Osteochondrosis most often has a long course. Therefore, the first signs in men and women can appear many years after the onset of the pathology. Since the pathology leads to many complications, timely treatment and diagnosis of the disease will help slow down the negative processes in the body.
Consequences of osteochondrosis
Timely diagnosis of osteochondrosis is a necessity that almost every person faces.
This is explained by the fact that the disease causes a number of specific disorders in the body, and as they progress, the complications can affect different parts. The most common of them are:
- Severe headache to migraine;
- Partial hearing loss;
- Reduced visual ability;
- Radiculopathy (also known as radiculitis);
- VSD or various autonomic dysfunctions;
- Dysfunction of the genitourinary system;
- Intervertebral hernia;
- sciatica;
- Spondylosis, osteophytosis;
- spondyloarthrosis;
- Lumbodynia and lumbago;
- Spinal stenosis.
These complications develop due to impaired blood circulation and innervation in the spine, which provokes a negative effect on internal organs and departments.
In severe cases, it has a negative effect on the heart and lungs, which can provoke a heart attack, heart attack, stroke, etc.
First signs
There are certain first signals that the pathology has begun to develop.
Patients most often ignore them, considering them insignificant and related to lifestyle - prolonged sitting, overexertion, lifting weights.
Usually this is true, but it is precisely these factors that provoke the development of osteochondrosis.
As a result, it is felt initially with several symptoms.
Slight stiffness in the morning is not particularly intense, but as it progresses it will appear more and more often. Mobility of the affected area may gradually decrease. In addition, with intense loads, discomfort will begin to appear. In the first stage, pain as such is usually not observed. It starts from the second stage.
Clusters of symptoms
The symptoms of osteochondrosis will expand with its development. Accordingly, doctors divide them into several groups according to the mechanism of progression. In this way, it is possible to identify the most affected areas and tissue types.
Static syndrome
Static syndrome refers mainly to disorders in bone tissue. As a result, the shape of the vertebrae changes, which leads to deformation of the spine with the development of various types of distortions. In this case, pathological mobility of the vertebrae is observed. Bad posture manifests itself in:
- kyphosis;
- kyphoscoliosis;
- scoliosis;
- Lordosis.
The result of static syndrome is often impaired joint mobility. In advanced cases, the patient cannot turn his head or stand up completely.
Neurological
The neurological symptom complex is caused by damage to nerve tissue. At the same time, at the very beginning, the sensitivity of some individual areas of the skin is simply disturbed. The mobility of the limbs and the strength of muscle contractions also decrease.
But the main manifestation of the neurological syndrome is pain of varying intensity and localization. It is caused by compression and irritation of the roots coming out of the spinal cord. At the first stage, it usually manifests simply as local discomfort. As the pain syndrome progresses, it spreads further to the areas of the body that are innervated by the affected root. Quite often there is a feeling of tingling, numbness, goosebumps and impaired sensitivity of the skin.
Motor changes in this pathology are observed less often than sensory ones. Depending on the degree of progression of osteochondrosis, paresis and even paralysis can be felt. An example could be paresis or limited voluntary movements of the lower limb on both sides due to lumbar osteochondrosis.
Vascular
Vascular symptoms occur for approximately the same reason as neurological symptoms. That is, the veins and arteries are pressed by the vertebrae, which leads to the development of the corresponding symptoms.
This effect is most often manifested in cervical osteochondrosis. It is in this section that there is a maximum number of large vessels. As a result of the negative impact on them, cerebral hypoxia begins to develop, which can lead to nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, hearing and vision impairment.
If the tone of the sympathetic system of the central nervous system changes, then the irritation of the nerve plexus increases. Since it is located in the spine, the results also affect the blood vessels.
The most common manifestation of this disease is a rather prolonged spasm of the peripheral vessels, followed by chronic ischemia and oxygen starvation of the internal organs.
Trophic
The combination of the three previous syndromes can cause other disorders, in particular trophic syndrome. With a decrease in the nutrition of the tissues, as well as with a disruption of the innervation of certain parts of the skin, ulcers may appear. In this case, neurological and vascular factors play the biggest role.
Manifestations of pathology
Osteochondrosis can manifest itself with various symptoms. This is explained by the fact that a certain department affects certain areas, and therefore the signs of the disease can differ from each other.
Cervical
The cervical spine is characterized by symptoms such as:
- Dizziness and even fainting when turning the head suddenly;
- Pain in the shoulders, arms, chest, teeth;
- Spots and spots before the eyes;
- Deterioration of the functioning of vision and hearing, ringing in the ears;
- Change in voice and numbness of the tongue;
- Headache that is usually worse when moving. Analgesics cannot affect their intensity.
Such symptoms can be present both for a long period of time and during exacerbations. Some signs are often confused with other pathologies, for example dental or ENT problems.
Chest
With thoracic osteochondrosis, they are felt:
- Pain when bending over, raising the arms or one arm, between the shoulder blades and in the chest area (often confused with heart pain);
- Increased pain at night, as well as with movement, hypothermia, increased physical activity;
- Increased pain when moving the chest (exhalation and inhalation);
- Violation of the innervation of certain areas, a feeling of tingling and goosebumps on the skin;
- Sensation of itching, burning, coldness in the legs;
- Painful attacks in ribs when walking;
- A feeling of pressure on the chest from a hoop, shortness of breath.
Thoracic osteochondrosis in the manifestation of pain syndrome is rich in localization. But it is precisely because of the greatest involvement of the chest that many confuse it with a heart attack and a heart attack.
Lumbar
Lumbar osteochondrosis largely affects the functioning of the internal organs of the pelvis and lower limbs, although it can also cause pain in the chest area. The most common signs of the disease:
- Sharp and painful pain in the lumbar region;
- Increased pain with movement or exertion;
- Pain in the abdominal organs, legs, sacrum;
- Violation of the innervation of the lower limbs;
- Inability to perform certain movements, such as bending and turning;
- The desire to maintain a certain posture.
When the lumbar region is affected, exacerbations most often occur under the influence of certain external factors, for example, with increased workload, weight lifting or hypothermia. In this case, many people say that "the back is congested. " The mobility of the department is minimized during a painful attack.
Put on
Osteochondrosis of the joints manifests itself:
- Reduced mobility of the affected area (most often shoulder, hip or knee joint);
- Strong pain;
- Increased pain when moving or lifting a limb;
- Range of motion is greatly reduced;
- During palpation, formations on the joints and soft tissues can be observed;
- Swelling of the affected area;
- Redness, tingling, pins and needles sensation on the skin.
Due to damage to the joints, a person is forced to take a forced position in order to reduce the movement of the joint and, accordingly, the pain. If the symptom persists, it can lead to soft tissue disorders, including atrophy.
Pain syndrome
Pain in osteochondrosis in the first stages is usually temporary. As they progress, they become longer and more intense. The result is the presence of pain in general in everyday life.
The pain is usually nagging, painful in nature. During an exacerbation, the symptom is so strong that it can even completely immobilize you, causing muscle spasm.
Forecast
If we talk about prognosis, then osteochondrosis itself is an incurable disease. In the initial stage, there is a chance to provide high-quality treatment and slow down the pathology before serious symptoms develop. The more the pathology progresses without treatment, the greater the negative impact on the body. Accordingly, treatment at home becomes less effective and takes more time. If the pathology continues to the point of serious complications, surgical intervention may be necessary.