine (cervical radiculitis), compression of the spinal cord (myelopathy), damage to the spinal cord due to circulatory disorders with stenosis (narrowing) of arteries and veins.
Radicular syndromes (cervical sciatica)
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are associated with compression (compression) of the nerve roots. The pain can start from the neck to the shoulder and spread to the outer surface of the shoulder, forearm, and fingers. It can affect the sensitivity of the skin on the forearm, hand, and fingers.
Spinal artery syndrome
Headache (paroxysmal, persistent, impulsive, which gets worse when the head is turned), dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears.
SHO treatment
In the acute stage, accompanied by severe pain, the local administration of painkillers and corticosteroids is indicated to relieve muscle tension in the motor segment of the vertebrae and to relieve pain.
Combinations of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antispasmodics, analgesics, and vitamins are effective.