Damage to the thoracic spine is often mistaken for internal organ pathology. The lungs, heart, and mammary glands and stomach located here can also cause pain in this location. Therefore, it is often difficult for doctors to diagnose osteochondrosis of the thoracic region: symptoms in women are mistaken for mastopathy.
Thoracic osteochondrosis - symptoms and sensations
To begin with, it should be noted that osteochondrosis is the most common pathology of the spine. By nature, it is a degenerative lesion associated with intervertebral disc dystrophy. Such a process leads to irreversible changes in the structure of the vertebrae, which affects the function of the spinal column as a whole.
Due to the dense innervation and the presence of a large number of nerve roots, patients with osteochondrosis experience strong and sharp pain. At the same time, their nature and intensity may change. This complicates the diagnostic process: to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis, symptoms and sensations in women are analyzed, excluding the pathology of the mammary glands, heart, and stomach.
The first signs of osteochondrosis in women
Painful sensations appear among all possible signs of spinal damage. Severe pain and pain that increases at night, when being in one position for a long time, is often the first to attract attention. Increased pain is also observed during physical activity with:
- bend;
- sharp bend to the side;
- prolonged physical, even low-intensity exercise;
- long breathing;
- raise your hand up.
Some patients complain of tightness in the chest. If osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is suspected, symptoms in women can be supplemented by several signs, these are:
- numbness of certain areas of the epidermis;
- cold feeling on the bottom of the feet;
- pain in the projection of the stomach and esophagus;
- disturbances in the function of the gastrointestinal tract.
Stages of osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women largely depend on the nature of degenerative changes. Taking them into account, the corresponding stage of the disease (degree) is distinguished:
- Grade 1 - fixed when changes are observed in the core of the disc.Excessive load leads to dehydration of the nucleus, which causes a decrease in the height of the disc and the development of cracks in the area of the fibrous ring. There is no pain, some women complain of slight discomfort with prolonged static.
- 2nd degree - due to a decrease in the height of the disc, the distance between the vertebral bodies is reduced.Spinal ligaments eventually sag. Vertebrae acquire greater mobility, which is not typical for the thoracic region as a whole. As a result, the risk of displacement increases. The pain occurs mainly during work. It is directly at this stage that osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is detected, and the symptoms in women become clear.
- Grade 3 - formation of intervertebral disc prolapse is observed.This phenomenon is accompanied by subluxations and the development of intervertebral joint arthrosis. Mobility is reduced, and numbness and tingling appear in the limbs. Painful sensations are recorded in the back, neck, and thoracic region.
- 4th degree - the body tries to compensate for the hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapt to the dysfunction of the spine.Where the vertebral bodies touch each other, osteophytes form, which can pinch nerves and injure the vertebrae.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from other diseases?
According to statistics, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the symptoms of which in women generally do not differ from those recorded in men, occur less often than lesions of the cervical and lumbar spine. However, this does not facilitate the process of diagnosing the disease. Due to the peculiarities of localization, many doctors confuse the pathology with diseases of the chest organs.
However, experienced specialists who know how to identify thoracic osteochondrosis already at the first stage try to exclude diseases of the breast, heart, stomach, and lungs. Therefore, there is no cough with thoracic osteochondrosis, in contrast to the pathology of the respiratory system, which is always accompanied by this symptom.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart disease?
In practice, doctors are often faced with situations where patients complain of normal pain in the heart, but changes on the cardiogram and ultrasound are not recorded. In such cases, painful sensations in the chest on the left side are associated with neurological disorders due to osteochondrosis. When the space between adjacent vertebrae decreases, the nerve root is compressed, which causes a painful sensation that mimics a heart attack.
Knowing how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, you can immediately identify myocardial disorders. Among the main differences:
- With osteochondrosis, the pain lasts for hours, weeks, and has a wave-like course, subsides and reappears. With angina pectoris, pain attacks last 10-15 minutes, subside after nitrates.
- The appearance of pain in osteochondrosis does not occur on the background of physical activity, unlike angina pectoris.
- Neurological pain due to spinal cord injury can be relieved with analgesics, but for patients with cardiac pathology these drugs are ineffective.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Fixed signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women must be distinguished from manifestations of VSD. Unlike spinal injuries, diseases of the cardiovascular system are characterized by several symptoms that need attention.Among the characteristic signs of VSD:
- tachycardia, heart pain;
- the appearance of an asthma attack;
- unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (pressure with thoracic osteochondrosis is always normal).
Thoracic osteochondrosis and abdominal pain
Abdominal pain with thoracic osteochondrosis is provoked by a violation of the preservation of vertebrae located on the projection of the abdomen. If the patient has stomach problems, a disturbing pain occurs, accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as heartburn. At the same time, painful sensations are completely unrelated to activity and physical activity.Pain with thoracic osteochondrosis in the abdominal area has the following characteristics:
- aggravated by movements involving the spine;
- discomfort does not decrease after taking drugs that improve digestion;
- appears regardless of stomach fullness: on an empty stomach, after eating.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and pain in the mammary gland
Mastalgia is a common symptom among women. Many girls experience painful sensations in the chest due to cyclical hormonal changes. However, if there is no cyclic pain, the doctor suspects possible changes in the spine. At the same time, women themselves began to look for causes on the Internet, trying to find a way to understand that you have osteochondrosis.
In cases where degenerative changes occur in the spine, the pain changes its location and appears regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this case, there is no swelling or swelling of the breast. The gland itself completely preserves its appearance, size and shape, in contrast to cases when breast pathology develops. Similar signs of osteochondrosis in women help distinguish this disease.
What to do with thoracic osteochondrosis?
Having suspected thoracic osteochondrosis in a woman, the doctor sends the patient for an appropriate examination. The diagnosis of this disease and the correct correction allow us to avoid the negative consequences closely related to spinal disorders. Comprehensive diagnosis, which is based on hardware examination data, is important.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The main and often the only diagnostic method is chest radiography. It allows you to diagnose osteochondrosis in women, regardless of the severity of the changes. It all depends on the quality of the photo.When osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is present, the symptoms in the woman in the picture read as follows:
- violation of the contour of the disc itself, which is located between the vertebrae;
- modified disk shape;
- the presence of osteophytes (pathological growth);
- spinous process with sharp edges, vertebrae of irregular shape;
- presence of intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Therapy for this disease is complex. Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out simultaneously in several directions:
- Pain relief- use NSAIDs.
- Strengthens the spine– moderate, balanced physical activity, physical therapy.
- Surgery– when an intervertebral hernia occurs.