Today in the article we will talk together about the disease of the century - about osteonecrosis (popularly called chondrosis). Previously, the disease was thought to affect people over the age of 50, but now it is more "rejuvenating" and affects everyone, starting with children as young as 15 years old.
As terrible as it sounds, more and more people are being diagnosed with osteonecrosis. According to statistics, almost 80% of the inhabitants of planet Earth suffer from this disease of the spine.
Read more about the disease of civilization and how to live with it later in the article.
What is osteonecrosis?
This is a bone and cartilage disease, manifested by a degenerative-dystrophic disorder of the cartilage structures of the spine, leading to severe pain.
These degenerative disorders, in other words, changes in the spine that occur under the influence of normal life factors, i. e. , simply when we do something, stand, walk, move, carry heavy objects, etc. v. Our spine is constantly doing the heaviest work, it performs 3 main functions: support, protection (protection of the spinal cord) and a consumable function when walking and other body movements. produced by the disc.
Gradually, in the process of living, cartilage is worn down, losing moisture, which is the cause of minor surgical phenomena. There is a change in the height of the discs and the vertebrae begin to stimulate the spinal nerves causing pain.
When the disc loses its elasticity, excessive load on it leads to the so-called protrusion and herniation occurs. It begins to affect the spinal nerves more, in these cases, if we talk about cervical spondylosis, the pain spreads down to the hand, numbness of the fingers.
If you have pain in your neck, thoracic spine or lower back, we recommend that you contact a neurologist or a chiropractor who specializes in treating diseases related to the spine. The sooner you seek help, the sooner you can get rid of the pain and reduce your risk of complications.
Reasons for the development of osteonecrosis
Bone tumors can develop for a variety of reasons. Experts who study this disease believe that the main cause is the uneven and incorrect distribution of loads on the spine. Therefore, in places of overload, the structure of the intervertebral discs will be changed.
However, there are other reasons that contribute to the development of the disease:
- heredity;
- age-related changes;
- trauma or congenital trauma of the spine;
- metabolic failure, overweight;
- flat feet;
- rachiocampsis;
- concussion;
- various infectious diseases;
- overload of the spine when playing sports;
- chemical exposure.
There are also so-called risk factors, the presence of which can cause the development of the disease:
- daily driving a car or working with a computer;
- advanced, serious workouts in the gym;
- excess body weight;
- unhealthy diet;
- inactive lifestyle;
- smoke;
- Hypothermia;
- nervous shocks;
- incorrect posture;
- uncomfortable high heels;
- pull weights;
- weakness of the back muscles;
- dependent on the weather, living in unsuitable climatic conditions.
If you are in one of these risk groups, be sure to take osteonecrosis prevention (slightly lower) to prevent the development of osteonecrosis.
Types and symptoms
In total, there are four types of osteonecrosis. We will talk about them in this section.
Cervical bone tumor
This is considered the most dangerous disease, because the cervical vertebrae are very mobile and even a small load can cause them to move. What is danger? The fact is that here the vertebral artery passes - this is the circuit that affects the pressure and state of the brain. This artery supplies blood to the areas of the brain responsible for blood pressure, heart rate contractions, and vestibular stabilization. When the vertebrae are displaced, the artery is compressed, so the blood flow is disturbed, respectively, the brain no longer receives enough blood. Consequences of this are headaches, flashing black dots ("flies") in the eyes, dizziness, pressure when jumping, memory impairment, and general decline in mental abilities.
Pain in the back of the neck spreading to the shoulder, under the shoulder blade, arm, and fingers are numb.
Chest bone tumor
This is a rather rare disease, as the thoracic spine is the least mobile and well protected by the ribs and muscles. The cause of the development of osteonecrosis of the thoracic region is usually scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It is quite difficult to recognize this particular disease, because its symptoms are very similar to other diseases, usually fibroids causing pain in the heart area, like the symptoms of angina attacks.
This disease manifests as pain in the spine between the shoulder blades, numbness and weakness of the muscles in the arms, sharp, sharp pain in the lower chest area, which is aggravated when the needle is deep.
Lumbar bone tumor
It is considered the most common type of disease - osteonecrosis of the lumbar spine, because the greatest load falls on this particular part of the spine. The lower back is most affected by a sedentary lifestyle. Because the nerves in this part of the spine are compressed, a person feels a sharp or nagging pain in the lower back, often it spreads to the back of the thighs and buttocks, to the lower leg.
The pain is accompanied by numbness of the toes, tingling, and crawling on the back of the lower leg. The normal functioning of the genitourinary system and intestines is disrupted.
Widespread spondyloarthritis
It is characterized by the defeat of two or all three parts of the ridge at the same time.
stage
In this section, we will talk about the stages of disease development, and how they manifest themselves. There are 4 stages of spina bifida in modern medicine:
- 1 stage
In the early stages, it is quite difficult to diagnose this disease and, in principle, to suspect it in oneself. Patients feel general discomfort in the back and often assume this is due to overwork, hard work, stress and not even thinking about going to the doctor. The disease usually progresses slowly and is latent, often discovered incidentally during a general examination (X-ray or MRI).
- 2 stages
The second stage is characterized by the appearance of pains, since the process of destruction of cartilage begins. In the absence of treatment, the size of the discs decreases rapidly in patients, they are slightly protruding, this stage precedes the formation of the herniated mass. In fact, there is compression of the nerve roots, so there is pain syndrome.
- 3 stages
In stage 3, the patient experiences serious changes in the spine. The development of curvature, scoliosis, curvature of the upper part of the spine (kyphosis), humps begin, disc herniation appears. Of course, proper therapy will not be able to completely restore the spine anymore, however, it will gradually improve its condition and reduce defects, such as bumps or curvatures.
- 4 stages
If the disease has reached stage 4, there are irreversible changes in the back spine. Walking became difficult because every movement caused terrible pain. Cartilage is compressed, vertebrae are displaced, bone tissue grows. Often at this stage, the patient is said to be disabled.
Medical treatment
After a specialist (orthopedist, neurosurgeon, vertebral surgeon) completes and diagnoses osteonecrosis, he prescribes complex therapy, which includesmany different treatment methods. With the right combination of them, you can achieve very good results in the treatment of:
- Prepare
First of all, the treatment is aimed at relieving the pain, for this, analgesics and local analgesics are prescribed. Then anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antioxidant therapy is performed. After you need to restore normal blood circulation.
- exercise therapy
Once the medication is over and the inflammation is gone, you can and should go to exercise classes, in principle you can do it yourself at home, but it's better to see a specialist first. newly applied. knowledge gained at home.
- Manual therapy
Manual therapy is also very helpful, it helps to increase the distance between the vertebrae, release pinched nerves and blood vessels, and facilitate and accelerate tissue healing. Displaced vertebrae are removed. The main thing you need to pay attention to when choosing a chiropractor is whether he has a doctor's diploma, a neurologist certificate, and a chiropractor certificate. If at least something is missing, then you should not be treated by this specialist.
- Acupuncture
Acupressure (acupuncture) is equally effective. It can be said that it creates a miraculous effect, almost right from the first session you will feel its pain-relieving effect, the swelling will gradually decrease at the location of the pinched nerve, andThe muscle spasms caused by the pain will subside. Reduces inflammation, eliminates numbness of the fingers, characteristic of this disease, restores the transmission of nerve signals.
- Stone therapy
Ice therapy or ice therapy warms up muscles very well, improving blood flow and nutrition of the intervertebral discs.
- Magnetic therapy
With magnetic therapy, the patient will also be able to feel much better. It helps to reduce blood viscosity, improve the nutrition of damaged tissues, reduce swelling, restore mobility and more.
- Pool
Usually, patients are recommended special exercises in the pool, as well as floating - this procedure allows you to completely relax the spine due to being in a saline solution, thanks to which the patient "floats" andall loads are removed from the backbone.
In principle, to prevent osteonecrosis, you can go to any SPA-beauty salon, which is available almost everywhere.
- Work
In extremely severe cases, a surgery is indicated, in which the herniated and affected discs are removed, and the spinal structure is stabilized. Surgery is a big risk for the patient, so it is done in emergencies.
In the early stages of osteonecrosis, you can quickly remove it and you will only have to do some exercises to prevent its regrowth. Complex therapies will be selected by the attending physician, taking into account all the features of your body.
Treatment at home
As we mentioned above, it is important to perform the first exercises of the occupational therapy under the supervision of a specialist so as not to overload the spine. But after a few sessions, you can do the exercises at home.
After exercising at home, patients diagnosed with spina bifida should massage themselves, maybe ask relatives to help.
You need to start with gentle strokes along the entire spine. Then, the muscles in the neck, chest, and lower back are kneaded in a circular motion or by pinching, without pressing hard with the fingertips. You can also rub the gaps between the ribs without pressing hard.
It is very important if you have a disease, which we are talking about in the article, is to eat right. Which diet to follow and what foods are best to exclude from the diet in the next section.
Diet for osteonecrosis
Proper nutrition for chondrosis includes the use of products containing substances that promote the formation of cartilage in the spine - mucopolysaccharides. Most of them are in jelly, jelly, fish jelly. For dessert, jelly is perfect, where the main ingredient is gelatin, and in turn it is saturated with mucopolysaccharide.
In addition, you need to drink a lot of water, the lack of water will lead to damage to the discs, and this leads to the first manifestations of the disease.
Vegetables and fruits are one of the most important foods for flies, and their use is essential for their healthy functioning. They contain polyunsaturated fatty acids that the body needs.
What can and should you eat?
The body needs many trace elements:
- One of them is calcium, it is found in milk, almonds, hard cheeses, cottage cheese, legumes.
- Vitamin D needed for calcium absorption: eggs, sea fish, avocado. In addition, it should be exposed to the sun regularly.
- Calcium is only stored in bone tissue with a sufficient amount of magnesium in the body; It is found in cucumbers, nuts and avocados.
- In addition, it should be noted to eat foods containing phosphorus: fish, soybeans, peas, white cabbage.
- B vitamins are also very important for our diseases, to get it you need to eat: beef, pork, mushrooms, seafood, cereals. Vitamin A is also very useful and is found in carrots, melons, pumpkins and liver.
Overall, as you can see, the diet isn't terrible, you won't have to starve yourself and just cut something out of your menu, but there's still something to replace these products.
What is not recommended to use
- The first thing to say is to reduce salt consumption. Especially if you have cervical osteochondrosis, then a salt-free diet will be very helpful.
- The bans also include marinades, semi-finished products, spicy foods, and pickles.
- Sweets, like salt, slow down blood circulation, and if we already have an interrupted blood supply to the brain, then sweets will only aggravate the situation.
- We exclude coffee and all sodas from the menu, as they do a great job of removing calcium from the body, as well as potassium, magnesium and other important minerals.
And, of course, it's important to monitor your weight, especially with lumbar sclerosis, as the lumbar region already takes on all the major load, and if the body weight is large, imagineImagine how difficult he will be to deal with!
The diet can also be considered a preventative measure, even if you are not diagnosed with osteonecrosis, all the vitamins and minerals shown in the chondrosis diet will under any circumstances. Very useful for your body.
Listen carefully to your body and don't be afraid to seek help from your doctor if necessary.
Wishing you good health!