Osteochondrosis does not cause pain, but, at the same time, pain with osteochondrosis is possible. A strange situation, at first glance. But, after you read this article, you will become a real expert not only on this issue, but also on: What is osteochondrosis? What are the reasons? What are the symptoms and signs? How to diagnose osteochondrosis? What treatments work? What is included in the prevention of this disease? And also on many other issues.
What is osteochondrosis?
To understand what osteochondrosis is, you need to dive a little into history. The term was introduced in 1928 by Christian Georg Schmorl. But the curious thing is that Schmorl is a pathologist and, as you understand, he has no one to ask: "Where does it hurt? " (sorry for the dark humor). During his study of pathological material, Schmorl discovered previously unknown changes at the junction of bone and cartilage, particularly in the region of the spinal disc. After these changes are described, all that remains is to come up with a name for them. To do this, he took the Latin word "bone" / os and the Greek word "cartilage" / chondros and, combining them, received the term osteochondrosis.
What is osteochondrosis, what exactly does Schmorl call this word? It turns out that this is not pain at all and, in general, is not a sensation. With the word osteochondrosis, Schmorl sets the following three changes:
- decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc;
- subchondral sclerosis;
- marginal bone growth.
Translated into common language, this means that the height of the disc has decreased, and the surface of the vertebrae adjacent to the disc has become more compact and developed in the form of a rim. This is osteochondrosis in its original meaning, which Christian Georg Schmorl put into it.
Osteochondrosis disease
Let's once again pay attention to the fact that Schmorl does not describe the disease of osteochondrosis, but only tissue changes, and this is a different matter. The concept of "disease" is broader; it includes complaints, symptoms, laboratory and radiological changes, methods of treatment and prevention.
But Schmorl did not write about such things and, in general, did not consider osteochondrosis as a disease. But why is it common to say that osteochondrosis is a disease, interested in the causes of its occurrence, signs, symptoms and treatment of osteochondrosis?
But the fact is that Schmorl has a following. So they decided to find out how osteochondrosis manifests itself and what symptoms bother a person? As a result, it was found that osteochondrosis itself does not directly cause pain, as well as other sensations. This is explained by the fact that there are no pain receptors in the vertebrae and discs. And because there are no receptors, there is no pain. This is easy to understand using the example of hair and nails - also no receptors or pain when cut.
The second important finding is that osteochondrosis is part of a general degenerative process that covers all our organs and tissues. Dystrophy is a violation of tissue nutrition at the cellular level; it remains throughout life and gradually ages our bodies. That is, osteochondrosis is basically part of the aging process. But, as you know, details matter. And the details are that not all degenerative processes are as painless as osteochondrosis. In particular, dystrophic pathology of the muscles surrounding the spine is almost always associated with pain. After all, muscles, unlike vertebrae and discs, have pain receptors. A common example is myofascial syndrome. It usually occurs in parallel with osteochondrosis and is painful. Now, remember, at the beginning of the article we said that osteochondrosis itself does not cause pain, but pain maybe? So, it is precisely these cases, when the painful pathology is added to the painless osteochondrosis - the same myofascial syndrome - that perfectly explains the meaning of what has been said.
You may ask, where is the answer to the question, why is it customary to say that osteochondrosis is a disease? In fact, we have already approached it. The fact is, although osteochondrosis itself is not, in fact, a disease, but as a starting point in the study of degenerative processes, the word "osteochondrosis" has taken root in our language until, over time, it has become. general slang name for all diseases of the spine.
Causes of osteochondrosis
The reasons can be divided into external and internal.
Internal (endogenous) causes include, first of all, the degenerative processes we discussed above. This also includes genetic predisposition, as well as hormones, minerals, vitamins, proteins and other metabolic disorders, as a result of which the bones and cartilage tissue do not receive the necessary nutrition. All these are so-called biological factors, which, of course, can be influenced, but doing so is quite difficult and expensive. Despite this, there are simple and inexpensive ways that allow you to achieve results that are no less convincing by eliminating only external causes.
External (exogenous) reasons are considered to be an inactive lifestyle, weak spinal corset muscle training, microtraumas of the back and spine, insufficient physical activity, bending habits, "sedentary" work, constant stressful situations, lack of preventive visits. to chiropractors and more.
As you can see, external causes are largely caused by our wrong actions, for example, low physical activity, or our inability and neglect of health, for example, neglecting prevention.
Agree, external causes are easier to eliminate than internal causes. Of course, there are patients who cannot do without drug treatment for internal reasons, but there are only a few of them. In most cases, it is enough to get rid of external causes of osteochondrosis to get convincing results at a lower cost. This requires some self-discipline, basic physical activity and regular visits to a chiropractor.
Symptoms and signs of osteochondrosis
Symptoms and signs are usually divided into those that develop within the spine itself and those that are extravertebral.
In your opinion, what symptoms of osteochondrosis cause more problems? In fact, a lot here depends not only on the symptoms themselves, but also on other factors: age, weight, the presence of concomitant diseases in the patient, etc.
But, let's go back to the symptoms of vertebral osteochondrosis: as we said, they are vertebral, they are also called vertebral and extravertebral - extravertebral. Extravertebral symptoms, in turn, are also divided into two groups - reflex and radicular symptoms of osteochondrosis.
For simplicity, this classification of back symptoms is best represented as follows:
- Vertebrata/vertebrae
- Extravertebral/extravertebral: radicular symptoms and reflex symptoms
Spinal symptoms of osteochondrosis include curvature of the spine (not to be confused with scoliosis), localized pain, muscle tension and impaired movement.
Radicular symptoms occur as a result of an impact on the nerves exiting the spine. This is manifested by decreased reflexes, muscle weakness, impaired sensitivity and radicular pain.
And here it is necessary to clarify that all our vertebrae, discs and "roots" have a specific designation. Therefore, we can talk about radicular symptoms only when all these symptoms and signs clearly indicate a certain "root", and not when any pain "from the bulldozer" is called radicular.
Very rare, but dangerous signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis are paresis, paralysis and disorders of the pelvic organs. They show the development of spinal strokes. This is a serious complication of osteochondrosis, where the radicular artery is affected.
Reflex symptoms depend mainly on the affected part of the spine. According to statistics, the cervical spine is most often affected.
The essence of cervical osteochondrosis is a large number of reflex symptoms. Pain in the neck, back of the head and collar area. Vertebral crunch, muscle tension and difficulty moving. Headache. Dizziness. Intracranial pressure. Morning stiffness. Numbness, pins and needles, goosebumps and weakness in the arms. Pain in the shoulder and under the shoulder blade. Burning between the shoulder blades and in the region of the heart (reminiscent of angina). Numbness of hands or fingers. A "lump" in the area of the seventh cervical vertebra. Temporary darkness or "floating" in the eyes. Noise or ringing in the ears. Nausea, even vomiting. The pressure surged. Conditions before fainting. Lump in the throat with osteochondrosis, weak voice, hoarseness, feeling of lack of air, swallowing problems and sore throat with osteochondrosis - all these are fairly common reflex symptoms. There may also be sleep disturbances, frequent insomnia, and feeling tired in the morning. General weaknesses. Irritation. Rapid fatigue.
As you can see, the symptoms and signs of diseases with osteochondrosis are very diverse. This is especially true for reflex symptoms.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis
Diagnosis is the key to proper treatment. Modern hardware diagnostic methods make it possible to accurately confirm this diagnosis. As you know, MRI and CT are considered the most accurate examinations. But, as before, the main factor in making a diagnosis remains clinical diagnosis. This is when an experienced doctor compares data from at least three sources: patient complaints, MRI results and symptoms identified during the examination.
This diagnostic approach allows you to establish an accurate diagnosis and develop an effective individual treatment program.
Effective treatment of osteochondrosis
Effective treatment of osteochondrosis is possible only with strict adherence to a scientific approach. This means that the right priorities are needed, first of all, in choosing the main and additional types of treatment for vertebral osteochondrosis.
What do you think is the most important treatment? You don't have to be a doctor to answer this question. You can only follow logic. Osteochondrosis is a pathology of the musculoskeletal system. This system is biomechanical in nature. The key word is "mechanical". As a result, mechanical disorders require the same method of treatment – mechanical. Therefore, the main type of treatment for osteochondrosis is manual therapy. It is particularly suitable for restoring the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system. And additional methods include drugs, physiotherapy, massage, exercise therapy, etc. And it is also important to know that among all types of manual therapy, the safest type is gentle manual therapy. It is superior to conventional manual therapy in its effectiveness, gentleness and safety. To understand what is involved in the treatment of osteochondrosis by a chiropractor, you need to know that the intervertebral disc is the only part of the body that does not have blood vessels and is preserved thanks to the proper function of the spinal muscles. Failure in the function of these muscles immediately affects the nutrition of the disc. And as we said at the beginning of the article, malnutrition is a very degenerative process in which osteochondrosis is a part.
Effective treatment with gentle manual therapy is fundamentally different from conventional manual therapy. This is not a "vertebral realignment" at all, as some people think - it is something completely different. Gentle manual therapy is a whole system of special influence methods that relieve muscle spasms and tension. Return the muscles to their normal physiology and improve disc nutrition.
Observation by a doctor includes three stages:
- Consultation. The doctor knows what symptoms are bothering the patient, explains the medical history, reviews the patient's medical documentation, analyzes the images, and determines the nature of the disease.
- Diagnostics. Conduct a comprehensive examination and clinical examination of the patient: visual and myofascial diagnostics; palpation of tense muscles and painful vertebrae; neurological reflex tests and muscle tests.
- Treatment plan. Based on the history of the current illness, examination data, as well as the results of the patient's clinical examination, the doctor makes a diagnosis and chooses treatment options. The doctor tells the patient in detail about the essence of the disease and the principles of treatment, and answers all the patient's questions.
Prevention of osteochondrosis
Prevention is necessary to avoid recurrence. To do this, you need to create comfortable conditions for work and rest. Maintain physical activity. Avoid overwork. Monitor proper nutrition and weight. But the main thing is not to neglect your health.
Remember, prevention is, first of all, medical supervision and timely correction of the musculoskeletal system. Try to visit a chiropractor at least once every three to six months. This will reduce risk factors and eliminate any violations in time. Advanced osteochondrosis leads to complications - disc protrusion and herniation. Don't forget this. Take care!