Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is a severe degenerative-dystrophic pathology, which cannot yet be definitively cured. It occurs against the background of the destruction of the intervertebral discs, displacement and protrusion of the vertebrae. When diagnosing the disease, doctors take into account that the signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women and men are different. This is due to hormonal fluctuations in the female body. Women often stick to diets, wear narrow shoes with high heels, and have a hard time experiencing domestic conflict. This affects the development, course and progression of pathology of the musculoskeletal system.
Differences between female and male clinical manifestations
Diagnosis of thoracic osteochondrosis in women causes more difficulties due to the peculiarities of the hormonal background. In young patients, it is subject to frequent monthly fluctuations. In women during the natural menopause, the production of hormones in the body decreases. This can lead to the development of pathologies, they must be differentiated. Men are characterized by a typical course of the disease, which makes it possible to identify them in time and start treatment immediately.
The clinical picture of thoracic osteochondrosis in women includes numerous signs that are so specific that it is sometimes difficult to classify them as symptoms of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Doctors distinguish such characteristic differences between the male and female clinical picture, the further course of thoracic osteochondrosis:
- clinical manifestations in women appear a little earlier. This is due to the spine, which is more fragile and susceptible to the action of negative factors, increased sensitivity to painful sensations;
- the intensity of pain in the chest region, stiffness varies depending on the menstrual cycle. This is due to the production of estrogen in the body - steroid sex hormones. They reduce the severity of pain that occurs against the background of thinning of the intervertebral discs and spasm of the neck muscles. Therefore, at the initial diagnosis, due to the complaints of patients, women are not always able to informatively describe the sensations that bother them;
- In men, thoracic osteochondrosis rarely causes the development of a concomitant disease. And in women, several pathologies can appear at once. At the same time, osteochondrosis can provoke the development of a disease not related to the musculoskeletal system. Conversely, an endocrine or metabolic disorder leads to the destruction of cartilage tissue;
- For the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, women are prescribed drugs that are rarely used in the treatment of men. These are antipsychotics, tranquilizers, tranquilizers. The psycho-emotional state of women is more unstable, so the symptoms include anxiety, increased anxiety and insomnia. Sometimes, with the news of the incurability of the disease, depression appears, which is only eliminated by treatment with antidepressants.
Women are more likely to suffer from headaches. However, unlike men, during the day they do not suffer from an increase in the intensity of clinical manifestations due to the action of estrogens.
An interesting fact is that with the progression of pathology in women, libido can increase. This is how steroid hormones, which are intensively produced in the body to suppress pain, work. And men's sexual desire is significantly reduced due to disruption of the innervation of the prostate.
Typical signs of the disease
Patients usually complain to doctors about pain in the shoulder blade area, which is aggravated by tilting or rotating the body. It radiates to the sides, lower back, and even the forearms. Pain is felt along the intercostal nerve, its intensity increases with coughing, laughing and sneezing. Reflected pain complicates the diagnosis, requires additional studies, consultations with an endocrinologist, cardiologist, mammologist, gynecologist.
Characteristic signs are stiffness, a feeling of stiffness.When you move and change the position of the body, certain clicks can be heard, which are usually associated with a displacement of the vertebrae relative to each other. The typical symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women also include the following clinical manifestations:
- feeling of "creeping goosebumps", decreased tactility in the chest or abdomen, numbness in some areas of the skin;
- Appearance of signs of intercostal neuralgia. When lifting weights, increasing physical activity, hypothermia, there is an acute stabbing pain in the area of \u200b\u200bthe ribs, spreading to the chest and sides;
- the development of stable dorsalgia - a combination of pain sensations of different intensity in the back. They can also appear when inhaling, increase when climbing stairs, when doing housework;
- Muscle spasms that limit range of motion. Muscle spasms occur in response to compression by an osteophyte (bone growth) or inflammatory edema of sensitive nerve endings in soft tissues.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is characterized by constant tension in the muscles located near the spine. This is determined by palpation during the initial examination, as is pain in the area of the nerve endings. There is a change in attitude, in a woman's gait. She tries to keep her back straight to avoid pain. However, with a pathology of the 3rd degree, curvature of the spine is already noted against the background of developing scoliosis and a decrease in the distance between the vertebrae.
Specific symptoms of the pathology
Thoracic osteochondrosis is rarely diagnosed. This section of the spine is endowed with a powerful muscular corset, and its strong attachment to the ribs allows it to withstand intense static and dynamic loads. Doctors often call thoracic osteochondrosis a "chameleon disease". To recognize it, differential diagnosis is required not only for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (arthritis, spondyloarthrosis), but also for diseases of internal organs.
Patients often do not turn to a vertebrologist or neuropathologist with complaints, but to a cardiologist, nephrologist, gastroenterologist, gynecologist. The fact is that the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are disguised as clinical manifestations of angina, cholecystitis and renal colic. And an attack of intercostal neuralgia is very similar to a myocardial infarction or appendicitis. What atypical signs of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine in women can appear in the stage of remission or relapse:
- pain in the region of the heart. They are mistaken for an angina attack or myocardial infarction. Cardiologists rule out heart pathologies after examining the results of an ECG and other instrumental tests;
- pain in the mammary glands. Discomfort does not go away for a long time, and its intensity does not decrease. After the patient contacts a gynecologist or mammologist, an ultrasound of the mammary glands is performed to exclude benign and malignant neoplasms;
- Pain in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). A woman turns to a gastroenterologist after the appearance of constant pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium, or periodically. When diagnosing gastritis, cholecystitis, ulcerative lesions, various laboratory and instrumental studies are carried out;
- pain in the lower abdomen. Often occurs due to compression of the nerve endings of the spinal cord. Painful sensations and disturbances in urination resemble signs of diseases of the genitourinary system. Urologists or gynecologists distinguish osteochondrosis from pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, uterine fibroids.
Despite the increased libido caused by estrogen production, patients show reproductive system dysfunction. Anorgasmia (lack of orgasm) develops against the background of compression of the nerves innervating the lower part of the chest zone of the back.
The narrow localization of pathologies on the internal organs and the commonality of innervation cause very specific clinical manifestations. Sometimes they disguise themselves as cerebrovascular accidents, kidney failure, hepatic colic, and even dental disease. The medical literature describes cases of extraction of treated teeth due to severe persistent pain at their base. Subsequently, the cause of the pain syndrome was established - neurological symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Vertebrological signs are more characteristic of cervical pathology, but sometimes they are noted even with severe thoracic pathology. Destructive-degenerative processes in the vertebrae and intervertebral discs lead to sharp jumps in blood pressure, dizziness, movement disorders, headaches and tinnitus. There have been cases of reduced visual acuity.
Many patients are diagnosed with psycho-emotional disorders (tears, anxiety, mood swings). Health problems, the news of an upcoming surgery and a decrease in physical activity sometimes become the causes of a depressive state.
How to get rid of the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis
Methods of treatment of degenerative-dystrophic pathology in women and men are the same. Destroyed cartilage tissue cannot be restored, so the main goal of therapy is to reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent the further spread of pathology.
When choosing a method, the doctor takes into account the degree of destructive changes, the presence of an inflammatory process in soft tissues, the stage of the course of thoracic osteochondrosis. Women are much more likely than men to be prescribed antidepressants, tranquilizers, and tranquilizers. Hormone replacement therapy may be prescribed during natural menopause, which is also necessary to prevent osteoporosis (decrease in bone mass).
To eliminate pain in thoracic osteochondrosis in women, drugs of different clinical and pharmacological groups are used:
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)with tablets. After a week of taking and improving well-being, women are prescribed external forms of NSAIDs;
- hormonal preparations. Glucocorticosteroids are typically used for drug blockade;
- muscle relaxants. Relax skeletal muscles, relieve painful muscle spasms;
- chondroprotectors. Partially regenerates damaged hyaline cartilages, after a few weeks of natural administration they have an analgesic effect.
In the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, physiotherapeutic procedures are actively used: UHF therapy, laser therapy, magnetotherapy, applications with ozokerite, paraffin, bischophite. Patients are shown massage, physiotherapy exercises, swimming, yoga.
If a woman does not seek medical help, diseases of the internal organs may soon develop. They are provoked by the protrusion of the intervertebral disc into the narrowed spinal canal and the formation of hernias. The deterioration of the spine leads to compression of the spinal cord, and then the occurrence of kidney, liver, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular diseases.