What is lumbar spine osteochondrosis? How to treat lumbar osteochondrosis? And is it true that osteochondrosis is not treated at all?
Considering incidence statistics, the number of cases does not decrease every year. Intervertebral osteochondrosis affects both a young body and older people. The treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine and the main symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis are described in detail by a neuropathologist or osteopath.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common disease. Malaise suggests 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. The vertebrae in the lower part of the spine bear the greatest load. When lifting weights, all the forces acting on the body are full of depletion of the intervertebral space, and this leads to compression of the nerve roots. From then on, signs of lumbar osteochondrosis appear.
Causes
Every disease has predisposing factors that negatively affect the body. Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine also has its cause. Doctors do not rule out the cause of the disease, its transmission at the genetic level. It is believed that if parents have problems with malnutrition in the intervertebral discs, there is a high probability that this problem will not bypass the children. One of the most popular reasons is hard physical work. When lifting weights, most of the load goes to the lumbosacral spine.
Obesity is an equally common cause of the disease. Overweight that accumulates in the body makes the spine heavier and causes pain. Poor posture doesn’t seem to lead to anything serious, but that’s one of the reasons for intervertebral disc wear, which becomes osteochondrosis. Back injuries are important. Bruises, or the lifting of heavy objects by a poorly trained athlete, or an inaccurately selected load will also have an adverse effect.
The most common cause of poor cell nutrition is a sedentary lifestyle.
In order to maintain the health of the body, a person needs a moderate load. Limited or complete lack of physical activity leads to a decrease in the speed of blood circulation. As a result, the back muscles, without receiving the necessary nutrients, weaken and the load on the lumbar spine increases. In addition, over the years, the spine will not be as mobile as in its youth, the elasticity of the intervertebral discs decreases, leading to disease.
Infectious diseases or inflammation affecting the bones or joints lead to changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Congenital disorders of the skeleton or abnormalities in the development of the musculoskeletal system. Flat legs leading to destruction of spinal segments due to lack of shock absorption in the limbs. Most of the load falls not on the legs but on the lower back, leading to deformation of the segments. Stressful situations are a common cause of various illnesses. Therefore, lumbar lumbar osteochondrosis and its symptoms are no exception. Strong nerve shock can serve as a stimulus in tightening nerve endings and can 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 osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. The onset of the disease is gradual.
Since the main manifestation is low back pain, the pain is divided into 3 groups, which in turn characterize the symptoms and signs of low back pain.
- Lumbago- paroxysmal pain caused by sudden movement or weight lifting. When he tries to take a different position, the pain becomes even stronger, all the way to the lumbago.
- Lumbodynia- the pain increases and becomes regular. Muscle fibers and intervertebral cartilage are affected. Lumbodynia is a consequence of lumbago.
- Lumboishalgia- painful sensations, cold or hot in the lumbar region and lower extremities. They are formed in response to the stinging of the roots of the spinal cord.
The second most important symptom in diagnosing the disease is the restriction of physical activity due to painful feelings. When you try to do your usual work or exercise for yourself, you experience increased pain that affects your entire leg. The patient experiences tingling sensations from the lower back to the leg, even when sitting.
Local temperature drop and skin discoloration will be just as important, dry and pale. Numbness, weakness of the muscles of the lower extremities indicates progression of the disease. The most serious phenomenon that manifests itself in the last stage of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is dysfunction of the pelvic organs. Constant debilitating pain is accompanied by fecal and urinary incontinence or, conversely, delayed excretion.
There are four stages in osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine when diagnosing diseases. At each stage, there are symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, accompanied by pain in the sacrum.
As the disease progresses, osteochondrosis can descend to the final spine, the tailbone. The disease is called osteochondrosis of the sacral spine. There are acute, paroxysmal pains in the tailbone area. In this case, women suffer the most. Anatomical structure and age-related changes in the body contribute to the development of intervertebral osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis in women is often complicated by other internal diseases.
Symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis are different from lumbar osteochondrosis.
Symptoms are manifested by pelvic organ dysfunction, which makes it difficult to select the right treatment and diagnose the cause of the disease.
Signs such as frequent urination, urinary and stool incontinence appear. If the diagnosis is incorrect, complications arise.
Stages of the disease
Treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis is also different from the stage of the disease.
- The first, and this is the initial stage of the disease, characterized by the manifestation of pain in the lower back - lumbago, muscle cramps, local swelling of the skin. THE
- second stage, beginning with lumbodynia. The pains become more regular and more intense than in the initial stage. Uncharacteristic mobility may appear in the joints of the spine, which increases the pain. The pain is felt along the sciatic nerve. In rare cases, the functioning of the internal organs may be impaired.
- The thirdstage is characterized by the appearance of intervertebral hernias. The spine is deformed, the curvature can be left or right, it is a scoliosis, forward - lordosis, backward - kyphosis. Because of this, a person is tormented by constant sharp pains.
- Fourthsection, the most difficult. Due to the constant severe pain, the patient is difficult to move. Without timely treatment, a person may be permanently disabled.
Complications
The most common complication is dysfunction of the urogenital system. Incontinence, urine, and feces together cause inflammation in the urogenital tract and rectum. In the case of more pronounced changes in the vertebrae, irritation occurs in the direction of the sciatic nerve and inflammation. Intervertebral disc protrusion is a very dangerous complication. The protrusion is the borderline state of the intervertebral disc, which can lead to the next complication if treatment is not started in time. It occurs due to a transient degenerative change in the spine.
The consequence of the protrusion is a disc herniation. Which is manifested by a change in its shape and rupture of the membrane of the intervertebral disc.
Constant compression of the nerve roots of the spinal cord and inflammation lead to complications such as radiculitis.
Complete occlusion of the spinal canal may occur. Due to the instability of the lumbosacral region, men develop congestion in the small pelvis, leading to impotence. In women, this leads to inflammatory diseases of the uterus, ovaries and appendages. From the side of the kidneys, it is a renal colic that cannot be eliminated until osteochondrosis of the lower back is treated. Paralysis of the lower limbs, which can limit a person to a wheelchair. Timely diagnosis and timely treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine will help prevent these complications and avoid disability.
Management
We analyze lumbar osteochondrosis, symptoms, and treatment. In modern times, medicine can achieve a cure for a person with osteochondrosis. Treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine takes a long time. A sick person who first has intervertebral osteochondrosis will continue to wonder if it is possible to cure osteochondrosis and how to get rid of it forever?
What should I do? Is osteochondrosis of the lower spine treated? You need to completely rethink your lifestyle first. Draw some conclusions. Every day you have to move uninterruptedly towards the cherished goal of healing. With osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, complex treatment of the disease is of great importance. The treatment of lumbosacral osteochondrosis involves several methods.
Conservative
Conservative treatment is based on massage techniques that, when done correctly, will relieve muscle cramps and improve the nutrition of muscle fibers. Improving trophism strengthens the corset of the back muscles. The posture assumes the correct position, which determines the appearance of various problems in the spine. Physiotherapy for lumbar osteochondrosis is very helpful, but you need to practice it during the remission period, between exacerbations. In the acute period of the disease, it can only aggravate the situation and damage your health.
manual therapy also refers to conservative treatment. This technique must be performed by a specially trained professional. Thanks to this therapy, the spine can be adjusted to the desired position. This is sometimes the most effective method. It is necessary to perform such a procedure in a subacute period.
Eating diets, obese people, living a healthy lifestyle and eating a healthy diet will not hurt anyone. And those suffering from such a disease only benefit. Since being overweight, this has been one of the reasons for the onset of osteochondrosis. Physiotherapy is an equally effective treatment. Magnetotherapy, UHF, can improve blood circulation in the affected area of lumbar osteochondrosis with long-term treatment. They also have vasodilating and analgesic effects.
Type of medication. How to treat lumbar spine osteochondrosis with drugs? What kind of treatment should be, these issues are of great interest to the sick person. The treatment is divided into two types. In the first case, in the acute period of intervertebral osteochondrosis, the drugs are intended to eliminate pain and inflammation. They use devices that release the constricted roots of the spinal nerves. These include muscle relaxants, glucocorticosteroids, blockade, NSAIDs. In the second period, between exacerbations, drugs are used to improve blood circulation, repair muscle and nerve fibers, and damaged body tissues. Vitamins and preparations of plant and animal origin are used for this purpose.
Vascular preparations and warming and anesthetic ointments are used to improve blood circulation.
Operational
Neurosurgeons perform microsurgical and endoscopic operations on the spine.
These methods are more common and will be removed if other treatments fail.
If the effect of drug therapy is not available and complications such as hernia appear, they indicate an action to remove the affected disc.
Disease Prevention
Prevention of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine consists of eliminating risk factors leading to the disease. In order not to think about curing lumbar osteochondrosis, you need to prevent it from happening. Eliminating the causes is the main preventive measure.
Normalized physical activity, strengthening of the back muscles, prevention of maximal load on the lumbar spine, prevention of diseases leading to osteochondrosis, all of these preventive measures to prevent the symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis. By following these simple principles, you can maintain your health and prolong your life. After all, you can never return to a full life without considering treatment and prevention.