Cervical spine degeneration

Cervical spondylosis is a chronic disease caused by degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the neck. As the disease progresses, surrounding structures become involved in the pathological process, causing the development of a number of unpleasant symptoms. Treatment of the disease is complex and careful, including medication and non-drug methods.

reason

The exact reasons are still unknown. The hypothesis that the development of the disease is associated with age-related changes remains unconfirmed, since today this pathology is diagnosed even in adolescents.

Factors that can trigger the development of the disease include:

• low physical activity, sedentary lifestyle;
• mechanical neck trauma;
• sedentary work with high static load on the cervical spine;
• uncomfortable mattress and pillows;
• fat;
• circulatory disorders;
• Scoliosis and other postural defects;
• connective tissue dysplasia;
• metabolic disorders.

Syndromes and symptoms

Symptoms of cervical spondylosis do not appear immediately. Over a long period of time, the disease can develop asymptomatically or disguise itself as other pathologies. The most common signs of cervical spondylosis are:

• Tinnitus - often occurs when changing position after a long period of standing still;
• dizziness - the patient occasionally feels as if objects begin to spin before his eyes;
• pain in the neck, back of the head - pain intensity depends on the degree of pathological changes;
• feeling of lack of air - the patient cannot take deep breaths;
• visual impairment - occurs in later stages;
• nausea, vomiting - also associated with impaired blood supply to certain parts of the brain due to compression of important arteries by deformed discs;
• sore throat, dry throat, feeling of foreign body;
• pressure changes that are difficult to control with medication;
• numb fingers;
• shoulder pain.

In addition to general clinical signs, several characteristic syndromes are distinguished:

vertebrae:

• pain when turning the neck;
• Poor mobility;
• X-rays showed signs of damage to the vertebrae and discs.

Heart:

• burning and pain in the chest;
• increased fatigue, unexplained weakness;
• fast heart beat.

Spinal artery. This syndrome occurs due to narrowing of the vertebral artery, which supplies blood to the brain. Symptoms include tinnitus, dizziness, blurred vision.

Koreshkovy. It occurs due to compression or compression of the nerve roots exiting the cervical spine.

Stage

Stages of the disease:

1. The patient feels some discomfort in the neck area. The discs begin to lose stability.
2. Pain appears. The discs become deformed, the annulus fibrosus begins to be destroyed, and the vertebrae become closer together.
3. Neck movement is limited. When turning the head, nausea and dizziness may occur. The constant lack of blood flow to the brain leads to symptoms such as lethargy, weakness, decreased performance and fatigue. The intervertebral discs become thinner, the vertebrae begin to rub against each other, the fibrous ring is destroyed, and hernias form between the vertebrae.
4. The neck area is immobilized, blood supply to the brain is completely interrupted. To overcome this condition, the patient must constantly take special medications. The vertebrae begin to fuse together.

Diagnose

Diagnosis can be difficult due to the nonspecific clinical picture and the variety of possible symptoms. The patient may need the help of several specialists at once (surgeon, neurologist, cardiologist, vertebrologist, orthopedist and others).

At the appointment, the doctor listens to the patient's complaints, collects a history, conducts an examination and makes a preliminary diagnosis.

To confirm it, the following can be prescribed:

• blood analysis;
• Neck MRI - allows you to identify pathological changes even at the early stages of the disease, when clinical manifestations are not so pronounced; With the help of this study, you can evaluate the current condition of the vertebrae, intervertebral discs, determine the locations of the presence of deformities, osteoporosis, compression of nerves and blood vessels;
• Dopplerography of the cervical arteries - allows you to assess the degree of compression and damage to blood vessels, blood flow rate;
• myelography using contrast - allows you to identify pinched nerves;
• ECG - performed for differential diagnosis with cardiovascular diseases.

Treatment

Drug treatment includes taking the following groups of drugs:

1. NSAIDs. Effectively reduces inflammation, pain, and swelling. These are symptomatic treatments that do not affect the cause of the disease. NSAIDs can be used for short courses of 10-14 days.
2. Angioprotectors, which means speeding up blood flow. Improves cerebral circulation, protects blood vessels from damage.
3. Glucocorticosteroids. Effectively reduces pain and nerve compression. Medications in this group have many side effects and should only be used as prescribed by your doctor if NSAIDs and pain relievers do not help.
4. Chondroprotectors. Improve the health of intervertebral discs, affecting the cause of disease. They inhibit the destruction of cartilage tissue and improve the shock-absorbing properties of the intervertebral disc.

Non-pharmacological treatment may include the use of the following techniques:

1. Exercise therapy. Regular exercise helps strengthen muscles and reduce spasms. Classes (at least at the initial stage) are recommended to be carried out under the guidance of a specialist
2. Manual therapy. Neck muscle spasm is one of the main causes of pain in this disease. Properly performed manual therapy eliminates spasms and compression of blood vessels and nerves. As a result, the nutrition of the intervertebral disc improves, cerebral circulation is normalized, and pain disappears.
3. Kinesio recording. The application of special bandages helps relax muscles, reduce spasms, swelling, inflammation, and maintain the spine in the correct physiological position.
4. Orthopedic equipment. To minimize the load on the cervical spine, it is recommended to use an orthopedic mattress and pillow for sleeping. In addition, some patients are advised to wear a special device (Schanz collar), which helps fix the neck in the correct position.
5. Massage. An effective remedy against the cervical form of the disease. Perfectly reduces swelling, pain, congestion, improves local blood circulation, reduces muscle spasms. Do not massage if you have acute neck pain.
6. Physical therapy. Another effective technique. Lessons are held within courses, several times a year. This allows you to get rid of unpleasant symptoms, relieve muscle spasms and slow down the further progression of the disease. For the treatment of cervical spondylosis, laser therapy, magnetic therapy, mechanotherapy, traction therapy, hydromassage, UVT and mud therapy are most often used.

If conservative treatment does not produce results and the disease continues to progress, surgical treatment may be indicated.

• surgery to remove intervertebral hernia;
• Removal of the vertebral arch or spinous processes leads to decompression of the spinal roots;
• Removal of part of the disc core to treat herniation.

Decisions about how to treat the disease are made individually by the doctor for each patient. Self-medication is prohibited and can lead to the development of a number of complications.

symptoms

If the disease is ignored, the following complications may develop:

• VSD;
• lack of oxygen of the brain;
• arterial hypertension;
• blurred vision, retinal dystrophy;
• respiratory tract spasms;
• violation of swallowing behavior due to esophageal dysfunction;
• thyroid dysfunction;
• neck muscle cramps and numbness;
• chronic pain in the upper body that is not relieved by pain medication;
• Hormonal imbalance.

Prevent

To minimize the risk of developing the disease, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• maintain posture;
• Properly equip the workplace so that neck strain does not occur;
• Healthy food;
• stop smoking and drinking alcohol;
• avoid neck injury;
• move more, exercise;
• don't be too cold;
• weight control;
• sleep on special orthopedic mattresses and pillows;
• exercise regularly to avoid developing blockages;
• prevent scoliosis;
• Regularly take massage courses to improve blood flow and reduce congestion;
• Do not sit for a long time in a position with your head tilted forward;
• If you feel discomfort in the neck area, you need to make an appointment with a specialist and examine, this will help identify possible changes in the intervertebral disc at an early stage, which will facilitatemuch more beneficial for treatment and improved prognosis.