The spine is the backbone of a person. Carries the burden of walking. Abrasion occurs faster than other parts of the body. A sedentary and sedentary lifestyle makes the situation worse. The causes of the occurrence are unknown, there is a set of risk factors.
Before treating osteochondrosis, you should consult a doctor who will perform an examination and make a diagnosis. If you follow the doctor's instructions, a positive result is guaranteed.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is a lesion of the intervertebral discs, characterized by destruction. The disease affects one or more discs. Symptoms and treatment are interrelated. According to the symptoms, the types of the disease are distinguished:
- Pain in the arms, shoulders, headache with the appearance of tinnitus, dizziness, colored spots, lumps in front of the eyes with cervical osteochondrosis. Occurs in 25% of cases.
- Chest pain, numbness, pain in the heart, stomach and other organs are signs of damage to the chest region. Diagnosed in 13% of cases.
- Pain in the lower back, legs, groin, impaired sensitivity of the lower extremities, pelvic organs - osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region. Common types - 50% of cases.
- Pain in some parts of the spine is a common osteochondrosis.
Pain is considered a determining factor, there is a feeling of numbness in the limbs, pain, tingling sensation. An unpleasant manifestation is muscle spasm, stiffness of movements, pain that appears with sudden movements, sneezing, coughing.
Based on the symptoms, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis, prescribes special procedures for hardware research - x-ray, tomography, MRI. These are the ways to make an accurate diagnosis, determining the presence of concomitant diseases - prolongation, intervertebral hernia.
Symptoms often indicate later stages of disease development when surgery is required. Treatment aims to eliminate pain, stop the development of the disease.
Conservative treatment
Treatment for the patient is prescribed by the attending physician, a physician council in difficult cases. Conservative treatment is widespread - treatment methods from various fields of medicine. Conservative treatment of spinal osteochondrosis includes recreational activities:
- Therapeutic exercises - restores spinal mobility, disease prevention.
- Manual therapy is a way to relieve muscle spasms, improve blood circulation and metabolic processes.
- Reflexology is a way to relieve muscle spasm, to stimulate the production of substances that inhibit inflammatory processes.
- Underwater hydromassage. Water sports discharge the spine, heal.
- Traction treatment is a set of techniques that stretch the spine, reducing pressure on the discs and nerve endings.
- Ultrasound, laser therapy, electro-, magneto-, vibrostimulation - types of hardware treatment that relieve muscle spasms, improve microcirculation.
- Therapeutic diet. The diet is chosen so that the body receives the necessary vitamins, trace elements.
- Psychotherapy. Promotes a person's confidence in healing, activates the body's internal resources.
- Medical therapy. Taking medication.
It is best to treat osteochondrosis of the spine in a sanatorium. At home, a person faces the problem of organizing time. There is not enough time to follow the instructions, it is not possible to make a diet yourself, adhere to it. Hospital treatment is also not ideal - the lack of orthopedic products in the hospital, equipment, doctors.
Treatment in special centers, sanatoriums is provided in full. The duration of treatment is not specified. It will take from a week to a month to eliminate serious symptoms. It will take more than 3 months to rehabilitate, restore the disks.
Many doctors from the complex of procedures prescribe medications, hardware treatments. Preparations for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine help to cope with the exacerbations of the disease. It is justified to take anti-inflammatory drugs with analgesic, antispasmodic action, antioxidants that stimulate microcirculation, contribute to the restoration of nerve tissue, cartilage.
When treated only with medication, they forget the internal capabilities of the body, they treat the patient without it. This is a mistake, lack of medication. Conservative methods can improve the patient's condition.
How else to treat osteochondrosis?
If conservative treatment is not sufficient, an operative is prescribed. Sometimes surgery alone will alleviate the condition. Doctors remove hernias, insert new discs instead of worn ones. The rehabilitation period is performed as usual treatment.
The cost of treating osteochondrosis is comparable to cardiovascular disease, the flu. To make it cheaper, alternative treatment options are being explored. It is worth buying a device for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine, which relieves pain. Procedures can be performed at home yourself, with the help of loved ones.
An alternative is traditional medicine. There are many recipes for ointments, decoctions of herbs taken orally, in the form of compresses. Many recipes for different stages, types of diseases.
Self-medication will worsen the patient's condition, so you should consult a doctor before taking the medication. The self-treatment option is to believe in a cure, to follow the doctor's instructions.
Disease prevention
It is better not to look for a way to treat osteochondrosis of the spine, but to prevent its occurrence. It is worth developing good habits in relation to the daily routine, nutrition. Preventive actions:
- Morning massages of the back, limbs - rubbing, decoction, performed independently.
- Gymnastics, exercise. It is worth including swinging movements, turns, tilting, bouncing, pulling.
- On-the-job training. If the work involves a long stay in a certain position, it is worthwhile to distract yourself for five minutes every hour or two to perform some exercises.
- Swimming is a sport that helps solve spinal problems.
If the disease has managed to develop, prevention, treatment of osteochondrosis of the spine should be combined, complement each other.
An important point is the observance of proper nutrition. It should contain vegetarian dishes, steamed dishes, baked in the oven. The diet should have plenty of protein, not mushrooms. Spices, seasonings are welcome, salt and pickles are excluded. It is not recommended to drink strong tea, coffee, alcohol, abuse sweet foods, starch. It is worth eating 5-7 times a day. For one day, eat no more than 2 kg of food, a liter of water. With a lack of vitamins, they are described separately.
An active lifestyle, proper nutrition - the key to the health of the spine, body. Treatment is difficult, but will help eliminate uncomfortable pain. If osteochondrosis is diagnosed, you will need to change your lifestyle forever.
The article is written about general educational development. To establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment, be sure to consult a physician.