What is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine? How to treat lumbar osteochondrosisAnd is it true that osteochondrosis is not treated at all?
Considering the statistics of morbidity, the number of cases does not decrease every year. Intervertebral osteochondrosis affects both a young organism and the elderly. The treatment of lumbar spine osteochondrosis and the main symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis is fully described by a neuropathologist or osteopath.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common condition. Discomfort means a change in the shape of the vertebrae and a decrease in the elasticity of the intervertebral discs due to malnutrition of the cells.
The lumbar spine suffers for a reason. In the lower part of the spine, the vertebrae take the maximum load. When lifting weights, all the force acting on the body is fraught with intervertebral depletion, which leads to compression of the nerve roots. From here on, signs of lumbar osteochondrosis appear.
reasons
Every disease has predisposing factors that negatively affect the body. Lumbar spine osteochondrosis also has its own causes. Doctors do not rule out the cause and transmission of the disease at the genetic level. It is believed that if parents experience disc malnutrition issues, there is a high chance that this problem will not bypass children. One of the most popular reasons is hard physical work. When lifting weights, most of the load goes on the lumbosacral spine.
Obesity is an equally common cause of illness. The excess weight that builds up in the body puts pressure on the spine and causes pain. It seems that bad posture doesn't lead to anything serious, but this is also one of the reasons behind the wear and tear on the intervertebral discs, which turns into osteochondrosis. Back injuries are important. Bruises or the lifting of heavy objects by a poorly trained athlete or an improperly balanced load are also affected.
The most common cause of poor nutrition in intervertebral disc cells is a sedentary lifestyle.
To keep the body healthy, a person needs moderate exercise. Restricted or complete lack of physical activity leads to a decrease in the blood flow rate. As a result, the muscles of the back weaken without receiving the necessary nutrients, and the load on the lumbar spine increases. In addition, over the years the spine does not become as flexible as it did in youth, the elasticity of the intervertebral discs decreases, which leads to disease.
Infectious diseases or inflammation that affect bones or joints lead to changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Congenital malformations of the skeleton or abnormalities in the development of the musculoskeletal system. Flat feet that lead to the destruction of spinal segments as the limbs are not shock absorbent. Most of the load falls not on the legs, but on the lower back, which leads to deformation of the segments. Stressful situations are a common cause of various diseases. Hence, lumbar osteochondrosis and its symptoms are no exception. A severe nerve shock can act as a trigger to pinch the nerve endings and cause a pain attack. Stress is more often the cause of osteochondrosis in women, they are more prone to emotions than men.
Symptoms
The initial stage of the disease is rarely diagnosed by doctors. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the primary symptoms of lumbar spine osteochondrosis. The manifestation of the disease occurs gradually.
Since the main manifestation is lower back pain, the pain is divided into three groups, which in turn characterize the symptoms and signs of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine.
- Lumbago- paroxysmal pain that occurs in response to sudden movement or weight lifting. If you try to change position, the pain will become even worse, to the point of lumbago.
- Lumbodynia- the pain increases and becomes regular. Muscle fibers and intervertebral cartilage are affected. Lumbodynia is a result of lumbago.
- Lumboishalgia- painful sensations, cold or heat in the lumbar spine and lower limbs. They arise in response to pinching the roots of the spinal cord.
The second most important symptom in diagnosing an illness is the restriction of physical activity due to painful sensations. When trying to do a job or exercise that is common for themselves, a person experiences increased pain, which can affect the entire leg. Even in a sitting position, the patient feels a tingling sensation from the lower back to the foot.
A local drop in temperature and discoloration of the skin are just as important. She becomes dry and pale. Numbness, weakness in the muscles of the lower extremities, indicates the progression of the disease. The most serious phenomenon that manifests itself in the last degree of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is a dysfunction of the pelvic organs. Constant debilitating pain is associated with faecal and urinary incontinence or, conversely, with a delay in elimination.
When diagnosing diseases, there are four stages of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine. For each stage, symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine are characteristic, to which are added pain in the sacrum.
As the disease progresses, osteochondrosis can fall off to the last spine, the tailbone. The disease is called osteochondrosis of the sacral spine. Sharp, paroxysmal pain occurs in the coccyx area. Women suffer the most in this case. Their anatomical structure of the body and age-related changes contribute to the development of intervertebral osteochondrosis. Often times, osteochondrosis in women is complicated by other internal diseases.
The symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis are slightly different from those of lumbar osteochondrosis.
Symptoms are manifested in a dysfunction of the pelvic organs, which makes it difficult to choose the right treatment and diagnose the cause of the disease.
Signs such as frequent urination, urinary and fecal incontinence occur. When the diagnosis is incorrect, complications arise.
Disease stages
Treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis also differs from the stage of the disease.
- The first, and it is the initial stage of the disease, is characterized by the manifestation of lower back pain - lumbago, muscle spasm, local swelling of the skin.
- The secondstage begins with lumbodynia. The pain becomes regular and more intense than in the early stages. Unusual mobility can occur in the joints of the spine, which increases the sensation of pain. The pain is felt along the sciatic nerve. The functions of the internal organs can be impaired more rarely.
- The thirdstage is characterized by the appearance of intervertebral hernias. The spine is deformed, the curvature can be left or right, this is scoliosis, forward lordosis, backward kyphosis. Because of this, a person is tormented by constant sharp pain.
- Fourthlevel, the most difficult. Movement of the patient is difficult due to constant severe pain. Without timely treatment, a person can be permanently disabled.
Complications
The most common complication is a dysfunction of the genitourinary system. Along with incontinence, urine, and feces, inflammation occurs in the urinary genitals and rectum. With a more pronounced lesion of the vertebrae, irritation occurs in the direction of the sciatic nerve and its inflammation. Disc protrusion is a very dangerous complication. Protrusion is a critical state of the intervertebral disc that can lead to the next complication if treatment is not started in time. It occurs due to a temporary degenerative change in the spine.
The consequence of a protrusion is a herniated disc. This manifests itself in a change in shape and a break in the intervertebral disc.
Constant compression of the spinal nerve roots and inflammation lead to complications such as sciatica.
The spinal canal can become completely blocked. Because of the instability in the lumbosacral area, men develop constipation in the pelvis, which leads to impotence. In women, this leads to inflammatory diseases of the uterus, ovaries, and limbs. From the side of the kidneys, this is renal colic, which can only be eliminated after treating osteochondrosis of the lower back. Lower limb paralysis that can bind a person to a wheelchair. Timely diagnosis and treatment of lumbar spine osteochondrosis will help avoid these complications and prevent disability.
Treatment
Let's examine osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment of the lumbar spine. In modern times, medicine can achieve the recovery of a person suffering from osteochondrosis. Treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine takes a long time. A sick person who has had intervertebral osteochondrosis for the first time will still wonder if osteochondrosis can be cured and how can it be eliminated forever.
What to do? Is there treatment for osteochondrosis of the lower spine? First, you need to completely overhaul your lifestyle. Draw certain conclusions. You need to approach the cherished goal of daily healing without interruption. With osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, complex treatment of the disease is of great importance. Treatment for lumbosacral osteochondrosis includes several methods.
Conservative
Conservative treatment based on massage techniques that, when done correctly, can relieve muscle spasms and improve muscle fiber nutrition. By improving the trophism, the corset of the back muscles is strengthened. Posture takes the correct position, which determines the appearance of various problems with the spine. Physical therapy for lumbar osteochondrosis is very useful, but you need to exercise during the period of remission between exacerbations. If you are in the acute phase of the disease, then you can only make the situation worse and harm your health.
Manual therapy also refers to conservative treatment. It should be performed by a professional specially trained in this technique. Thanks to this therapy, the spine can be returned to the desired position. This is sometimes the most effective method. It is necessary to conduct such a procedure in the subacute period.
Diets, obese people, a healthy lifestyle and following a healthy diet do no harm to anyone. And people with such ailments will only benefit. Since it is overweight, it is one of the reasons that osteochondrosis occurs. Physiotherapy is an equally effective treatment. Magnetotherapy, UHF are able to treat long term, improve blood circulation in the affected area with lumbar osteochondrosis. They also have vasodilatory and analgesic effects.
Type of drug treatment. How to cure lumbar spine osteochondrosis with drugs? What treatment should be, all these questions are of great interest to a sick person. Treatment is divided into two types. In the first case, drugs during the acute period of intervertebral osteochondrosis are aimed at eliminating pain and inflammation. Means are used that release the pinched roots of the spinal nerves. These include muscle relaxants, glucocorticosteroids, blockades, NSAIDs. For the second period between exacerbations, funds are used to improve blood circulation, restore muscle and nerve fibers, and damage body tissues. For this purpose, vitamins and preparations of plant and animal origin are used.
To improve blood circulation, vascular preparations as well as warming and analgesic ointments are used.
Operational
Neurosurgeons perform microsurgical and endoscopic operations on the spine.
These methods are more common and are removed when other treatments fail.
If the effect of drug therapy has not been achieved and complications such as hernias appear, surgery is indicated to remove the affected disc.
Disease prevention
Prevention of lumbar spine osteochondrosis consists in eliminating the risk factors that lead to this disease. In order not to think about how to cure lumbar osteochondrosis, you need to prevent it from occurring. Eliminating the causes is the most important preventive measure.
Normalized physical activity, strengthening the back muscles, preventing the maximum load on the lumbar spine, preventing the development of diseases that lead to osteochondrosis. All of these are preventive measures to prevent the symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis. By sticking to these simple principles, you will maintain your health and extend life. After all, without paying attention to treatment and prevention, you can never return to a full life.