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Effective methods of treating osteochondrosis of the cervical spine

Do you often have neck and headaches and the pain radiates into your arms and shoulders? Perhaps you have cervical osteochondrosis that should be treated as soon as possible? How do you diagnose the disease and which doctor should you contact? And also how to provide first aid for osteochondrosis of the neck? Read about this and a lot more later in the article.

Characteristics of the disease

First, let's remember what kind of disease it is. So osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebra is a disease of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine, which are most mobile. In most cases, the lesion occurs at the level of the C5-C7 vertebrae. Symptoms of the disease also depend on which vertebra is affected. More on that later.

Pain in the cervical spine with osteochondrosis

Reasons for appearing

To understand how to treat cervical osteochondrosis, you must first understand what are the causes of its occurrence. First of all, let's say that this disease is becoming more common recently. The age-old risk zone is between 25 and 40 years. The disease can have many causes. The most common are:

  • Working on the computer as well as frequent and long driving;
  • Inactivity;
  • Accumulation of salt in the cervical spine;
  • disturbed metabolism;
  • poor diet;
  • Neck injuries;
  • Rheumatism;
  • Inheritance;
  • hormonal disorders;
  • severe hypothermia, etc.
a healthy spine and osteochondrosis

Symptoms

The disease has a number of symptoms that can manifest themselves both together and separately. It all depends on the neck region affected. So, in order to treat cervical spine osteochondrosis, you need to find out what is affected and what the consequences are. First, consider the general signs of cervical osteochondrosis.

  • Pain. Pain syndrome is observed in the neck, back of the head, back of the shoulder. There may also be pain in the hand. This disease is responsible for 30% of all headaches. All due to the fact that with osteochondrosis, blood vessels can become pinched. As a result, the blood flow to the brain decreases and severe headaches occur, accompanied by rapid fatigue.
  • Crunch. A characteristic sharp crunch can be felt when turning and tilting the head.
  • Deafness. It can occur in the shoulder blades, accompanied by severe lumbago. The neck itself can also become numb, while an uncomfortable tingling sensation occurs in the arms and legs.
  • Weakness and dizziness. In addition, it can lead to frequent fainting attacks, drowsiness and, more generally, rapid fatigue.
Neck pain with osteosondrosis

If the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is carried out at home, then you still need to know how to accurately determine the area of the lesion. Here you just need to know what symptoms will appear if one or the other nerve root near the vertebra is affected. There are a total of 8 such processes in the cervical spine, known as C1 - C8.

  • C1 - with its defeat, impaired sensitivity is observed in the back of the head.
  • C2 - pain occurs in the back of the head and in the crown.
  • C3 - Injury is accompanied by severe pain in the area where it occurred. The sensitivity of the neck decreases. The tongue's sensitivity to taste is impaired. Language problems may arise.
  • C4 - pain in the liver and heart. There is also numbness and pain in the shoulders and between the shoulder blades.
  • C5 - Upper shoulder pain and decreased tenderness.
  • C6 - the area including the neck and shoulder blades is very sore. The pain spreads to the shoulder and radiates into the arm and reaches the thumb of the hand.
  • C7 - symptoms are similar to C6, but the pain spreads to the back of the shoulder and the entire arm, affecting the rest of the fingers except the little finger.
  • C8 - similar to C7. In addition, numbness and pain have already reached the little finger.

Types

Wondering if it is possible to cure osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home? Then you need to find out what stage of the disease you are at. After all, only the first degree of treatment can be done at home. A total of 3 degrees of the disease can be differentiated based on its progression.

  1. The first - passes almost imperceptibly, and you do not even think about how to deal with cervical osteochondrosis. But at this stage it is possible to prevent the development of the disease. Symptoms include periodic numbness of the neck and the area between the shoulder blades when you sit for long periods of time. Pain is rare but can accompany numbness and fatigue increases.
  2. The second type is disease progression. The intervertebral discs have shrunk and deformed, but can still be repaired. With every movement of the neck, a crunch and pain can be felt while the movements are restricted. Requires immediate medical attention.
  3. The third type is an advanced stage of the disease. Here the integrity of the hard drives has already been broken. Pain in the neck, head, shoulders is almost constant. Painful sensations are even given into the hands, down to the fingers. The appearance of such a disease as a hernia is possible. With further malformations and improper fusion of the vertebrae, the fight against the disease can only be continued with surgical methods.

Where can I get help?

So, you have some signs of the disease and you have decided not to sit idly, but to turn to a specialist. The question is brewing, "Which doctor treats cervical osteochondrosis? " Well, it all depends on what stage of the disease you are at. The treatment of 1st degree wounds can be carried out by a specialist in therapeutic gymnastics or a masseur. This also includes alternative medicine, namely a direction like osteopathy.

2nd degree osteochondrosis of the cervical spine already requires medical observation in a polyclinic. Manual, physiotherapists or reflex therapists can treat the wound here. Nor will it be superfluous to consult a neurologist. Grade 3 cervical osteochondrosis requires more professional medical treatment. Here, a neurologist should first deal with the condition, as there are several nerve endings in the cervical spine. In advanced cases, the surgeon and a neuropathologist treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

Referral to a specialist in cervical osteochondrosis

diagnosis

Before treating osteochondrosis of the neck, you need to undergo an examination. The attending physician will palpate the throat, make several manipulations and question you. Make sure you prescribe an x-ray of the neck crest. A general blood test is also prescribed. For a more detailed understanding of the disease, they can be sent for an MRI or CT scan.

How is the treatment carried out?

First, let's answer the question, "Is it possible to cure cervical osteochondrosis? " Yes, it is possible, but it is possible to fully cope with the disease only in its early stages. So how do you beat cervical osteochondrosis? There are various treatments for this, which are described below.

medication

Medicines are the most effective methods of treating 2nd and 3rd degree cervical osteochondrosis. A complex treatment is carried out here. So, some medications should relieve pain that has plagued you. Other drugs fight inflammation. Others relieve swelling, fourth drugs restore blood flow and supply nutrients to the diseased area. All of them can be in the form of tablets, and in the form of injections and injections. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, ointments are ineffective.

Medicines for cervical osteochondrosis

The entire treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in women and men is divided into 3 phases.

  1. First, the drugs are supposed to quickly overcome pain, reduce swelling, and have anti-inflammatory effects.
  2. In the second phase, each remedy should develop a regenerative healing effect.
  3. The third phase is restorative. These include vitamins, physical therapy and massage.

Since you have been plagued by osteochondrosis and have decided to go to the hospital, please do not self-medicate and follow all instructions from your doctor.

physical therapy

Physiotherapy can answer how osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be cured. The most common methods are:

  • Magnetic therapy;
  • Electrotherapy;
  • Laser treatment;
  • UFO;
  • Balneotherapy others.

Surgical intervention

Sometimes only a surgeon can answer how to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis. The operation is planned after consulting a neurologist. This is where the surgeon should try as much as possible so that the osteochondrosis that conquered you goes back. After the operation, prepare for a long recovery course.

Ethnosciences

And what will folk medicine say about it? There are enough methods and means of treating such a disease. Remember, however, that you act at your own risk and risk, so only you are responsible for the consequences. So, how to deal with folk remedies for osteochondrosis.

  • The first method is compresses for cervical osteochondrosis made from Indian onion leaf. To do this, you need to take a leaf of the plant and rub it into the diseased areas, and then apply the remains as a compress overnight. The healing effects should be observed the next morning.
  • Another compress for the night is prepared from cottage cheese sprinkled with vinegar. It is done several nights in a row until the treated effect occurs.
    • Compress used to treat cervical osteochondrosis
  • Horseradish leaves are used in a similar way. We take a freshly picked leaf from a plant, rinse it with boiling water and apply it to a sore spot overnight after wrapping it with something warm.
  • How to cure cervical osteochondrosis with a shovelAnd everything is very simple here. The fact is that we do not need the whole shovel, but only part of it, a so-called handle with a length of more than a meter. To turn it into a miracle cure, you need to take it with both hands and wrap it around your neck. We also massage the diseased areas with up and down movements. The procedure should be carried out several times a day, for at least a week.

Contraindications to treatment

Sometimes a difficult question arises: "What can and cannot be done with cervical osteochondrosis? " It turns out that not all medical procedures always have only one therapeutic effect. Sometimes they can be very harmful to the patient. Therefore, it is worth treating only with the recommendations of the attending physician. So, these include the following procedures that are used to treat osteochondrosis:

  1. Acupuncture;
  2. Remedial gymnastics or exercise therapy;
  3. Massage.

Acupuncture for osteochondrosis is contraindicated if you are 75 years old or older, as well as in pregnant women. The rest of the contraindication points for this procedure are identical to the massage. This contains:

  1. Blood disorders.
  2. Any kind of bleeding.
  3. Increased mental excitability.
  4. Any difficulty breathing.
  5. Digestive system problems.

Exercise therapy or physical therapy complexes with a disease such as osteochondrosis also have contraindications. The most common are unhealed injuries, severe bruises, and bruises. Again, there are contraindications:

  • a sharp aggravation of the disease;
  • Weak heart;
  • Manifestation of tachycardia or arrhythmia;
  • severe forms of diabetes;
  • Bleeding tendency;
  • infectious wounds;
  • there are diseases related to the vestibular apparatus;
  • Have vision problems;
  • neurological symptoms that lead to loss of coordination.

How do you give first aid?

If you were caught by osteochondrosis at home, first aid is as follows:

  1. Take the pain reliever you have at your normal dose.
  2. Call the doctor at home as you may need more radical methods and other drugs.
  3. Try not to make sudden movements with your head or body.
  4. Remove the covers from the bed and lie under your head with a small pillow. When the mattress is soft enough, lie down on a bench or floor.
  5. Try to relax and think of something good to make the pain reliever work faster. If the doctor is late, you don't lie in one position for a long time.