Many patients do not know how to understand that you have osteochondrosis, but at the same time they are happy to make such a diagnosis for themselves. Meanwhile, the causes of pain in the back, lower back or neck can be many. These can be curvature of the spine, disorders of internal organs, tumors, infections, instability of the position of the vertebral body, etc. Therefore, you should not make your own diagnosis. Seek medical attention if ill.
There is no reliable algorithm for recognizing osteochondrosis without special examination. But there are certain clinical signs that make it possible to suspect the disease. We will talk about them in the material brought to your attention. In the meantime, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the mechanisms of development of osteochondrosis.
Degenerative dystrophic disease of the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc - this is what is scientifically called osteochondrosis. When it develops, it leads to dorsopathy, which is complicated by dorsalgia, sciatica, sciatica, sciatica, lumbago and other syndromes associated with damage to various tissues.
Osteochondrosis is the result of maintaining a person’s wrong lifestyle. The contributing factors are:
- overweight - each kilogram creates additional depreciation and mechanical load on the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral disc;
- an inactive lifestyle without regular exercise on the skeletal muscles of the back;
- eat large amounts of carbohydrates, refined foods;
- wearing tight and uncomfortable clothing and shoes;
- incorrect posture, habit of bending, bending, tilting the body in one direction or the other;
- incorrect foot fixation in the form of flat feet or club feet;
- curvature of the spinal column;
- sedentary work or heavy physical work;
- smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages;
- insufficient consumption of clean drinking water during the day.
All these factors slow down the microcirculation of blood in the capillary network in the thickness of muscle tissue. It turns out to be unable to perform a fully diffuse exchange with the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral disc. They do not have their own circulatory system. This is how the surface destruction mechanism of the fibrous ring (this is the outer shell of the disk) is launched. It forms deposits of calcium salts. They prevent the reception of fluids from the outside. Thus, the fibrous ring begins to attract fluid from the nucleus pulposus located within it. This gelatinous body is responsible for maintaining the normal height and shape of the intervertebral disc. Thus, with loss of fluid, the nucleus pulposus loses its ability to maintain the height of the disc. The second stage of osteochondrosis develops - protrusion.
In the third stage, the fibrous ring ruptures and part of the nucleus pulposus comes out. This is a hernia disc. It presses on the soft tissues around it, provoking an inflammatory reaction, etc.
The fourth stage of osteochondrosis is the resorption of an intervertebral hernia. Part of the nucleus pulposus separates or it comes out completely through the rupture of the resulting fibrous ring. If the hernia enters the spinal canal cavity, then its resorption requires emergency surgical operation. Otherwise, a person may remain disabled with paralysis for the rest of his or her life.
As you can see, this is a very serious disease, which needs to be diagnosed in a timely manner. The sooner complex treatment is initiated, the higher the likelihood of complete restoration of the integrity of the intervertebral disc and its function.
When the first signs of osteochondrosis appear, you can make an appointment with a vertebrologist or neurologist. The doctor will perform a manual examination and examination. They will make an accurate diagnosis and recommend additional examinations as needed. After an accurate diagnosis is made, you will be offered a course of treatment.
How to recognize cervical osteochondrosis
How to understand that you have cervical osteochondrosis, and not myositis, and what to do next? Before recognizing cervical osteochondrosis, you need to collect anamnesis:
- when pain appears;
- what actions triggered their appearance;
- how long ago was the first seizure;
- are there any additional clinical signs;
- how beds and workplaces are arranged;
- what bad habits exist;
- workplace and profession.
How to understand that cervical osteochondrosis according to all this information? First of all, it is important to know that degenerative degenerative disease of the intervertebral disc manifests itself in the form of pain, stiffness of movement, excessive tension in the neck muscles and collar zone only in the early stages. Then, tense headaches, dizziness, hearing and vision impairment, increased fatigue, decreased mental performance, etc. added to these signs.
A distinctive feature of cervical osteochondrosis is that the worsening of symptoms begins at the end of the working day. And the patient’s professional activity in most cases is associated with prolonged static tension on the neck muscles and collar zone. On examination, there was pain on palpation of the spinous process of the vertebrae, excessive muscle tension and increased pain when trying to turn the head.
Before recognizing osteochondrosis of the cervical area, doctors recommend that patients take x-rays. It shows a reduced space between the vertebral bodies. This indicates that the protrusion is developing. With the help of x-ray images, an experienced vertebrologist will be able to exclude the instability of the position of the vertebral body, their subluxations, retrolisthesis, antelisthesis, destruction of the intervertebral joints and some other serious pathologies. If this examination is not sufficient, then it is recommended to perform an MRI or CT scan. If you suspect the development of posterior vertebral artery syndrome, it is recommended to conduct ultrasound scans of the neck and head canal.
How to recognize osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
Before recognizing thoracic osteochondrosis, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of developing pathology of internal organs, such as the heart, coronary circulatory system, lungs, pleura, bronchi, etc. Consider how to recognize osteochondrosis of the thoracic region:
- the most important diagnostic technique is palpation, if the pain is determined exclusively by the spinous process of the vertebrae and in the area of the paravertebral muscles, degenerative destruction of the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral disc is not excluded;
- mobility is limited and any rotation and inclination of the body increases the pain;
- pain attacks provoked by physical exertion, hypothermia or psychological stress factors;
- taking a deep breath does not aggravate the pain.
It is very important to know how to understand heart or osteochondrosis, because acute chest pain is not a precursor to myocardial infarction. And in this situation, the patient should be immediately given cardiac care.
So, if anxiety, panic and fear of death are felt during a pain attack, then this is a 90% chance of a heart attack and you should immediately call an ambulance. If there is a tonometer, then you need to measure blood pressure and count the pulse. When the pulse slows to bradycardia (less than 50 beats per minute) and with an increase in blood pressure of 20–40 mm Hg above the age norm, an unstable angina pectoris attack should also be suspected with a possible transition to myocardial infarction. .
You should not seek information on how to understand liver pain or osteochondrosis, it is more productive to seek medical help. Even the most common ECG, taken in a hospital emergency department, will show what gives the pain syndrome: the heart or the spine. Independently, you can only rely on sensations during palpation. As a rule, with damage to the heart muscle, palpation of the spinous process of the vertebrae does not give any unpleasant sensations. But at the same time, there are clinical symptoms of osteochondrosis such as shortness of breath, shortness of breath, pale skin, feeling of cold sticky sweat on the skin, nasolabial triangle cyanosis and severe muscle weakness.
How to recognize lumbar osteochondrosis
Quite acute is the question of how to understand that lumbar osteochondrosis causes severe pain. Moreover, with the defeat of several paired radicular nerves, as well as the nerve plexus, clinical symptoms occur that resemble diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system. These are constipation, diarrhea, frequent urination, etc.
How to understand that your back osteochondrosis causes pain and all other clinical signs:
- no increase in body temperature;
- no nausea and vomiting;
- tongue not coated with a white or yellow coating;
- when urinating, the color of the urine does not differ from normal;
- when emptying the bowel, there is no tenesmus and other sensations of pain;
- no mixture of blood or mucus in the stool.
To exclude renal pathology, testing for Pasternatsky symptoms was performed. The patient stands upright with his back to the doctor. The doctor with the edge of the palm lightly hits the edge of the lower costal arch. If pain occurs, then there is a high probability that lower back pain is associated with damage to the kidneys and ureters.
How to recognize lumbar osteochondrosis with indirect signs:
- with any movement, the pain increases sharply;
- deterioration of the condition begins after serious physical exercise, weight lifting, hypothermia or overheating;
- stiffness of movement is felt, often it is associated with muscle weakness;
- muscles in the lumbar region are very tense, painful on palpation;
- pain can spread along the course of a large nerve, for example, in the groin area, in the anterior abdominal wall, along the lower part of the leg;
- during rest, the pain syndrome quickly disappears.
When characteristic symptoms of osteochondrosis appear, it is important to contact a neurologist or vertebrologist as soon as possible. Only an experienced physician can exclude the possibility of vertebral displacement, disc herniation, spinal stenosis and other dangerous pathologies that require immediate medical attention.
What to do with pain from osteochondrosis
We figured out how to understand that pain arises from osteochondrosis. For now, this is important information. You need to know how to behave properly and what to do to get rid of such diseases.
Degenerative degenerative disease of the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral disc does not disappear on its own. This is due to several factors. First of all, calcification of the surface of the fibrous ring occurs, as a result of which it loses the ability to absorb the fluid secreted by the working muscles. Second, in the process of reducing the height of the intervertebral disc, secondary contraction of ligaments and tendons occurs. It is impossible to restore the height of the intervertebral space required to straighten the disc itself.