Spinal osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. According to statistics, more than half of all people over 40 years old suffer from a similar disease, and its first manifestations occur already in the second and third decade 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 which area of the back it has affected. This article will discuss the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, which is not such a common disease but causes great inconvenience.
disease specificity
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a rather uncommon disease, due to the structure of the spine. In addition, this disease is quite difficult to diagnose, as its symptoms are often confused with manifestations of diseases of Organs 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 sternum creates a mobile, but at the same time durable structure, which is the least exposed to various diseases.
With an initial stage of development of the disease, it is practically not felt, which is another feature. The disease can cause a marked increase in chest tension, which is often found in temperamental athletes or young mothers while 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 failure in the blood circulation.
Manifestations of osteochondrosis of the chest
Most often, doctors find such a disease as radiculopathy - compression of nerve fibers in the spinal cord. In this case, the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine depends on the symptoms that appear. They usually arise due to the formation of various degrees of intervertebral hernia, distinguishing two of their types:
- Median hernia. It's characterized by constant pain that doesn't go away for a long time, and drugs and injections rarely let you get rid of it.
- Lateral Hernia. It is characterized by unilateral pain that occurs at the same level as the hernia, sometimes there is loss of sensation in varying degrees. With such a manifestation of the disease, medications and injections can cope with the 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 spreads to the groin, abdomen, and can disrupt the functioning of internal organs.
Thoracic osteochondrosis treatment
Competent specialists should think about how to treat thoracic osteochondrosis. Doing this at home is highly discouraged. As a rule, this treatment consists of two steps - the removal 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 deal with the disease, they resort to surgical intervention, but this is very rare.
Pain removal is achieved by two components - rest and medication. The patient is prescribed bed rest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs relieve swelling and inflammation, thus reducing the compression of nerve fibers in the spinal cord.
Sometimes, with severe pain, a combination of drugs is used. So, in addition to NSAIDs, painkillers are prescribed - injections, pills. This is done with very severe and unbearable pain, and medications such as muscle relaxants relieve muscle spasm in the affected area.
After drug treatment starts to work, a period of remission begins. At this time, physiotherapy exercises are used in conjunction with wellness massage and complete rest. This set of measures is an effective treatment.
home treatment
To significantly reduce the pain that occurs due to such a disease, 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 should resort to home recovery.
It is important to remember that such events can be carried out only after initial treatment by a specialist.
Recovery procedures can be used at home and to prevent exacerbation, or as a preventative 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 warming up the back muscles from the neck to the lower back. Often, a folded towel is used for these purposes - rolling it in a tourniquet, rubbing.
Therapeutic exercises can be performed in a sitting or standing position. Arching your back helps a lot, as if you were stretching after sleeping. Another exercise that eliminates aggravation is to alternately raise your hands and gently move them behind your back. Do not neglect a treatment method like physical therapy exercises. Health and sport are always intertwined.
Folk remedies
Actively at home, medicines based on medicinal herbs are used. They exclude injections and pills 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 liter of vodka helps to very well prevent exacerbation and treats osteochondrosis itself with varying degrees of manifestation.
Crushed hop cones, taken in the same amount with melted lard, will help alleviate 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 it into the affected area of your back - and you won't need injections.
The presented folk preparations are effective methods of treating osteochondrosis with varying degrees of its manifestation. In addition, these products can be used while breastfeeding as they are made up of natural ingredients.
In the treatment of such a disease, with varying degrees of its manifestation, may consist of different methods. Sometimes injections prescribed by a doctor give the greatest effect, sometimes folk remedies. Neglecting expert advice, and even more so, completely refusing to examine it, is stupid and risky. 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, the first thing to do when a similar pain occurs, contact a specialist.