Damage to the thoracic spine is often confused with pathology of internal organs. The lungs, the heart, the mammary glands and the stomach located here can also cause pain in this area. For this reason, it is often difficult for doctors to diagnose osteochondrosis of the thoracic region: the symptoms in women are confused with mastopathy.
Breast osteochondrosis – symptoms and sensations
First of all, it should be noted that osteochondrosis is the most common pathology of the spine. It is naturally a degenerative, dystrophic lesion of the intervertebral discs between the vertebrae. Such processes lead to irreversible changes in the vertebral structure, which affect the functionality of the entire spine.
Due to the dense innervation and the presence of a large number of nerve roots, patients with osteochondrosis experience severe, stabbing pain. At the same time, their nature and intensity can change. This complicates the diagnostic process: to differentiate thoracic osteochondrosis, symptoms and sensations in women are analyzed, excluding pathologies of the mammary glands, heart and stomach.
The first signs of osteochondrosis in women
Of all the possible signs of spinal damage, painful sensations stand out. Severe, aching pain that increases at night when you remain in one position for a long time is often the first thing you notice. Increased pain is also observed during physical activity with:
- curves;
- sharp turns to the side;
- prolonged physical activity, even at low intensity;
- deep breathing;
- Raise your hands up.
Some patients complain of a feeling of tightness in the chest area. If osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is suspected, the symptoms in women can be supplemented by a number of signs:
- numbness of certain areas of the epidermis;
- Feeling cold in the lower extremities;
- pain in the projection of the stomach and esophagus;
- Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.
Degrees of osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women largely depend on the nature of the degenerative changes. Taking these into account, the corresponding disease stages (degrees) are distinguished:
- 1st degree - fixed when changes are observed in the core of the hard drive.Excessive stress leads to drying out of the cell nucleus, which leads to a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and the formation of cracks in the area of the fibrous ring. There is no pain, some women complain of slight discomfort with prolonged static.
- 2nd degree – due to a decrease in the height of the intervertebral discs, the distance between the vertebral bodies decreases.The ligaments of the spine eventually relax. The vertebrae gain greater mobility, which is not typical for the entire chest area. This increases the risk of displacement. Pain occurs primarily during work. Directly at this stage, osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is detected and the symptoms in women become clear.
- Grade 3 – The formation of herniated discs is observed.These phenomena are accompanied by subluxations and the development of arthrosis of the intervertebral joints. Mobility decreases and there is numbness and tingling in the limbs. Pain sensations are registered in the back, neck and chest areas.
- 4th degree – the body tries to compensate for the hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapt to spinal dysfunction.Where the vertebral bodies come into contact with each other, osteophytes form, which can lead to pinched nerves and injuries to the vertebrae.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from other diseases?
According to statistics, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the symptoms of which in women generally do not differ from those in men, occurs less often than lesions of the cervical and lumbar spine. However, this does not make diagnosing the disease any easier. Due to the peculiarities of localization, many doctors confuse the pathology with diseases of the chest organs.
However, experienced specialists who know how to recognize thoracic osteochondrosis even at the first stage try to exclude diseases of the chest, heart, stomach and lungs. Therefore, with thoracic osteochondrosis there is no cough, unlike diseases of the respiratory system, which are always accompanied by this symptom.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart pain?
In practice, doctors are often faced with the situation that a patient complains of regular heart pain, but changes in the cardiogram and ultrasound are not detected. In such cases, painful sensations in the chest on the left are associated with neurological disorders due to osteochondrosis. When the distance between adjacent vertebrae becomes smaller, the nerve roots are compressed, causing painful sensations similar to an attack of heartbreak.
If you know how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, you can immediately identify myocardial disorders. The main differences include:
- In osteochondrosis, the pain lasts for hours or weeks, runs in waves, subsides and recurs. With angina pectoris, an attack of pain lasts 10-15 minutes and subsides after nitrates.
- The appearance of pain in osteochondrosis, unlike angina, does not occur against the background of physical activity.
- Neurological pain due to spinal injury can be relieved with analgesics, but these drugs are ineffective in patients with heart disease.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Solid signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women must be differentiated from manifestations of VSD. In contrast to spinal injuries, diseases of the cardiovascular system are characterized by a number of symptoms that must be paid attention to.The characteristic signs of VSD include:
- tachycardia, heart pain;
- the occurrence of asthma attacks;
- unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (pressure in thoracic osteochondrosis is always normal).
Breast osteochondrosis and stomach pain
Abdominal pain in thoracic osteochondrosis is caused by a violation of the innervation of the vertebrae located on the projection of the stomach. If the patient has stomach discomfort, excruciating pain occurs, accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as heartburn. At the same time, painful sensations are not related to activity and physical activity.Pain in thoracic osteochondrosis in the abdominal area has the following features:
- aggravated by movements affecting the spine;
- the symptoms do not subside after taking digestive medications;
- appear regardless of the fullness of the stomach: on an empty stomach, after eating.
Breast osteochondrosis and pain in the mammary gland
Mastalgia is a common symptom in women. Many girls experience breast pain due to cyclical hormonal changes. However, if there is no cyclic pain, doctors suspect possible changes in the spine. At the same time, women themselves begin to search for the cause on the Internet and find out how to understand that they suffer from osteochondrosis.
With degenerative changes in the spine, pain changes location and occurs regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this case, there is no swelling or swelling of the breast. The gland itself completely retains its appearance, size and shape, in contrast to cases where breast diseases develop. Similar signs of osteochondrosis in women help differentiate the disease.
What to do if you have thoracic osteochondrosis?
If thoracic osteochondrosis is suspected in women, doctors send patients for the appropriate examination. This diagnosis of the disease and correct correction allow us to avoid the negative consequences that are inextricably linked with diseases of the spine. A thorough diagnosis based on hardware examination data is important.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The most important and often only diagnostic method is chest radiography. It makes it possible to diagnose osteochondrosis in women, regardless of the severity of the changes. It all depends on the quality of the photo.In the presence of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, the symptoms in women in the picture are as follows:
- Violation of the contours of the intervertebral discs themselves between the vertebrae;
- modified disc shape;
- the presence of osteophytes (pathological growth);
- Spinous processes with sharp edges, vertebrae of irregular shape;
- the presence of an intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The treatment of this disease is complex. Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out in several directions at the same time:
- Elimination of pain- Use NSAIDs.
- Strengthening the spine– moderate, balanced physical activity, physiotherapy.
- surgery– if intervertebral hernias occur.