Osteochondrosis of the spine is the most common cause of back pain. According to statistics, more than half of all people over 40 encounter a similar disease, and its early manifestations appear already 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 discs and cartilage, compressing the nerve cells of the spinal cord. Osteochondrosis can be of different types - it all depends on which area of the back it struck. This article will discuss the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, which is not such a common disease, but causes great inconvenience.
specificity of the disease
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a fairly rare disease that occurs due to the structure of the spine. In addition, this disease is quite difficult to diagnose, since its symptoms are often confused with manifestations of diseases of the internal organs.
A distinctive feature of the chest is the fact that it is the least loaded. A strong connection with the ribs and sternum creates a mobile, but at the same time durable structure, which is the least susceptible to various diseases.
With an early stage of development of the disease, it practically does not make itself felt, which is another feature. The disease can cause a sharp increase in tension in the breasts, which is common in spirited athletes or young mothers who are breastfeeding. Another common cause of breast osteochondrosis is scoliosis, or poor posture.
The dangerousness of the disease also lies in the fact that the main symptoms appear only at a late stage of development, when the nerve cells of the spinal cord or the column itself have already been severely compressed, or pathological disorders have arisen due to failure of blood circulation.
Manifestations of osteochondrosis of the chest
Most often, doctors encounter such a disease 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 appear. They often arise due to the formation of intervertebral hernias of varying degrees, 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 them.
- lateral hernia. It is characterized by unilateral pain occurring at the same level as the hernia, sometimes there is a loss of sensitivity of varying 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 belt, numbness, weakness in the legs and profuse sweating. Pain from the chest often spreads to the groin and 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 strongly discouraged to do this at home. As a rule, such treatment consists of two stages - elimination of the pain syndrome and elimination of the cause of the pain.
Most often conservative methods of treatment are preferred. In cases when this method does not cope with the disease, they resort to surgical intervention, but this is very rare.
Pain relief is achieved through two components - rest and medication. The patient is prescribed bed rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs reduce swelling and inflammation, thereby reducing compression of nerve fibers in the spinal cord.
Sometimes a combination of drugs is used for severe pain. Then, in addition to NSAIDs, painkillers are prescribed - injections, tablets. This happens with very severe and unbearable pain, and medications such as muscle relaxants relieve muscle spasms in the affected area.
After the drug treatment has started to take effect, a period of remission begins. At this time, physiotherapeutic exercises are used along with wellness massage and complete rest. This package of measures is an effective treatment.
treatment at home
In order to significantly reduce the pain that occurs due to such a disease, a long and complex treatment is required. Often for these purposes they go to the hospital, which is not always convenient and permissible. In such cases, you will have to resort to home recovery.
It is important to remember that such events can only be carried out after the initial treatment by a specialist.
Recovery procedures can be used at home and to prevent an exacerbation or as a preventive measure. Consider the most effective ways that you can get rid of the disease without using drugs - injections and pills. These methods include.
Remedial gymnastics and massage
At home, self-massage is allowed, which consists in warming up the back muscles from the neck to the lower back. A folded towel is often used for these purposes - it is rolled into a tourniquet and rubbed.
Therapeutic exercises can be performed while sitting or standing. Arching your back helps a lot, like stretching after sleep. Another exercise that eliminates aggravation 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 linked.
home remedies
Medicines based on medicinal herbs are actively used at home. 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 to prevent an exacerbation and treats osteochondrosis even with varying degrees of expression.
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 g of honey, add 10 g. salt and rub into the affected area of the back - and you don't need injections.
The presented folk preparations are effective methods of treating osteochondrosis of varying degrees of its manifestation. Also, these products can be used while breastfeeding as they are made of natural ingredients.
The treatment of such a disease with different degrees of its manifestation can be of different methods. Sometimes injections prescribed by a doctor have the greatest effect, sometimes folk remedies. It is foolish and risky to neglect the advice of specialists and even completely refuse to examine them. With a highly developed degree of the disease, even injections will not help. In addition, thoracic osteochondrosis is often combined with cervical osteochondrosis, and the treatment of cervicothoracic osteochondrosis involves the use of slightly different methods. Therefore, with similar pain, the first thing to do is to consult a specialist.