Spinal osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. According to statistics, more than half of all people over the age of 40 encounter a similar disease, and its early manifestations already occur in the second and third decade of life. At the same time, it is almost impossible to cure the disease - it is chronic. The disease itself affects the intervertebral discs and cartilage, which compresses the nerve cells of the spinal cord. Osteochondrosis can be of several types - it all depends on the area of the back that has been hit. This article will discuss the treatment of osteochondrosis of the chest, which is not such a common disease but causes great inconvenience.
Disease specification
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a rather unusual disease, which is due to the structure of the spine. In addition, this disease is quite difficult to diagnose, as its symptoms are often confused with the manifestations of diseases of the internal organs.
A remarkable feature of the chest is the fact that it is less exposed to stress. A strong connection with the ribs and sternum creates a mobile but at the same time stable structure, which is less exposed to various diseases.
With an early stage of disease development, it is practically not felt, which is another feature. The disease can cause a sharp rise in chest tension, which is often found in temperamental athletes or young mothers when breastfeeding. Another common cause of chest osteochondrosis is scoliosis or poor posture.
The risk of the disease also lies in the fact that the main symptoms appear at a late stage of development, when the nerve cells of the spinal cord or the spine itself have already undergone serious compressions or pathological disorders have occurred due to a blood failure. turnover.
Manifestations of osteochondrosis of the chest
Most often, doctors encounter a disease such as radiculopathy - compression of the nerve fibers of the spinal cord. In this case, the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine depends on the symptoms that appear. They often arise due to the formation of different degrees of intervertebral hernia, distinguishing two of its types:
- Hernia mesatare. It is characterized by persistent pain that does not go away for a long period of time, and medications and injections rarely allow you to get rid of it.
- Lateral hernia. Characterized by unilateral pain occurring at the same level as the hernia, sometimes there is a loss of sensitivity to varying degrees. With such a manifestation of the disease, medications and injections can cope with the pain.
Very rarely there is compression of the spinal cord itself. As a rule, such a manifestation of the disease is accompanied by severe pain in the groin, numbness, weakness in the legs and profuse sweating. Chest pain often spreads to the groin, abdomen and can disrupt the functioning of internal organs.
Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis
Competent specialists should think about how to treat thoracic osteochondrosis. Doing this at home is very discouraging. As a rule, such treatment consists of two stages - removal of the pain syndrome and elimination of the cause of the pain.
Preference is most often given to conservative methods of treatment. In cases where this method does not cope with the disease, they resort to surgery, but this is very rare.
Pain relief is achieved by two components - rest and medication. The patient is prescribed bed rest and prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs relieve swelling and inflammation, thus reducing the compression of nerve fibers in the spinal cord.
Sometimes, with severe pain, a combination of medications is used. Then, in addition to NSAIDs, painkillers are prescribed - injections, tablets. This is done with very strong and unbearable pain and medications like muscle relaxants relieve muscle spasm in the affected area.
Once the medication treatment has started to work, a period of remission begins. At this time, physiotherapy exercises are used along with wellness massage and complete rest. This set of measures is an effective treatment.
Home treatment
To significantly reduce the pain that occurs due to such a disease, it is necessary to carry out a long and complex treatment. Often for these purposes they go to the hospital, which is not always appropriate and permissible. In such cases, you should head to home recovery.
It is important to remember that such events can only be performed after initial treatment by a specialist.
Recovery procedures can be used at home and to prevent deterioration, or as a preventative measure. Consider the most effective methods that allow you to get rid of the disease without using medications - injections and pills. These methods include.
Therapeutic exercises and massage
At home, self-massage is allowed, which consists of warming the back muscles from the neck to the lower back. A folded towel is often used for this purpose - by wrapping it in a tour, friction is performed.
Therapeutic exercises can be performed in a sitting or standing position. Stretching your back helps a lot, as if you are lying down after sleep. Another exercise that eliminates deterioration is to raise your arms alternately and move them smoothly behind your back. Do not neglect such a method of treatment as physiotherapy exercises. Health and sport are always interrelated.
Folk remedies
Actively at home, medicines based on medicinal herbs are used. They exclude injections and tablets, and consist exclusively in ointments and infusions. The most effective medicines:
Rubbing the back with a 10-day infusion of 200 grams of lilac for 0. 5 liters of vodka helps prevent irritation very well and treats osteochondrosis itself with varying degrees of manifestation.
Crushed hop cones, taken in the same amount with melted lard, will help alleviate the deterioration.
Mix 1, 5 cups of radish juice with a glass of vodka and 200 grams of honey, add 10 gr. salt and rub into the affected area of the back - and you will not need any injections.
The popular preparations presented are effective methods for the treatment of osteochondrosis with varying degrees of its manifestation. In addition, these products can be used during breastfeeding, as they consist of natural ingredients.
In the treatment of such a disease, with varying degrees of its manifestation, may consist of different methods. Sometimes injections prescribed by a doctor give the greatest effect, sometimes folk remedies. Neglecting the advice of specialists, and even more so the complete refusal of their examination, is foolish and dangerous. With a highly developed stage of the disease, even injections will not help. In addition, thoracic osteochondrosis is often combined with cervical, and treatment of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis involves the use of slightly different methods. Therefore, the first thing you should do when similar pain appears is to contact a specialist.