Osteoarthritis of the chest

Clinically, chondrosis is manifested by sharp, piercing or dull pain, aching, crunching when bending over and stiffness.

Pathology is characterized by many specific symptoms - a feeling of lack of air when inhaling, discomfort in the heart area and even a sore throat.

Treatment of the disease is mainly conservative with pharmacological drugs.Physiotherapeutic procedures, massage sessions are also performed, and the help of orthopedists is sought.

If such treatment is ineffective, the patient is prescribed surgical intervention.

Details of symptoms

Symptoms of thoracic spondylosis never appear at the same time.At the initial stages of development of this degenerative-dystrophic pathology, only mild discomfort in the back is noted.Patients consider them to be caused by trivial overwork after a hard day's work and perceive them as "stiff" muscles caused by being in one position for long periods of time.

But the intensity of the discomfort was steadily increasing.The feeling of discomfort is replaced by severe pain, complicated by limited range of motion, dizziness and headaches.In medicine, all symptoms of osteochondrosis of this area are divided into several groups.This helps to make a faster diagnosis and decide on treatment tactics.

Note!Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in men and women do not differ in nature, severity or localization.But in people of the stronger sex, they may occur a little later due to a stronger musculoskeletal system.In addition, some men have erectile dysfunction due to osteoarthritis.

Vertebral symptoms

Under the influence of adverse factors (hypothermia, increased physical activity), long-term remission of osteonecrosis of the chest can be interrupted by a sudden attack of acute pain.Even more often, it is triggered by remaining in the same body position for long periods of time, such as sitting.If a person stands up suddenly, a sharp pain in the back will occur, causing the person to lose the ability to move for several minutes.

In medicine, this condition is called dorsago.It differs from regular pain in the accompanying symptoms:

• feeling of lack of air when inhaling;
• obvious hardness.

The pathological process is often complicated by back pain - pain in the thoracic spine, gradually increasing in intensity.It strengthens when bending or rotating the body to the sides.In order not to feel pain, a person must be in a forced position.At the same time, he involuntarily strains the back muscles, unintentionally provoking them to excessive tension.Now they also start to hurt, especially when walking.

Extraspinal symptoms

As thoracic cartilage degeneration progresses, the intervertebral discs become thinner and destroyed.These pieces of cartilage can no longer distribute loads and prevent the vertebrae from bumping into each other.A compensatory reaction of the body is triggered - the bone structure begins to deform with the formation of tumors.They put pressure on sensitive nerve endings and violate the spinal canal.Therefore, specific symptoms of thoracic osteoarthritis occur in both women and men: loss of sensitivity in certain areas of the body, burning sensations and goosebumps.

Important!Localized osteonecrosis of the chest is often manifested by a dry, hacking cough, sore throat, feeling of a lump in it, as well as urinary disorders.

But that's not all.Spinal roots are responsible not only for the distribution (transmission of nerve impulses) of the spine, but also of the internal organs.Therefore, when they are compressed, discomfort will appear in the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and heart muscle.Signs of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region that are not specific to back diseases are:

• pain in the heart area, like a recurrence of angina, difficulty breathing, feeling of "squeezing" the heart;
• panic attacks, psycho-emotional instability, unreasonable fear, anxiety, sleep disorders;
• discomfort in the epigastric region, attacks of nausea, sometimes leading to vomiting, heartburn, bloating, seething and rumbling in it;
• motility disorders - constipation or diarrhea;
• long tired breaths accompanied by sobs.

The pain is not directly localized in the area where the disc is destroyed and (or) the disc herniation is formed.They radiate along the nerves.Signs of thoracic cartilage degeneration can be disguised as renal colic, symptoms of gastritis, stomach ulcers, hepatitis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and even gastroenteritis.

Compressive myelopathy

This is the name for the extraspinal syndrome, which is rarely encountered in clinical practice.It is observed in stages 3-4 of the disease, when the spinal segment loses stability and the nucleus pulposus protrudes outside the annulus fibrosus.Intervertebral hernias form, continuously putting pressure on the spinal cord.When seeing a spine specialist or neurologist, the patient complains of low back pain that frequently radiates to the groin area.At the same time, there is a feeling of weakness and numbness in the lower limbs.

In the setting of a compromised spinal cord, innervation is severely disrupted.In the absence of treatment, the functional activity of organs located in the pelvis will decrease.Compressive myelopathy causes problems with bowel movements.And because the diameter of the spinal canal is significantly narrowed, the sensitivity of the legs is also greatly reduced.In severe cases, patients are diagnosed with paralysis (partial or complete paralysis) of one or both lower limbs.

Symptoms are relieved

Apart from recurrent cases, osteochondrosis of the chest hardly bothers a person.Occasionally, persistent, aching, dull pain appears in the back area and usually goes away after a long rest.But as soon as you increase the load on the spine even a little, lift something heavy or bend over, another relapse occurs.It can also be triggered by the following factors:

• stressful situations, depressive states;
• hypothermia, sudden temperature changes;
• staying in one body position for a long time;
• alcohol abuse;
• Unbalanced diet, lack of foods rich in calcium, phosphorus, manganese, molybdenum in the diet.

Sometimes a remission period ends as a person tries to avoid relapsing again.He goes to see a chiropractor or massage therapist of dubious reputation or little practical experience.Attempting to stretch the spine will lead to another exacerbation.

Basic treatment methods

It is still not possible to completely cure the disease, so all doctors' efforts are aimed at improving the patient's health.The patient should wear orthopedic products (corsets, bandages) that help immobilize the vertebral structures and prevent their displacement.Drugs of different clinical and pharmacological groups are prescribed, physiotherapeutic measures and exercise therapy are performed.

The movements of the chiropractor's hands are aimed at increasing the distance between the vertebrae, which is reduced with thoracic osteoarthritis.

Important!With high severity thoracic osteonecrosis, conservative treatment is useless.The patient was immediately offered surgical intervention - removal of intervertebral hernia, joint correction, placement of implants in the damaged disc area, bone grafting.

Treatment with medication

Treatment of thoracic spondylosis is aimed at eliminating all symptoms and inhibiting the destructive and degenerative processes.During periods of exacerbation, injectable solutions are used, which show an effect after 5-10 minutes.After that, the result is guaranteed by a course of taking pills, applying ointments and gels.In the stage of remission, mainly external agents are used, which have a gentler effect on the body.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

This is the group of drugs most commonly used in the complex treatment of thoracic osteoarthritis.Their active ingredients block the biosynthesis of pain, inflammation and fever mediators from arachidonic acid.Even after one use of NSAIDs, a person's health improves significantly:

• The severity of pain is reduced;
• the annoying crunching sound that occurs when turning and bending disappears;
• The inflammatory process in soft tissues weakens, swelling disappears;
• range of motion in the chest area increases.

To prevent recurrence, intramuscular solutions are used.The medicine in capsule or tablet form has a moderate pain-relieving effect.And ointments and gels quickly eliminate mild discomfort.

Preparations with B vitamins

Innervation disorders are well treated with drugs containing vitamin B. They improve the transmission of nerve impulses to the central and peripheral nervous system and stimulate recovery of damaged spinal roots.The ingredients of the product include thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, cyanocobalamin.

During the first week of treatment, an intramuscular injection of the drug, in addition to vitamins, also contains lidocaine, which provides immediate pain relief.And then the patient is advised to take the medicine for a month.

Glucocorticosteroids

The use of these synthetic analogues of hormones produced by the adrenal glands is carried out when safer measures are ineffective.Glucocorticosteroids are prescribed to patients with acute, aching pain in the back, spreading to internal organs.Medications can also be taken orally, but more often they are given by infusion, including at sites of damaged discs.

Glucocorticosteroids are characterized by an extensive list of contraindications and potential side effects.Long-term treatment of thoracic spondylosis with hormones leads to damage to liver, kidney and stomach tissues.Therefore, their use is prohibited for patients with cirrhosis, stomach ulcers, kidney failure and osteoporosis.

Muscle relaxants

Back pain is often explained by increased skeletal muscle tone.To relax it, muscle relaxants are used - first in the form of injectable solutions, then in tablet form.The drug reduces muscle spasms that cause spinal root compression.Which muscle relaxant is most effective:

• block polyarticular reflexes;
• relaxes muscle spasms;
• reduces prostaglandin release.

The drug is rarely used as monotherapy.Treatment of thoracic cartilage disease is performed with muscle relaxants combined with glucocorticosteroids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.Their significant drawback is that addiction develops quite quickly, so using them for more than a week is prohibited.

Chondroprotectors

Unlike drugs that help eliminate the symptoms of thoracic osteoarthritis, these drugs are also used to treat pathology.This is the only group of drugs that can enhance the production of cartilage cells necessary for partial cartilage disc recovery.All therapeutic effects of chondroprotectors are due to the high content of glucosamine and (or) chondroitin.

But chondroprotectors are appreciated not only for their ability to restore discs.Their components glow in the damaged spinal area.After 2-3 weeks, the maximum therapeutic concentration of glucosamine and chondroitin is created.Currently, these drugs begin to have clear analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-edema effects.

Introduction!Osteoarthritis should be treated with cartilage-protecting drugs in the form of injection solutions or tablets.Despite all the manufacturers' assurances about the effectiveness of ointments and creams, they cannot provide evidence of their therapeutic effectiveness.

Non-drug treatment

Treatment of thoracic osteoarthritis with pharmacological drugs must be combined with regular exercise.Exercise therapy is the most effective treatment to avoid disability.Thanks to daily exercise, the muscular framework of the back and the ligamentous apparatus of the thoracic region are strengthened, and the production of synovial fluid that nourishes the vertebral structures is improved.The set of exercises is determined by the physiotherapist after studying the results of X-ray diagnosis.He was present at the first classes and supervised the dosing of the loads.

Manual therapy for osteoarthritis is also performed with the aim of increasing the distance between the discs and vertebrae.Dry or underwater traction (extension) of the spine is performed and at home, hanging on the bar.The effectiveness of manual therapy increases when performing physical procedures simultaneously:

• electrophoresis;
• laser therapy;
• magnetic therapy;
• ultraviolet irradiation;
• electrodynamic current.

Patients receive 10-15 sessions of classic, vacuum, Scandinavian acupressure massage.Hirudtherapy, acupuncture and sanatorium treatment with radon and hydrogen sulfide baths are also very useful.

Only with the help of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, it is possible to eliminate further damage to the intervertebral disc and deformation of the vertebrae.Following your doctor's recommendations helps eliminate all symptoms of chronic pathologies as soon as possible.