In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of treatment and the stages of development of the disease, you will get rid of pain due to osteochondrosis of the chest, you will be able to normalize your sleep and live life to the fullest
It's important to understand
If osteochondrosis of the chest is detected, it is necessary to select an individual set of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of their implementation and exclude exercises that have contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important to regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo a full course of treatment in a specialized center, and in the future you need to maintain your health in a preventive mode on your own.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common and serious disease.
The danger is that in the initial stages it does not manifest itself in any way or transforms into other pathologies.
This happens especially often with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
In this place, the vertebrae are not so mobile 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 the case before. This pathology is becoming more and more 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, but one of the most common is lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
This is a degenerative-dystrophic pathology, characterized by the gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs. They lose water and nutrients, the cartilage tissue dries out and begins to break down.
Because of this, the disc ceases to perform shock-absorbing functions, the vertebrae come 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 and blood circulation disorders can lead to the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Moreover, it is in this place that the disease is especially serious. After all, here there are many nerve endings that go to the internal organs.
Possible complications
The danger of thoracic osteochondrosis is that it begins unnoticed. Often in the first phase there are almost no painful sensations, and those that do 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 cartilaginous tissue of the discs can be stopped only by special methods. The disks themselves cannot be restored. Moreover, in the thoracic region this process proceeds faster, since due to poor mobility of the spine, the blood supply to the tissues here is worse.
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;
- disorders of the intestine, liver or pancreas;
- heart disease.
Typical symptoms and signs of thoracic osteochondrosis
Every person susceptible to diseases of the spine should know how osteochondrosis manifests itself. If you do not ignore the typical symptoms, you can start treatment in time and stop the progression of the pathology.
The main sign of damage to the spine is that the pain is associated with physical activity. In the initial stages they are not strong and appear in the evening, and after rest they disappear.
Additionally, the pain intensifies with deep breathing, raising your arms, turning your torso, or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one place, only 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 be cured only in the initial stage. But the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the chest 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. Very often it is confused with pathologies of the internal organs.
- Basically, its manifestations are similar to angina pectoris. Heart pain that intensifies during inhalation, shortness of breath and the inability to raise an arm force patients to take heart medications. But there is no relief and even the ECG does not reveal any disturbance in the functioning of the heart.
- Sometimes pain occurs that resembles the symptoms of a peptic ulcer, gastritis or pancreatitis. But they worsen not after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may notice pain in the mammary glands.
- 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, or even suffocation.
You often feel numbness or tingling in your upper limbs, muscle weakness, and an inability to lift your 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. People with hereditary predisposition, overweight and bad habits are subject to these pathologies.
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 occurs most often in people over 45 years of age. It is at this time that metabolic processes slow down, tissues lack nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, which leads 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 weight lifting, heavy physical activity;
- rachiocampus;
- 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 progresses steadily.
To choose the right treatment methods, doctors distinguish different stages of the disease. They have characteristic symptoms and require a special approach to therapy.
- The first degree of osteochondrosis causes almost no pain. If they occur, they occur after physical activity.
- In the second stage, the pain becomes more severe. 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.
- In the third stage of osteochondrosis, an intervertebral hernia often appears. A ruptured disc puts pressure on blood vessels and nerves, causing severe pain and other health problems. The mobility of the spine in this place is significantly limited.
- The last 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, so the disease at this stage often leads to disability.
Why should you see a doctor immediately?
Some patients ignore the early symptoms of the disease. They confuse mild back pain and muscle weakness with overwork. And after rest they continue to lead their usual lifestyle. Because of this, 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 collapse completely. This will lead to convergence of the vertebrae and pinching of the nerve endings. With each movement, the situation will be aggravated by the fact that the vertebrae will begin to collapse due to friction. This can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the body under the damaged vertebrae.
Disease prevention
To prevent serious complications of the pathology, it is necessary to consult a doctor in time. The earlier treatment is started, the greater the possibility of completely stopping the degenerative processes.
It is best to do this with the help of kinesitherapy. At the initial stage of the pathology, as well as during its prevention, this method will help strengthen the muscular corset of the spine and improve blood supply to the disc tissue.
Specialists of a modern kinesitherapy center will help prevent the development of degenerative processes in people with a predisposition to them. After all, maintaining a healthy spine requires moderate physical activity.
An individually designed daily regimen with special exercises and diet will help avoid disc destruction and complications of this process.
How is the treatment carried out?
Collection of medical history: analysis of the disease, identification of limitations and contraindications, explanation of the principles of kinesitherapy, characteristics of the recovery period.
Myofascial diagnostics is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor evaluates the range of joint movements, determines painful tension, swelling, hypo- or hypertonicity of the muscles and other changes.
Functional diagnostics (carried out in the rehabilitation room) - the doctor explains how to perform certain exercises on the equipment and observes: how the patient performs them, with what range of motion he can work, what movements cause pain, what weight the patient can bear to work on how the cardiovascular system reacts vascular system. Problem areas are identified. The data is entered into the card. The accents are set.
Based on the results of the first medical examination and functional diagnostics, a preliminary individual therapeutic program is developed.
It is advisable to have with you:
- for pain in the spine - MRI or CT (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography) of the problem area;
- for joint pain – x-rays;
- in the presence of concomitant diseases - extracts from the medical history or outpatient record;
- comfortable (sports) clothes and shoes.
Lessons with instructor
At the beginning of the course of treatment, the doctor and the patient draw up 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, providing an adequate regime of physical activity. The treatment program is compiled by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of the body. Supervision is carried out by qualified instructors. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct movement and breathing technique, know your weight standards when working on exercise machines, adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations of specialists.
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 lesson is supervised by an instructor. The duration of a treatment session is from 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. He teaches the technique of performing the exercises and monitors correct execution. Every 6 lessons a second consultation with the doctor is held, changes and additions are made to the program, depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will it take? – individually for everyone
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 gymnastics or any sport).
- what result do you want to achieve?
If the disease is in its initial stages and the body is prepared, one course of treatment is sufficient. (example: young people of 20-30 years old who play sports. We focus their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing, stretching, excluding "wrong" exercises that are harmful to problem areas. Such patients undergo training and receive the ability to "take care of your body", get advice in case of a flare-up and continue to study on your own).