Osteochondrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic pathology of the skeletal system, which is caused by metabolic disorders caused by provocative factors and is characterized by symptoms from many organs and systems. During osteochondrosis, the cartilages of the vertebrae are destroyed, their bodies and processes are deformed.
Cervical osteochondrosis: symptoms and treatment
It is rare that today someone does not encounter the manifestations of this widespread disease: according to statistics, about 60% of the population of developed countries suffer from the manifestations of osteochondrosis to varying degrees. The main reason for such a wide spread is sedentary work and the lack of exercise of modern people.
In the past, cervical osteochondrosis in men usually manifested itself from the age of 45-50, in women - a little later - from the age of 50-55. Now, however, there is a rapid rejuvenation: the typical picture is the striking signs of the disease in 30-year-olds, and it is not uncommon for the first symptoms to appear at the age of 20.
Symptoms
In the case of long-term damage to the vertebral artery, the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. As a result of hypoxia (lack of oxygen), the risk of ischemia (local reduction of blood supply), dyscirculatory encephalopathy (damage to the vascular system of the brain) and stroke increases.
Dizziness is one of the symptoms of a cerebrovascular accident associated with cervical osteochondrosis
A cerebrovascular accident associated with cervical osteochondrosis has the following symptoms:
- Visual disturbances, oculomotor disturbances. In patients, visual acuity decreases, "fog" appears in front of the eyes, and double vision (diplopia) occurs. These signs appear in the initial stages of the pathology.
- Violation of the vestibular apparatus. In this case, movement coordination is impaired, the patient staggers while walking, and the muscle tone of the upper limbs decreases. Other symptoms of impaired cerebral circulation include vertigo (dizziness), auditory disturbances (noise, ringing, weakness), disturbance in the perception of objects, etc.
- Changing sleep and wake patterns. Due to damage to the blood circulation of the brain, the patient feels weak and tired, becomes drowsy during the day, and cannot sleep for a long time at night.
- Vegetative-vascular syndrome occurs. Sudden weakness appears, heart rate changes (speeds up or slows down), blood pressure rises and increased intraocular pressure is observed.
- Paroxysmal disorders. People with cervical osteochondrosis may faint after suddenly turning or throwing their head back. This occurs due to severe compression of the vertebral artery and sudden slowing of blood flow.
- Mental disorders. The patient becomes suspicious, overly irritable, and takes offense for no apparent reason. His memory and attention are deteriorating.
In addition to the symptoms described above, cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by severe cephalgia (headache). Painful sensations usually start in the back of the head, but can spread to the arms. Some patients experience a throbbing pain in the temple, which may be accompanied by vomiting. The pain reaction intensifies when turning or tilting the head.
With long-term compression of the vertebral artery, the symptoms intensify and the pathology progresses. In the absence of competent therapy, the risk of disability increases. In order to avoid dangerous complications, long-term complex treatment is necessary.
Stages of development of osteochondrosis
In the development of cervical osteochondrosis, it is customary to distinguish 4 stages. But this is a rather arbitrary division, since most of the symptoms of the disease can be manifested in other pathologies. In addition, the actual degree of tissue degradation of the cervical spine may not correspond to outward symptoms.
First stage (preclinical)
In the early stages, symptoms are mild and often attributed to stress or other illnesses. You feel unpleasant stiffness in your neck, feel pain with sudden movements or bending. At this stage, it is quite possible to get rid of incipient osteochondrosis with the help of therapeutic exercises or simply to exercise more and change the diet.
Second stage
The pain increases, becomes constant, and becomes severe with sharp turns or bends. A severe headache occurs, the patient becomes tired quickly, absent-minded, and facial areas sometimes become numb.
Third stage
The formation of a herniated disc often causes dizziness, weakness of the arms, the pain radiates to the back of the head and the arms, and is constantly felt in the shoulders.
Fourth stage
Eventually, the intervertebral discs die and are replaced by connective tissue. The nerves are pinched, leading to movement difficulties, acute pain, increased dizziness and tinnitus.
Causes of cerebrovascular accident in cervical osteochondrosis
In order to understand why the blood circulation of the brain is impaired during osteochondrosis, you need to study the anatomy of the cervical spine. The transverse processes of the cervical segment have openings that form a canal, and veins, nerves, and vertebral arteries pass through it. The latter arise from the subclavian arteries, pass through the transverse foramen of C6 (sixth cervical vertebra) and rise higher. At the level of the hindbrain, the left and right vertebral arteries unite to form one artery from which the hindbrain, internal auditory, and cerebellar arteries (anterior and posterior) depart.
Based on what was described above, the arteries that are necessary for the normal blood supply of the brain pass through the cervical spine. In addition, veins and sympathetic nerves are located in the spinal canal.
The transverse openings are considered narrow, but there is enough space for the neurovascular bundle. Blood vessels and nerves are not pinched even when moving the head (turning, bending).
The cervical vertebrae are connected by flexible intervertebral discs. These are a type of cartilage cushions that cushion shocks while running and jumping. These structures also protect nerves and blood vessels from damage.
In cervical osteochondrosis, the discs lose a lot of fluid and become fragile. The increased load causes flattening of the cartilage pads and the appearance of cracks on the outer shell. As a result, protrusions (protrusions, disc herniations), osteophytes (bone growths) appear, which damage nerves and blood vessels.
Reference. According to medical statistics, about 30% of cases of circulatory failure in the vessels of the brain are associated with damage to the vertebral artery. In most cases, the disorder occurs against the background of cervical osteochondrosis and atheromatosis (excessive growth of connective tissue on the vessel wall).
Cerebral circulation in cervical osteochondrosis occurs for the following reasons:
- The nerve supplying the vertebral artery is compressed. The artery causes a spasm, and then blood flow to the brain is interrupted.
- Long-term compression of the vertebral artery. Due to the constant compression, the lumen of the vessel narrows or is completely blocked (occlusion). Then the risk of vertebral artery syndrome increases.
- Gross compression of the vertebral artery, which prevents the outflow of blood. This can happen when you turn your head, at which point the person experiences a severe headache and may lose consciousness.
Compression and stretching of the vertebral arteries can occur even in healthy people. During cervical osteochondrosis, an important vessel is regularly damaged, and then dangerous complications occur.
Causes and risk factors
Oddly enough, the possibility of developing osteochondrosis in humans is due to one of its evolutionary advantages - the upright posture: the vertebrae are pressed together, and with age, the connective tissue degrades. As a result, it is an almost inevitable process in the elderly. But many factors contribute to the earlier and more intense development of cervical osteochondrosis:
- First of all, it is a sedentary and sedentary lifestyle, which is often observed in modern life (office workers, drivers and other "sedentary" professions, TV, long hours in front of the computer), lack of physical activity
- Tense, unnatural posture during work: for example, when working at the computer, people often lean forward and assume a tense posture.
- The opposite is when the load is too great and unusual for that person; but even trained athletes such as weightlifters are at risk;
- Any reason that disrupts a person's natural posture: uncomfortable shoes, especially high-heeled shoes, poor sleeping position, flat feet, rheumatism, scoliosis;
- Being overweight, which is often caused by poor nutrition
- Frequent stress, severe nervous tension, constant overwork
- Local hypothermia
Why is cervical osteochondrosis dangerous?
Many vital vessels, arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area, so any disturbance there can have unpleasant consequences, including oxygen starvation, high blood pressure and vegetative-vascular dystonia.
Cervical osteochondrosis affects the segments of the spine that control the function of the shoulder and elbow joints, the thyroid gland, the hand and other organs. In the case of osteochondrosis, if not treated, there is a high probability of pinching of nerves and compression of blood vessels, which inevitably affects the functioning of other organs.
Diagnostics
Since the symptoms of osteochondrosis are mild and often overlap with other pathologies, it is better to conduct an initial examination with a therapist or other specialist - neurologist, orthopedist. He asks you about pain and other symptoms, checks the mobility of the neck, the condition of the skin, balance and reflexes.
If the primary diagnosis of "neck osteochondrosis" is made, the doctor refers to further examinations. The most effective of them is MRI, followed by computed tomography. X-ray examinations are much less effective than the first two, especially in advanced disease. The condition of the soft tissues is checked by ultrasound. If your doctor suspects vascular damage, they may refer you to a vascular duplex test.
Because some of the symptoms overlap with those of angina and coronary heart disease, you may need to see a cardiologist who will send you for an EKG and echocardiography.
Features of the treatment
Insufficient blood supply to the brain due to osteochondrosis of the cervical segment should be comprehensively treated. The basis of the therapy is drug treatment, in addition, other conservative methods are also used (physical therapy, physical therapy, etc. ). In advanced cases, surgery may be necessary.
Doctors have identified the main goals of therapy:
Osteochondrosis and panic attacks
- Restoring the functionality of the brain, improving its blood supply, as a result of which the organ is saturated with a large amount of oxygen and nutrients.
- Alleviation of the inflammatory reaction, activation of regeneration processes of damaged tissues.
- Some drugs help to normalize the composition of the blood, make it more fluid, which improves its quality and speed of movement.
- Expand the lumen of blood vessels, thicken damaged areas.
- Stabilizes blood pressure.
- Restore the normal structure of the spine, saturate the cartilage tissue with useful substances, strengthen it.
It is important to understand that complex therapy helps to eliminate circulation problems in the brain, but it is not possible to completely cure osteochondrosis. But with proper treatment, you can slow down the development of pathology for a long time.
Carefully. For the treatment of cerebral circulation disorders caused by cervical osteochondrosis, you can only take any medicine for medical reasons. Otherwise, the symptoms of the disease may worsen or new symptoms may be added, such as drug-related headaches. If the drug is abused, blood circulation to the brain deteriorates.
Groups of drugs that improve cerebral blood flow
The following drug groups help to improve cerebral circulation in cervical osteochondrosis:
- Vasodilators speed up blood flow and delivery of nutrients to the brain by increasing the lumen of blood vessels.
- Medicines that prevent the formation of blood clots, as well as aspirin-based medicines. They improve the permeability of blood vessels and prevent red blood cells and platelets from sticking to the walls. As a result, the blood becomes thinner and flows faster to the brain.
- Diuretics. These drugs prevent stagnation and swelling. The first drug is used for the accumulation of excess fluid in the brain cells, the second is suitable for eliminating swelling of any localization.
- Osmodiuretics are the only drugs that do not inhibit urine production. It is used to stimulate diuresis in cervical osteochondrosis.
- Antioxidants. These tablets improve the condition of nerve endings and reduce harmful oxidative processes in the body's cells.
- Antipsychotics. These drugs slow down the transmission of nerve impulses and relieve pain for a long time. They help to cope with stress, prolonged pain, and improve the condition of the spinal nerves.
However, it should be remembered that all medicines have contraindications, so it is forbidden to take them without the doctor's knowledge.
Medicines that improve cerebral circulation
Doctors have identified drugs that improve blood circulation in intracranial vessels in cervical osteochondrosis:
- Bronchodilator that eliminates spasms and normalizes blood flow. It is often used during electrophoresis, a physical therapy procedure in which drugs are passed through the skin into the body under the influence of electricity.
- The medicine based on theophylline and nicotinic acid saturates the blood with oxygen and improves its quality. When used, microcirculation speeds up, blood vessels dilate, and blood circulation normalizes. The drug can quickly lower blood pressure.
- A drug containing thioctic acid, which promotes the expansion of the lumen of blood vessels. It improves metabolic processes and eliminates vasospasm.
- A medicine based on bovine blood. It helps normalize the condition of intracranial vessels, enriches neurons with oxygen and glucose.
- Nicotinic acid helps dilate small blood vessels, reduces the concentration of bad cholesterol and restores blood supply to the brain.
- Vasodilating drugs make the blood less viscous, normalize microcirculation, and help get rid of dizziness.
Reference. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are used in case of cerebrovascular accident associated with osteochondrosis. These drugs help relieve the pain that appears in the later stages of the pathology. However, it is forbidden to take them for a long time without the doctor's knowledge, as they have many contraindications.
During therapy, several drugs are usually used according to a specific regimen.
Additional treatments
Combined treatment is complemented by physical therapy, which affects the cause of the disease. With the help of movement therapy, you can improve blood circulation, metabolic processes, and improve the trophism of the spine. With regular exercise, the muscles around the damaged vertebrae become stronger, which makes it possible to slightly relieve them. However, in order to achieve good results, the lessons must be done regularly.
In case of cerebral circulation disorders related to cervical osteochondrosis, special gymnastics is recommended
The patient must comply with the following training rules:
- Start with simple movements at a slow pace and minimal amplitude, gradually increasing the tempo.
- Before exercising, massage your neck or take a warm shower to warm up your muscles.
- Pay attention to your feelings when you exercise. There may be some discomfort at first, but after 3-4 days your body will adapt and your health will improve. If this does not happen or acute pain occurs, consult a doctor.
The complex is compiled by a doctor for each patient, taking into account the symptoms, the severity of the pathology, age and general health.
Reference. In the case of cerebral circulation disorders, walking or cycling, swimming, yoga, breathing exercises, and cardio exercises (ellipse, exercise bike) are recommended.
An additional treatment method is physiotherapy. In order to improve cerebral circulation, electrophoresis, magnetic therapy, spas and acupuncture are prescribed.
For the spine and blood vessels to function normally, the patient must eat properly. The diet should be supplemented with foods rich in fiber, fatty acids, B group elements, tocopherol and ascorbic acid. To do this, you need to eat more vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs. In addition, fatty sea fish, lean meat, nuts, vegetable oils, etc. are useful for patients. consumption. It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of filtered water per day.
With improper nutrition, the lack of nutrients can be compensated with the help of vitamin and mineral complexes. Your doctor will help you choose the right medicine.
Surgery due to poor cerebral circulation due to cervical osteochondrosis is performed only in extreme cases. The need for surgical intervention may arise if there is a large bone growth that compresses the vessel. During the procedure, the osteophyte is removed, if this is not possible for some reason, then a stent is inserted into the blood vessel.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis
True, sustainable success in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis can only be achieved with an integrated approach, which includes drugs, cervical massage, therapeutic exercises and physiotherapy. In particularly advanced cases, surgical intervention may be necessary. Of course, the patient must eliminate or minimize the factors contributing to the development of the disease: exercise more, eat better, etc.
We strongly advise against self-medication, primarily because the symptoms of osteochondrosis can mean a completely different disease: the chosen drugs not only do not help in the treatment, but can also harm. Even during painful exacerbations, do not rush to the pharmacy for painkillers - it is better to make an appointment with a doctor, and even better - do this in advance, when the first symptoms appear.
Relief of acute pain
Osteochondrosis, especially in the later stages, is associated with severe pain, so the first task of the treating doctor is to alleviate your suffering. He will prescribe painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamins, chondroprotectors for the restoration of cartilage tissue, drugs that improve blood circulation and reduce muscle spasms.
In this article, we deliberately do not give the names of individual drugs - it is better to leave their choice to doctors, who take into account all possible consequences and evaluate contraindications.
Therapeutic exercises in cervical osteochondrosis
The simplest and most accessible method, including at home, is therapeutic exercises. At the same time, it is also quite effective, as it strengthens the neck muscles, restores blood circulation in the damaged areas, and compensates for the usual lack of exercise. Physiotherapy can be supplemented with swimming and water gymnastics.
There are many methods, including the use of simulators: most of them do not require special equipment or special conditions, but we advise you to contact the gym therapy office, where they will select the most effective series of exercises and conduct classes. under the guidance of an experienced professional.
Physiotherapy
Correct and constant use of physiotherapy methods improves blood circulation in damaged areas, reduces inflammation and pain, and slows down the ossification process.
For osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, electrophoresis, magnetic therapy, laser therapy, shock wave therapy, therapeutic baths and showers, mud therapy and other methods are used.
Neck massage in osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
In the case of osteochondrosis, massage can be very effective: it improves blood circulation, reduces the likelihood of spasms by reducing muscle tone, relieves pain symptoms and improves the patient's general well-being.
But massage and manual therapy should be used with extreme caution, as inappropriate and rough impact on diseased body parts can only harm. We strongly recommend that you consult your doctor first.
Surgery
In particularly advanced cases, even surgical intervention cannot be ruled out: narrowing of the lumen of the spinal column, disc herniation or spondylolisthesis.
The need for and method of surgical intervention is decided by the surgeon, who also determines the preparatory operations, the duration of the postoperative period and the rehabilitation.
Causes of cerebral circulation disorders and venous outflow
Impaired venous outflow associated with cervical osteochondrosis is a common cause of headaches, reduced mental performance, constant weakness and drowsiness. Stagnation of venous blood leads to outflow of fluid into the intercellular space. This can cause increased intracranial pressure. The structures of the brain are under enormous pressure and cannot function normally. Then the blood pressure level may start to rise. In general, this situation is dangerous because there is a risk of a hemorrhagic stroke. Even among young patients, the mortality rate is very high.
Prevention of cervical osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a disease whose negative impact can be minimized by proper and timely prevention. You should think about its prevention in childhood: the child's poor posture and flat feet are reasons to consult a doctor for a diagnosis.
The basis for the prevention of osteochondrosis is the correct lifestyle: reasonable physical activity and regular exercise during sedentary work, healthy nutrition, weight control.
Complications
Chronic oxygen starvation quickly leads to disruption of processes in the human body. In the absence of timely and appropriate treatment, the above symptoms gradually intensify. Depending on which brain is most affected by the lack of necessary substances, the development of many complications is possible.
Consequences of a cerebrovascular accident in osteochondrosis of the cervical spine:
- hypertensive disease;
- cerebral ischemia;
- cardiac arrhythmia;
- orientation and coordination problems;
- change in the quality and type of breathing;
- reduced mobility of the upper limbs.
Even if the listed conditions have started to appear, this is not a reason to panic. Even in such cases, there is a chance to recover and fully restore the damaged functions. The main thing is not to delay the visit to the doctor, but to start the therapy quickly.