Enlargement of cervical osteochondrosis occurs after remission. The pathology develops in a chronic form. It is impossible to completely deal with osteochondrosis.
The disease develops due to an insufficiently active lifestyle, alcohol abuse and nutritional problems.
Intervertebral discs reduce pressure on the vertebrae, but over the years the cartilage tissue wears down due to poor lifestyle choices. Regenerating cartilage tissue is not easy.
causes
Let's find out what provokes the symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Some signs are caused by deformation of the vertebra, osteophytes appear.
- The position of the vertebrae in relation to each other changes, the arteries are squeezed, and the blood supply of the nervous system deteriorates.
- The appearance of complications due to the displacement of intervertebral discs also provokes pain in the nerve endings.
- When the nerves in the cervical spine are pinched, radicular syndrome appears.
- Constant overloading of the muscle tissue in the neck while using the computer or driving a car.
How does cervical osteochondrosis worsen?
In the neck area, the size of the vertebrae is small. Enlargement of the cervical osteochondrosis occurs with special symptoms. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you must contact a specialist.The main problem is that patients do not notice the symptoms of the disease.
First degree
At first, small cracks appear on the discs. The elasticity of the cartilage tissue decreases, and excruciating pain appears in the neck if you do not change your position for a long time.
Second degree
Severe neck pain indicates the beginning of the second stage. The pain is aggravated due to deformation of the intervertebral disc, dislocations appear.In rare situations, numbness of the hands and face occurs.
At the end of the day, the patient experiences pain in the neck, which continues in the spine.
An increase is manifested by falling head syndrome, in which excruciating pain occurs, the head cannot be held up, you have to fix it with pillows or hands so that the symptom decreases.
Third degree
The third stage of the disease manifests itself clearly, the cause of the unpleasant symptoms cannot be attributed to overwork after physical exertion. At the third stage, the patient begins to feel sick, dizzy, tinnitus and frequent dizziness. Acute osteochondrosis is characterized by numbness of the neck and tinnitus.
Sometimes the signs of the disease disappear, but recur with exacerbations after a while. New signs appear and the pain becomes stronger.
How to behave during an exacerbation?
During an enlargement, you should not rub hot ointments into the throat or massage a large area. If you feel signs of cervical osteochondrosis, you must try to relax and take the most comfortable position.
You need to lie on your back so that the muscle tissue stops straining. The attack does not go away by itself.You need to call a doctor to administer painkillers, then make an appointment with a specialist. Many people have painkillers in their home medicine cabinet. You can take these medicines so you don't have to call an ambulance.
First aid and treatment
The treatment is carried out by a specialist:
- Before the doctor arrives, you need to move as little as possible.
- Sit comfortably on the bed, do not strain the body.
- Take pain.
- Wait for the doctor.
The specialist prescribes antibiotics and medicines to eliminate inflammatory processes. They are necessary during an enlargement.
Patients are prescribed chondroprotectors, which change the destructive processes in the discs and worsen the speed indicators when they occur.
The course of treatment with such drugs is long, less than six months. They can prevent the aggravation of the disease.
Medicines belonging to the category of muscle relaxants also help with osteochondrosis and relieve tension. Diuretics and vascular drugs, nootropics and B vitamins are also used.
During the exacerbation, the disease is accompanied by pain, and a procedure called blockade is prescribed. An injection of novocaine is made in the area of the deformed vertebra. Symptoms can be relieved quickly. We list non-drug treatment methods: exercise therapy, physiotherapy, massage.
It will be possible to reduce the intensity of the symptoms and resolve the aggravation with the help of therapeutic exercises. You must do exercises every day to strengthen the muscles of the neck and spine. Weakened vertebrae will be better held in place by the developed muscles in the back.
Massage is mandatory, thanks to a full course, muscle tone improves, spasms are eliminated, swelling is reduced, cerebrospinal fluid circulates better, and blood supply is stabilized. Intervertebral discs stop deforming.
Other treatments
Thanks to the Shants collar, you can reduce the load on the cervical spine during exacerbations. Such a device will keep the neck in a normal position, the load on muscle tissue and spine will be reduced. You need to arrange your sleeping area properly; You need a hard mattress with an orthopedic effect, as well as a pillow that does not bend the neck during rest.
If the therapy is carried out when the attack begins, and everything is done correctly, the peak of the disease will subside after a while. If the disease is not treated in time, the attack will decrease, but not be completely eliminated. In the future, you should expect several exacerbations, between which the pain will subside. Painful symptoms worsen during the attack.
What drugs are used?
If the patient's condition worsens, medication must be used. Exacerbation is eliminated with the help of such drugs. Anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving drugs and tablets, ointments for local or external use. Muscle relaxants help eliminate the muscle spasms that often occur with pain.
Vitamin B improves the conduction of nerve impulses through neurons. Initially used as intramuscular injections, then patients are transferred to tablets.When the disease increases the blood pressure, calcium channels are blocked, inhibitors, ACE or combination agents.
When cervical osteochondrosis worsens, its symptoms cause cerebral circulation. Therapeutic procedures include the use of drugs for recovery. To do this, it is advisable to contact a specialist to get accurate recommendations on medication.
When patients experience emotional disturbances, doctors prescribe sedatives, which can be herbal ingredients or sedatives. When choosing, specialists are often guided by the severity of these symptoms. Spinal blocks with novocaine are used for severe painful symptoms.
Surgical intervention
What to do in case of an increase in cervical osteochondrosis if the above methods are not effective? It is necessary to do an examination, if complications are identified, a specialist can recommend a surgical procedure to reduce the compression and stabilize the position of the vertebrae. Complications arise after such operations, so they are performed in extreme cases.
What to do at home?
Doctors do not recommend treating cervical osteochondrosis at home during exacerbations without prior consultation. You can take a painkiller, wrap a scarf around your neck, and wait for the doctor to arrive. Depending on the severity of the process, the therapy continues at home or in the hospital.
Symptoms of acute osteochondrosis worsen the quality of life, so urgent measures must be taken. Therapy should be carried out according to the diagnosis, the doctor's conclusion and the exclusion of other pathology options.
The increase in cervical osteochondrosis does not occur for a short time; the disorder does not go away on its own. Destruction processes in the uterine cavity can develop and lead to complex consequences.
Enlargement during pregnancy
The body of pregnant women changes on a physiological level, the level of hormone production changes, the center of gravity of the body changes due to the weight of the developing fetus. Minerals and nutrients are absorbed and absorbed more intensively. These changes have a serious impact on the musculoskeletal system. There is a lot of pressure on the spine.
Symptoms in women are the same as in other patients. The difficulty lies in choosing a treatment regimen, because when you prescribe medication, you have to consider their likely effect on the child. When dealing with exacerbations, ointments are used that do not harm the child.
During pregnancy, the recurrence of osteochondrosis in 50% of cases is due to changes in the spine.
Sometimes, for complex pain, pain or injections are prescribed. Many pregnant women are treated with unconventional methods. Traditional medicine recipes are less harmful to the fetus.
Other ways to eliminate exacerbations
If it is not possible to visit a doctor, you can use various recipes to alleviate the general condition of patients with osteochondrosis in the cervical region. For example, a hot shower helps you relax. You can wrap a woolen scarf or other clothes made of this material around your neck. Or herbal compresses applied to the affected area.
Onion, mint and sage are also used for such purposes. Try making an ointment from mumiyo and butter. You can also secure the neck in a stationary position so that the spinal cord roots are not pinched.
Gradual deterioration
If the recurrence of painful symptoms is moderate, you must go to a specialist. The patient can take painkillers and secure the neck with a collar, but only a specialist can choose the appropriate therapeutic procedure.
During the enlargementcervical osteochondrosisprohibited:
- Apply heating pads to the neck. Blood flows intensively to the problem area, the swelling worsens, and the pain becomes stronger.
- The cervical region should not be massaged so as not to worsen its situation.
Manual therapy will be useful in such situations. A qualified professional can realign the vertebrae so that no pressure is placed on the nerve.
Therapeutic measures
The main condition for a successful outcome of the disease is complex therapy. Treatment measures include the use of injections, tablets, ointments, special patches and physiotherapeutic procedures.
Medicines
Drug treatment aims to relieve pain, which is very pronounced in the acute period. prescription drugs such as:
- Analgesics. They try to give an anesthetic injection before the ambulance arrives, because it can be very difficult for the patient to endure the pain. If a person suffers from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, then he always has a painkiller in stock.
- Muscle relaxants. Their action is to reduce spasm of skeletal muscles in the cervical spine.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They relieve pain well, relieve inflammation and help when the patient has a fever.
- Vitamin preparations. To treat the exacerbation of osteochondrosis, injectable preparations based on B vitamins are used. They help restore the nerve tissue damaged by pathological changes in the intervertebral region of the cervical spine.
- Means for local therapy. To relieve the patient's condition, ointments and gels with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects are prescribed. They are means of complementary therapy and are prescribed to improve the effect of injectable drugs. In addition, special stains impregnated with drugs are used. For example, a patch with diclofenac and lidocaine.
Manual therapy
Manual therapy is a method of treating osteochondrosis, which has proven itself only on the positive side, and which has been used for several decades. During this time, new techniques were developed, the use of which helps to relieve the symptoms of increasing cervical osteochondrosis much faster.
If manual therapy techniques are carried out at a highly professional level, this has a positive effect on the condition of the muscle tissue, vertebrae and articular devices of the cervical spine.
The following manual therapy techniques are used:
- Knee muscles on a separate segment. This technique helps relieve muscle tension.
- mobilization technique. The doctor performs a number of actions, due to which the function of the articular apparatus is restored only in a certain area of the cervical spine.
- Manipulation technique. The procedure is a series of actions for the restoration of the entire articular system, which has suffered as a result of pathological changes. This method is used both for cervical osteochondrosis and for the treatment of a disease commonly called osteochondrosis.
If a patient is prescribed a course of manual therapy, he must carefully choose the doctor who will treat him. After all, even a small mistake is full of serious consequences, including the patient's disability.
Massage
Massage is another method of relieving the patient's condition during the exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Its implementation helps relieve tension in the neck muscles, reduce the amount of lactic acid, the accumulation of which causes muscle spasms, and normalize blood circulation in the inflamed area. The combination of these effects leads to a decrease in pain.
Surgical intervention
If the doctor sees that conservative treatment does not give the desired result, he prescribes surgical intervention for the patient. There are several indications in which an operation is inevitable.
- Narrowing of the spinal canal by intervertebral hernia, which leads to compression of the vascular and nerve plexus.
- Displacement of the vertebra relative to the horizontal axis.
- Intervertebral hernia, which can be single or multiple. This pathology is not an absolute indication for surgery if it does not cause related symptoms. If, after several courses of conservative therapy, it was not possible to achieve a positive result, then they resort to surgery.
Exercise therapy
Therapeutic exercise is a method used in the follow-up stage. In the acute period, any exercise that is done brings the patient nothing but additional suffering. But if the attack has stopped, the inflammatory process is in the declining stage, then a course of physical therapy is prescribed as an assistant.
Thanks to the exercise therapy, the blood circulation returns and the muscles are strengthened. Spinal mobility improves and stiffness goes away, nerve tissue is restored, and pain is reduced.
When prescribing physical therapy, the doctor considers factors in which it is contraindicated. Exercise therapy should not be used if the patient suffers from diseases of the cardiovascular system, benign or malignant neoplasms, severe visual impairment or diabetes mellitus.
Operation
Surgical intervention is carried out in two stages, but during one operation. At the first stage, the neurosurgeon removes the cause of the pain syndrome. This is a decompression method.
After that, the vertebrae are stabilized. The doctor considers that after the removal of a section of the intervertebral disc, a dysfunction of the articular apparatus of the spine occurs.
Therefore, the vertebrae are fixed with a special technique.
In modern orthopedic practice, artificial intervertebral discs are used, which make it possible to prevent the fusion of the spine if the damaged discs are completely removed.
What can you do at home?
Every patient suffering from cervical osteochondrosis should know what to do if it worsens at home. First of all, it is strictly forbidden to move during an attack. The patient should lie on a flat surface and take a position in which the muscles are minimally tense.
Give the patient an anesthetic injection. If this is not possible, give the patient an analgesic in tablet form. In addition, an anti-inflammatory ointment or gel must be applied to the neck area. The emergency doctor will tell you what to do next.
Period of exacerbation of osteochondrosis: first aid at home
The treatment of spinal pathologies should only be entrusted to an experienced doctor. And yet there are situations where pain appears suddenly and limits the patient's body. An acute exacerbation can occur, for example, if there is a suspicion of intervertebral hernia. In this case, the patient cannot tolerate it and measures must be taken to improve his condition.
To do this, you should take the following steps:
- if possible, place the patient on the bed or the floor to immobilize the spine;
- wrap the painful spot with a woolen scarf (using a heating pad is strictly prohibited);
- If the patient is bent over because he is in severe pain, you should not try to straighten him. It is better to put it in the same position on a flat surface;
- give him a pain to drink. This could be analgin, diclofenac or ibuprofen;
- call an ambulance.
The emergency doctor will determine how to relieve the pain symptom, whether hospitalization is necessary or whether the treatment can continue at home.
First aid for a patient
Acute osteochondrosis causes a lot of pain and discomfort, also limiting the mobility of the spine. If it is possible to call a doctor at home, it is better to do this, because self-medication is fraught with even greater complications. However, you should not endure the pain until he arrives. First aid can be provided to the patient:
- To begin with, you should limit the mobility of the cervical spine as much as possible, it is better to go to bed.
- If painful osteochondrosis of the cervical spine causes very severe pain, it can be alleviated with the help of medication. If the discomfort is very severe, these drugs may not help.
- The neck muscles should be relaxed so that the spasm goes away as soon as possible.
- Local medications can also be used to relieve pain.
- In the first days after the beginning of an attack, it is necessary to use special orthopedic collars, which help to cope with it faster.
Many people are interested in the question of how long the exacerbations of cervical osteochondrosis last. This phase goes through differently for each person. If the treatment for an attack was started on time and the drugs are effective, then their duration is no more than a few days. Otherwise, the discomfort will accompany the patient for several weeks.
How long the period of enlargement will be depends on the characteristics of the human body, as well as on the speed of the development of the disease. If the treatment of the pathology is started late, then this situation will repeat itself.
Enlargement during pregnancy
Exacerbation of diseases during pregnancy is always undesirable. This brings suffering to the expectant mother and her baby, but in addition, it is difficult to apply therapeutic measures due to contraindications to taking medicines. Physiotherapy methods should not be prescribed for a pregnant woman.
Of the medicines used during pregnancy, traumeel in the form of tablets, ointments and injections, and paracetamol are allowed. In addition, physical therapy is prescribed, but under the strict supervision of a doctor. Exercises are chosen that require minimal physical activity. Preference is given to yoga techniques.
Traditional medicine for severe pain in the spine: effective recipes
The use of traditional methods has a positive effect only in combination with drug treatment. You can eliminate pain and discomfort with cervical osteochondrosis by using horseradish leaves.
They must be applied to the painful spot, secured with a bandage and adhesive tape and left overnight. Cosmetic clay mixed with water worked well as a compress.
Our grandmothers treated all types of osteochondrosis with compresses made of grated red potatoes mixed with honey. This mixture was smeared on the affected areas, secured tightly and left for several hours or overnight. Pepper oil tincture is excellent for rubbing.
How to reduce relapse rates
If the disease can worsen, then the person already has a large number of drugs in advance that can relieve pain. However, without eliminating the cause, the treatment will not be effective.
In addition, the unpleasant sensations can return again, and with a vengeance. With exacerbations of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment of the disease have already been discussed before, it is necessary to understand how to prevent the aggravation.
To do this, the following preventive measures should be observed:
- Visit the massage room. Of course, the specialist must be knowledgeable and competent, so as not to aggravate the growth of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Massage sessions allow you to develop the uterine pilot, increase its functionality and mobility. At the same time, both hard and soft tissues are better nourished, because the blood circulation is normalized.
- Do physical exercise. This is necessary to strengthen the muscular corset of the upper back.
- It is advisable to take daily walks before going to bed. This allows you to have a good night's rest. It is better to avoid heavy sports, jumping and other exercises that involve high loads or sudden movements.
- If a person spends a lot of time in a static sitting position, he needs to get up from time to time and warm up. If you work sedentary, it is better to change your body position every quarter of an hour.
- Swimming is an excellent preventive measure for spinal problems. It not only relaxes the muscles, allows you to relieve spasm, but at the same time strengthens them.
- For a night's sleep, it is better to choose an orthopedic mattress that maintains the correct position of the person's body throughout the night, no matter how he or she turns.
- For prevention, you can also use non-traditional methods, for example acupuncture. Of course, you cannot do this yourself, and you should not trust your health to the first "master" you come across. The procedure must be carried out by an experienced specialist.
prevention
To prevent the aggravation of the disease, it is recommended to follow a number of rules:
- Watch your attitude.
- Avoid straining your muscles while working on the computer or sitting at the desk.
- Change your position every few minutes to avoid muscle stiffness.
- If you have to stay in one position for more than half an hour, take a break to warm up.
- You must sleep on a flat surface, weakly armored beds are contraindicated for patients with osteochondrosis.