Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine and its treatment

The least widespread type of osteochondrosis has always been considered osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine. However, to date, this disease began to occur more often. A few decades ago, osteochondrosis of the thoracic region was a disease of the elderly, but over the years this diagnosis has spread among young people and even children.

• What is this disease?
• Symptoms of the disease
• Causes of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
• Home Treatment
• Medication for treatment
• Ointments
• Injections
• Treatment with folk remedies
• Chopping
• Tinctures for oral administration
• Exercises for the treatment of osteochondrosis
• Prevention of disease

What is this disease?

Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is caused by dystrophic and degenerative changes that lead to disruption of the ligamentous apparatus, adjacent vertebrae and joints and can cause their destruction. Suffer from him as bones, and the ligamentous apparatus, muscles and cartilage.

Attention!Learn all about the symptoms and treatment of osteochondrosis.

It has several specific features:

1. The thoracic spine is functionally different from the neck and lumbar spine. This is due to the peculiarity of the structure of the chest, where the vertebrae and ribs form a strong structure, which is sufficiently reliably protected from injury.
2. In addition, this section of the spine experiences less stress in comparison with the neck or lower back. In this regard, it is less common problems such as protrusion of discs, displacement of the vertebrae or intervertebral hernia.
3. All these factors complicate the early diagnosis of osteochondrosis due to the absence of symptoms. As a rule, the osteochondrosis of the thoracic region begins to manifest itself when the disease is already neglected.

Important!Especially dangerous is osteochondrosis for children and adolescents. Because of their illness, the locomotor apparatus deforms before it is fully formed and strengthened.

Symptoms of the disease

Patients with this disease most often complain of the following characteristic symptoms:

• pain blunt or aching in the shoulder blades, they increase if the body is for a long time without movement, with deep breathing and lifting weights;
• a feeling of tightness in the chest;
• often the pain is shrouded;
• numbness in some parts of the body;
• chills;
• lower body temperature;
• diarrhea, constipation, flatulence;
• intercostal neuralgia;
• pain and disruption of the muscles of the press;
• nausea, heartburn.

Some symptoms of osteochondrosis are also characteristic for other dangerous diseases, for example, angina pectoris, heart attack, stomach ulcer, pneumonia, etc. That is why a survey by narrow specialists is necessary.

Attention!You can learn about the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. A tek same as to treat it at home.

The pain that occurs with this disease is usually divided into two types: dorsago and dorsalgia.

1. Dorsago refers to sudden, sudden severe pain. Subjected to this syndrome are people who stay for a long time in a sitting position, bending over the table. At a time when a person stands up from the workplace there is a sharp pain that increases with breathing and limits the work of the upper parts of the spine.
2. Dorsalgia is characterized by a slow increase in painful sensations. For a few weeks, the patient can feel only discomfort and mild pain. Painful sensations become stronger with deep breathing or body tilts, during sleep or other long body stays without movement.

Causes of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region

The cause of the disease are pathological changes in the structure of the spine, they are degenerative in nature and affect both bone and cartilage and muscle tissue. Such pathological disturbances can result in:

• intervertebral hernia, overweight;
• hereditary predisposition to the pathology of the spine;
• destruction of cartilaginous tissue;
• circulatory disturbance in the spine;
• lack of calcium;
• excessive or inefficient load, improper lifting of heavy objects;
• sedentary lifestyle, trauma, curvature of the spine.

Home Treatment

Treatment of osteochondrosis should begin with a visit to a neurologist. Due to the fact that its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases, it is important to exclude other serious pathologies. As a rule, the treatment process consists of two stages:

Attention!What kind of doctor treats osteochondrosis? Find out here.

1. Withdrawal of pain syndrome.
2. Elimination of the causes of disease.

To eliminate pain and relieve muscle spasms, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. In the future, under the supervision of a doctor, a number of therapeutic measures are carried out, consisting of gymnastics, diet, physiotherapy procedures and in case of serious pathology of surgical intervention.

It is important to know!It is extremely dangerous to independently diagnose and treat osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine. One of the pathologies causing this disease is the intervertebral hernia, the treatment of which is done only by a doctor, most often by a surgical procedure.

Sometimes during an exacerbation the patient experiences such severe pain that it can only be managed in a hospital. If the pain is tolerable and treatable with analgesics, the treatment can be carried out at home, but under the supervision of a doctor. During the acute phase of the disease, the patient should:

• to comply with bed rest;
• limit physical activity;
• Do massage;
• use recommended ointments, gels and creams;
• use healthy food, reducing the amount of fat and excluding alcohol;
• comply with the prescription of a specialist and use medicines in accordance with the prescription.

After consulting with a neurologist, you can conduct therapeutic exercises and physiotherapy.

An important factor in the treatment of osteochondrosis is a full rest of the spine during sleep. To do this, use orthopedic appliances: special pillows, orthopedic mattress. Properly selected accessories for sleep will help the spine to take the right position and recover.

Attention!People with a diagnosis of osteochondrosis should not choose a mattress with increased rigidity, it can help straighten the natural bends of the spinal column.

Medication for treatment

The first step in the treatment of osteochondrosis should be to relieve pain in the patient. To do this, the non-steroidal agents prescribed by the doctor are used:

• Ibuprofen;
• Ketanov;
• Ketaprofen;
• Paraxicam;
• Nimesulid et al.

These drugs must be used, clearly following the instructions, since they have many contraindications and cause serious damage to the digestive tract.

Attention!About the symptoms and treatment of lumbar spine osteochondrosis you can read in our article.

It is worth remembering that they do not treat the cause of the disease, so after an acute period of illness passes, it is necessary to continue treatment by other methods suggested by the doctor.

Simultaneously with taking pain medications, a course of vitamin therapy can be prescribed. In addition, to remove the spasm from the affected muscles will help muscle relaxants:

• Sirdalud;
• Baclofen;
• Midokalm and others.

These drugs are not subject to self-administration and are prescribed only by the attending physician.

After the pain is removed, the process of restoring blood circulation and feeding damaged tissues begins. For this, drugs that restore the connection between nerve endings and damaged vessels are used:

• Eufillin;
• Trental;
• Xantinol nicotinate;
• Lipoic acid.

Ointments

Appointment of medicines for external application is one of the widely used methods of therapy of osteochondrosis. Pharmaceutical companies offer a wide range of ointments.

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic ointments:

• Ketonal;
• Voltaren;
• Nimesulide;
• Ketoprofen;
• Nurofen et al.

These ointments not only have analgesic properties, but also help to relieve inflammation, reduce swelling and return mobility of joints, eliminating their stiffness.

Ointments of complex action have, in addition to the above properties, healing, antithrombotic and antimicrobial action. It:

• Dolobien;
• Phytobene.

Warming Ointments:

• Capsicam;
• Finalgon;
• Turpentine ointment.

Such ointments are best used in the daytime, using them on the affected area of ​​the skin. After applying the ointment a sore spot can be wrapped in a warm scarf. The most effective these ointments during the period of remission, when the pain is not acute, but rather aching.

Injections

In the acute period of the disease, when the patient is suffering severe pain, the action of the pills to relieve the symptoms may be inadequate. In these cases, the treating doctor prescribes injections of drugs with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. They include:

• Diclofenac;
• Milgamma;
• Ketonal;
• Novocaine.

In addition, a course of injection with vitamins of group B.

Treatment with folk remedies

To remove the pain and for a long time to forget about this disease will help you roll for rolling out the dough. To achieve a good result, do not be lazy and give the procedure 15-20 minutes daily. Alternately, tap the scalp on both shoulders, spine and shoulder blades easily. After that, the rolling pin is put on a firm and level surface, best on the floor and lie on it with your back. Within 10-15 minutes, roll the rolling pin.

Chopping

An excellent substitute for pharmacy ointments will be self-cooking sprays.

1. Take 200 ml of triple cologne, medical and camphor alcohol. In the jar, combine all the liquids and add 100 g of crushed marigold flowers. The bank is closed and left in a dark place for two weeks. Finished rubbing can rub the painful areas with osteochondrosis: shoulders, back, chest, etc.
2. Take 1 hour. l. powdered hop cones and mix with melted pork fat in a 1: 1 ratio. This ointment rubs the painful part of the spine.

Tinctures for oral administration

Lingonberry

1. Pour a liter of steep boiling water 80 g of cranberry leaves. Infuse the mixture for at least 2 hours.
2. Then the infusion should be filtered and combined with 350 ml of vodka. On a slow fire, the mixture should be heated to a temperature of 60 degrees, then let it simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Half a glass of the obtained tincture should be drunk on an empty stomach at least three times a day. The course of admission is 7-8 months.

Collection of herbs

1. Take 3 tbsp. l. berries of Kalina, 2 tbsp each. l. flowers of chamomile and leaves of birch, 1 st. l. calendula and elecampane.
2. In the thermoset, combine vegetable raw materials and a liter of boiling water.
3. Infuse the mixture for at least three hours, then take a glass three times a day for a month.

Attention!Treatment with folk remedies should be carried out in addition to the therapy prescribed by the attending physician. Folk methods can not be a full-fledged replacement for complex treatment.

Exercises for the treatment of osteochondrosis

After agreeing with a doctor, you can begin to do therapeutic gymnastics. Before you do the exercises, you should definitely warm up: swing your arms and legs, tilt and torso rotation, turn your head. This will help warm up and prepare the muscles and ligament apparatus. The gymnastics itself includes several exercises:

1. While standing, slowly lift your shoulders, then slowly lower them too.
2. In the next exercise, the shoulders should be raised and lowered alternately, first left, then right.
3. Stand upright and stretch your arms along the body. Slowly bend one by one to the right and to the left, without taking your hands off the body.
4. To perform the exercise, lie on your stomach and tear off the chest from the floor. The hands should be pulled forward above the head. Hold in this position for 10 seconds. After that, the hands are locked in the lock behind their back and again delayed for 10 seconds.
5. Sit on a chair with a solid straight back. Stalk into it and try to bend it.

Attention!If the exercise causes a severe attack of pain, it should be stopped immediately and rest for 5 minutes.

Prevention of disease

Osteochondrosis is quite a serious disease, which is easier to prevent than cure. In order to protect your spine you should follow a number of recommendations:

1. Rational motor activity. If your work is associated with a long stay in a sitting position, be sure to take breaks for a warm-up. Walk more often outdoors.
2. Do not lift weights, and if necessary, do it right.
3. Avoid hypothermia.
4. Problems with the spine will help to avoid a diet based on the consumption of food rich in protein, reducing the amount of fatty foods. Excellent strengthens the spine and ligament apparatus cold, jellied and jelly.
5. Watch out for weight, fat people almost always doomed themselves to problems with the spine.
6. For sleep, use an orthopedic mattress and pillow.

Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region will be effective in an integrated approach. Be sure to combine the therapy prescribed by a doctor and folk methods of treatment with gymnastics and massage. After the symptoms disappear, do not forget to take all preventive measures to prevent relapse.