Spinal osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. According to statistics, more than half of all people over 40 years of age encounter a similar ailment, and its first manifestations already occur in the second and third decades 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 nerve cells in the spinal cord. Osteochondrosis can be of several types - it all depends on the area of the back that hit. This article will discuss the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, which is not such a common ailment, but causes great discomfort.
Disease specificity
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a fairly rare disease, which is due to the structure of the spine. Also, this disease is quite difficult to diagnose, since its symptoms are often confused with manifestations of diseases of internal organs.
An exceptional feature of the chest is the fact that it is the least subject to stress. A strong connection with the ribs and the sternum creates a mobile, but at the same time durable structure, which is less exposed to various diseases.
With an early degree of development of the disease, it practically does not make itself felt, which is another feature. The disease can cause a sharp increase in chest tightness, which is often found in temperamental athletes or young mothers when breastfeeding. Another common cause of osteochondrosis of the chest is scoliosis, or poor posture.
The danger 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 suffered severe compression or pathological disorders have occurred due to a blood failure. circulation.
Manifestations of osteochondrosis of the chest.
Most often, doctors come across such an ailment 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 occur. They often arise due to the formation of various degrees of intervertebral hernia, distinguishing two of their types:
- median hernia. It is characterized by constant pain that does not go away for a long time, and drugs and injections rarely allow you to get rid of it.
- lateral herniation. It is characterized by unilateral pain that occurs at the same level as the hernia, sometimes there is a loss of sensitivity of various degrees. With such a manifestation of the disease, drugs and injections can cope with 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 waist, numbness, weakness in the legs and profuse sweating. Chest pain often extends 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. It is not recommended to do this at home. As a rule, such treatment consists of two stages: the elimination of the pain syndrome and the 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 surgical intervention, but this is very rare.
The elimination of pain is achieved through two components: rest and medication. The patient is prescribed bed rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs relieve swelling and inflammation, thereby reducing compression of nerve fibers in the spinal cord.
Sometimes, with severe pain, a combination of drugs is used. Then, in addition to NSAIDs, painkillers are prescribed: injections, tablets. This is done with very strong and excruciating pain, and medications such as muscle relaxants relieve muscle spasm in the affected area.
Once drug treatment has started to work, a period of remission begins. Physiotherapy exercises are used at this time together with wellness massages and complete rest. This set of measures is an effective treatment.
home treatment
In order to significantly reduce the pain that occurs due to such an ailment, it is necessary to carry out a long and complex treatment. Often for these purposes they go to the hospital, which is not always convenient and permissible. In such cases, you have to resort to home recovery.
It is important to remember that such events can only take place after initial treatment by a specialist.
Recovery procedures can be used at home and to prevent exacerbation, or as a preventive measure. Consider the most effective methods that allow you to get rid of the disease without using drugs: injections and pills. These methods include.
Therapeutic exercise and massage.
At home, self-massage is allowed, which consists of heating the muscles of the back from the neck to the lower back. Often, a folded towel is used for these purposes - it is rolled into a tourniquet and rubbed.
Therapeutic exercises can be performed sitting or standing. Arching your back helps a lot, as if you were stretching after sleeping. Another exercise that eliminates irritation is to alternately raise your hands and gently move them behind your back. Do not neglect such a method of treatment as physiotherapy exercises. Health and sport are always interconnected.
Home remedies
Actively at home, medicinal herbal drugs are used. They exclude injections and tablets, and consist exclusively of ointments and infusions. The most effective drugs:
Rubbing the back with a 10-day infusion of 200 grams of lilac per 0. 5 liters of vodka very well helps prevent exacerbation and treats osteochondrosis itself with varying degrees of manifestation.
Crushed hop cones, taken in the same amount with melted lard, will help relieve the aggravation.
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 injections.
The presented folk preparations are effective methods of treating osteochondrosis with varying degrees of manifestation. In addition, these products can be used during lactation, since they are made up of natural ingredients.
In the treatment of such an ailment, with varying degrees of manifestation, may consist of different methods. Sometimes injections prescribed by a doctor give the greatest effect, sometimes folk remedies. To neglect the advice of specialists, and even more so to completely refuse to examine them, is stupid and risky. With a highly developed degree of the disease, even injections will not help. Also, thoracic osteochondrosis is often combined with cervical, and the treatment of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis involves the use of slightly different methods. Therefore, the first thing to do when similar pain occurs is to contact a specialist.