We are sure that you have read and heard that osteochondrosis of the back often affects bank employees and office workers, programmers and hard workers. This is true, but the whole truth is that today it is hardly possible to find at least one type of activity that is not associated with the risk of developing this disease.
Why so? Osteochondrosis of the back is a kind of "tax on upright walking", a tribute that each of us must pay to nature. The reason for the degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc lies not so much in the increased loads on its nucleus pulpof the blood supply to these structures.
By about the age of 20, the arteries that feed the IVD fibrocartilage tissues in adolescence are obliterated, and in all other years the nucleus pulp and annular fibrosis receive nutrients exclusively by diffusion, and this is clearly not enough! Trace elements, polysaccharides, amino acids and other structural components enter the chondrocytes (cells that synthesize the interstitial substance of the disc) in extremely limited quantities, which creates fertile ground for the development of dystrophic processes.
In the course of our professional activities we regularly throw seeds in this fertile soil. We sit in the wrong position, lift weights incorrectly, move a little and spend a lot of time behind the wheel or behind a computer monitor. All other things being equal, such a form of physical activity "will pass us by", but in the conditions of limited supply of cartilaginous structures in IVD degenerative processes inevitably develop.
How does low back osteochondrosis manifest itself?
The first manifestation of lumbar osteochondrosis is the pain syndrome. As a rule, for the first time the "lucky one" is struck by a sharp pain in the back, which pierces his body with a dagger. The pain occurs after involuntary curvature of the trunk, tilting or after hypothermia. at his feet and shackles him to bed.
What changes occur in the spine against the background of pain syndrome? To reduce pain, the nervous system sends stimulating signals to the deep muscles of the back. Strengthening muscle tone helps to reduce mobility in the affected segment of the spine, which for some time reduces the severity of pain. In the future, myofixation ceases to perform a compensatory function and such a muscular-tonic imbalance only intensifies the pain.
When examining such a patient, the neurologist will find signs of fixation syndrome or objective symptoms of the disease - changes in statics and dynamics. By changes in the statics of osteochondrosis of the lower back we mean smoothing or increasing the physiological curvature (lordosis) and the appearance of a pathological curvature to pain (scoliosis). The dynamic symptoms of the disease are a sharp restriction of mobility (until complete immobilization) in the affected segment.
All these changes can be confirmed with the help of spondylography (X-ray of the spine) and more modern methods of examination such as computed tomography and MRI. The images also show a decrease in disc height in the area of clinically significant PDS, hernial protrusion, osteophytes.
Osteochondrosis of the lower back, treatment
The fixation syndrome and pain in combination with morphological signs on the diagnostic images form a complete picture of the vertebral syndrome, which is caused by osteochondrosis of the lower back. The next question we ask the doctor after completing the diagnostic stage is how to treat the disease?
Of course, it is not always the disease that needs to be treated, but the patient, but we will not escape philosophical discussions. And we will solve more pressing problems - we will first have to overcome the pain syndrome. For this purpose, we need drugs with systemic and local action, such as NSAIDs, corticosteroid hormones, muscle relaxants and probably even antidepressants. After relieving the pain syndrome comes the turn of conservative methods of treatment.
If you are diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the lower back, the treatment will be long and you must be prepared for it both morally and financially. De facto and de jure, it is impossible to completely overcome the disease, so with a certain frequency you will have to visit doctors until the end of your days.
The treatment algorithm is always individual and is developed by the attending physician, who knows the history of the disease, we will list only the possible directions of therapy. Reflexology has a positive effect, among the methods of which acupuncture is in the first place. Some experts advocate traction therapy, although other schools of vertebrology deny this technique. It is worth trying massage therapy, you should definitely include back exercises (LFK) in your rehabilitation program, you can also resort to the help of qualified chiropractors.
In 90 cases out of 100 methods of conservative therapy are sufficient to control the disease, the remaining ten patients are indicated for surgical treatment. In the absence of absolute indications for surgery (severe spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis), treatment with minimally invasive surgery is possible. If the degree of morphological changes in the spine has reached a critical level, modern methods are used to reconstruct discs with the help of implants.