In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of treatment and stages of development of the disease, you will get rid of pain due to osteochondrosis of the chest, be able to normalize your sleep and live your life to the fullest.
It is important to understand
If thoracic osteochondrosis is detected, it is necessary to select an individual set of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of their implementation and exclude exercises with contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important to regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo comprehensive treatment in a specialized center, and in the future you will have to preventively maintain your health yourself.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common and serious disease.
Its danger is that at first it may not manifest itself in any way or be disguised as other pathologies.
This especially often occurs with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
In this place, the vertebrae are not so movably connected, so degenerative processes rarely develop here.
But if osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine appears, it causes pronounced symptoms and severe pain.
Pathogenesis of osteochondrosis
Recently, osteochondrosis has been diagnosed not only in older people, as was previously the case. This pathology is increasingly common among young people.
This is due to the characteristics of lifestyle and nutrition. After all, osteochondrosis occurs due to disruption of metabolic processes and blood circulation.
There can be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
It is a degenerative-dystrophic pathology characterized by the progressive destruction of the intervertebral discs. They lose water and nutrients, the cartilage tissue dries out and begins to crack.
As a result, the disc ceases to perform its shock-absorbing functions, the vertebrae move closer together and also begin to collapse.
In the thoracic region, such processes rarely develop, since the load on the discs here is small. But various injuries, metabolic disorders and blood circulation can lead to the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
This is also where the disease is particularly serious. After all, many nerve endings go here to the internal organs.
Possible complications
The danger of thoracic osteochondrosis is that it begins unnoticed. Often at the first stage there are almost no painful sensations, and those that arise can be confused with pain in the stomach or heart.
Therefore, many patients are unsuccessfully treated for gastritis or angina for a long time until they undergo a comprehensive examination. An x-ray of the spine will help identify narrowing of the intervertebral space and suspect the development of osteochondrosis.
If this is not done and treatment is not started, the disease will progress rapidly. The destruction of the cartilage tissue of the discs can only be stopped by special methods. The disks themselves cannot be recovered. In addition, in the thoracic region this process occurs faster, because due to the low mobility of the spine, the blood supply to the tissues is worse here.
Therefore, without timely treatment, osteochondrosis can lead to serious complications. It can cause the following pathologies:
- intervertebral protrusion or hernia;
- spinal cord compression;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- biliary dyskinesia;
- intestinal, liver or pancreas disorders;
- heart disease.
Typical symptoms and signs of thoracic osteochondrosis
Everyone who is susceptible to spinal diseases should know how osteochondrosis manifests itself. If you do not ignore the typical symptoms, you can start treatment on time and stop the progression of pathology.
The main sign of spinal injury is that pain is associated with physical activity. At first they are not strong and appear in the evening and disappear after rest.
Additionally, the pain intensifies when breathing deeply, raising the arms, rotating the torso, or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one place and then spreads to the entire chest.
Due to painful sensations, muscle spasms occur in this place and it becomes difficult for the patient to move. Often, the pathology is accompanied by intercostal neuralgia.
What can be confused with osteochondrosis of the chest?
This disease can only be cured at the initial stage. But the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose thoracic osteochondrosis in time, its symptoms are often confused with other pathologies.
It is not always accompanied by typical symptoms. Some patients do not experience back pain or intercostal neuralgia.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself with atypical symptoms characteristic of other diseases. Most often it is confused with pathologies of internal organs.
- Basically, its manifestations are similar to angina. Heart pain that intensifies when inhaling, shortness of breath and the inability to raise an arm force patients to take heart medications. But there is no relief, and the ECG also does not reveal any disturbances in the functioning of the heart.
- Sometimes pain appears that resembles symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, gastritis or pancreatitis. But they do not get worse after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may notice pain in the mammary glands.
- The localization of the pathology in the upper part of the thoracic region can cause a lump in the throat and difficulty swallowing.
Osteochondrosis of the chest can cause nausea, difficulty breathing, and even suffocation.
There is often numbness or tingling in the upper extremities, muscle weakness, and an inability to raise the arm or move it to the side.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the chest
Often, to accurately diagnose a disease, it is necessary to take into account its possible causes. Such pathologies are susceptible to people with a hereditary predisposition, excess weight and bad habits.
It is also recommended to examine the spine in patients with various endocrine and metabolic disorders, diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine most often occurs in people over 45 years old. It is at this time that metabolic processes slow down, tissues lack nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, leading to a weakening of the muscular corset of the spine.
But there are other causes of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region:
- back injuries, bruises or sprains;
- regular lifting of weights, intense physical activity;
- rachiocampsis;
- prolonged sitting in an incorrect position, for example when working on a computer or driving a car.
What are the degrees of the disease?
Osteochondrosis of the chest is a chronic pathology. It develops very slowly, but is constantly progressing.
To choose the right treatment methods, doctors distinguish between several stages of the disease. They present characteristic symptoms and require a specific therapeutic approach.
- The first degree of osteochondrosis causes almost no pain. If they occur, it happens after physical activity.
- In the second stage, the pain becomes more intense. Indeed, due to the progressive destruction of the disc, the vertebrae move closer to each other, which can cause pinching of the nerve roots. In this case, neurological symptoms and signs of dysfunction of internal organs appear.
- At the third stage of osteochondrosis, an intervertebral hernia often appears. A ruptured disc puts pressure on blood vessels and nerves, leading to severe pain and other health problems. Spinal mobility in this area is severely limited.
- The final stage of the pathology is characterized by complete destruction of the disc. Osteophytes appear on the vertebrae, sometimes they completely fuse together. Every movement of the patient causes him pain, which is why the disease at this stage often leads to disability.
Why should you see a doctor immediately?
Some patients ignore the first symptoms of the disease. They mistake mild back pain and muscle weakness for overwork. And after rest, they continue to lead their usual life. As a result, the disease progresses, leading to serious complications.
A decrease in the shock-absorbing functions of the intervertebral discs leads to curvature of the spine. Thoracic kyphosis usually develops. Because of this, the chest is compressed and breathing is impaired.
If you do not see a doctor in time, the intervertebral discs can completely collapse. This will cause the vertebrae to converge and pinch the nerve endings. With each movement, the situation will be aggravated by the fact that the vertebrae will begin to collapse from friction. This can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the body below the damaged vertebrae.
Disease prevention
To avoid serious complications of pathology, you need to consult a doctor in time. The earlier treatment is started, the more possible it is to completely stop degenerative processes.
It is best to do this with the help of physiotherapy. At the initial stage of pathology, as well as during its prevention, this method will strengthen the muscular corset of the spine and improve blood supply to the disc tissue.
Specialists of a modern physiotherapy center will help prevent the development of degenerative processes in people who are predisposed to them. After all, moderate physical activity is necessary to maintain a healthy spine.
An individually designed daily regimen with special exercises and diet will help avoid disc destruction and complications of this process.
How's the treatment going?
History collection - analysis of the disease, limitations and contraindications are identified, explanation of the principles of physiotherapy, features of the recovery period.
Myofascial diagnosis is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor assesses the range of joint motion, determines painful tightness, swelling, hypo or hypertonicity of muscles and other changes.
Functional diagnosis (carried out in the rehabilitation room) - the doctor explains how to perform certain exercises on the equipment and observes: how the patient performs them, what range of movement he can work, what movements cause pain, what weight the patient can workwith how the cardiovascular system responds. Problem areas are identified. The data is entered into the card. The accents are set.
Based on the results of the initial examination carried out by a doctor and functional diagnosis, a preliminary individual treatment program is drawn up.
It is advisable to have with you:
- for pain in the spine - MRI or CT scan (magnetic resonance or CT scan) of the problem area;
- for joint pain – x-rays;
- in the presence of concomitant diseases - extracts from medical history or outpatient card;
- comfortable clothing and (sports) shoes
Classes with an instructor
At the beginning of the treatment cycle, the doctor and the patient establish a treatment plan, which includes the date and time of the treatment session, follow-up visits to the doctor (usually 2-3 times a week).
The basis of the treatment process is treatment sessions in the rehabilitation room using simulators and sessions in the gym.
Rehabilitation simulators allow you to accurately dose the load on individual muscle groups, thereby providing an adequate physical activity regime. The treatment program is developed by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of the body. Supervision is provided by qualified instructors. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct movement and breathing technique, know your weight norms when working on exercise machines, adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations ofspecialists.
Joint gymnastics sessions help restore visual coordination, improve joint mobility and elasticity (flexibility) of the spine and are an excellent preventive system for self-use.
Each treatment cycle consists of 12 sessions. Each class is supervised by an instructor. The duration of a treatment session is 40 minutes to 1. 5 hours. The instructor draws up a program taking into account concomitant diseases and the patient's condition on the day of the lesson. Teaches the technique of performing exercises and monitors their correct execution. Every 6 courses, a second consultation with the doctor takes place, changes and additions are made to the program, depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will this take? – individually for each
It is important to know :
- How long have you had this problem (stage of the disease)
- How your body is prepared for physical activity (do you do gymnastics or another sport).
- what result do you want to achieve.
If the disease is in its early stages and the body is prepared, one course of treatment is enough. (example - young people aged 20-30 who play sports. We focus their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing, stretching, excluding "bad" exercises that harm problem areas. Thesepatients undergo training and receive the skill of "taking care of your body", receiving recommendations in case of exacerbation and continuing to study on your own).