Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine accounts for about a quarter of all cases of osteochondrosis. He is the "youngest" and often affects people under 30 years old. The disease develops gradually, progresses slowly but steadily. In the early stages of developing cervical osteochondrosis, it can be generally asymptomatic, becoming an accidental discovery during X-ray examination.
Causes of osteochondrosis
The disease manifests itself as dull aching pain in the chest, under the shoulder blades, in the shoulder region, numbness and the appearance of "goose bumps" in the chest, stiffness of movements. Often the pains are of the genital nature, accompanied by angina pectoris, unpleasant painful sensations in the stomach and shortness of breath may appear. Sometimes short-term acute pain is observed.
Causes of vertebral disc destruction and compression of spinal cord nerve endings can be adolescent-acquired scoliosis, a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, the same type of load on the spine, and regular prolonged sitting in one position. ulur.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine: symptoms
The most important, very first and most common symptom of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is pain. Intensifies when bending or turning the head.
Depending on the localization of the pathological focus, the pain may be given in the back of the head, under the shoulder or in the arm.
It can be constant, painful. It can happen occasionally, but as the disease progresses, it bothers a person more and more often. The pain is also sharp, shooting. This is a symptom of a worsening of cervical osteochondrosis, which can appear after hypothermia of the body.
Head movements are usually difficult. This is due to the constant muscle tension in the collar and neck area. When leaning forward or turning your head, a crisis is often heard.
In the later stages of cervical osteochondrosis, a person may not be able to hold his head for long. Sometimes he is unable to turn or tilt it without experiencing severe pain. The patient tries to support the head with his hands or try to take a comfortable position for him to alleviate his suffering.
Vertebral artery syndrome
This set of symptoms occurs due to compression of the vertebral artery by a displaced intervertebral disc, overcrowded cartilage tissue, or tense muscles. The syndrome is a complex of symptoms, including cervical migraine, impaired consciousness, and increased blood pressure.
Cervical migraine is a headache that results from decreased blood flow and tissue oxygen deprivation. The pain is often one-sided. It hurts, first of all, the back of the head. Possible radiation to ear, eye or forehead.
Sometimes hearing impairment occurs, and the ears begin to fall out. Potential visual impairment. In the double eyes, before the eyes "flies flies". The scalp can become so painful that it cannot be touched. Headaches with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
A common symptom of cervical osteochondrosis and vertebral artery compression is an increase in blood pressure. But osteochondrosis of the cervical spine and hypertension are not always related to each other. It should be borne in mind that in old age, an increase in pressure is observed in many people.
Only after studying the history of cervical osteochondrosis can the doctor determine if hypertension is a complication of the disease. If there is a history of recurrent attacks of hypertension, which are accompanied by palpitations and fear of death, this is most likely really one of the symptoms of vertebral artery compression. If the increase in pressure has occurred gradually and frequent hypertensive crises have not been observed, it is very likely that the patient has hypertension, which is not associated with osteochondrosis.
Impairment of consciousness occurs when insufficient blood supply is made to the brain. There is drowsiness, dizziness, a decrease in the speed of reaction to external stimuli. Short-term loss of consciousness occurs.
Rehabilitation after spinal cord injury
What are the most dangerous symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis? Undoubtedly, this is a spinal stroke - the death of a part of the spinal cord due to the complete lack of blood flow to the squeezed vessels. It always leads to disability, causing paresis and paralysis. Fortunately, spinal cord injuries are rare.
Cardiac syndrome
Among the symptoms of worsening osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, there is heart pain. Occurs due to constriction of the posterior roots of the fourth spinal nerve. In fact, heart pain can be attributed to radicular syndrome. But this symptom is specific and is therefore isolated as a separate syndrome.
Heart pain with osteochondrosis can mimic angina pectoris or myocardial infarction. But when a patient seeks medical help, a competent physician can immediately, solely on the basis of the patient’s symptoms and complaints, rule out heart disease.
- First, the presence of other symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae in the patient will already lead the specialist to the idea that the cause of heart pain may be back problems;
- Second, the pain is not as strong and sharp as in myocardial infarction and is not accompanied by fear of death. It is not associated with physical activity, in contrast to an attack of angina pectoris;
- Third, such pain is quite long and after taking nitroglycerin neither disappears nor subsides;
- Fourth, the pain increases with the turning or tilting of the head, which is not noticed with "real" heart disease.
Radicular syndrome
Radicular syndrome combines those signs of cervical osteochondrosis that develop as a result of compression of the spinal nerve roots. Depending on the degree to which the contraction occurred, different symptoms of intervertebral osteochondrosis of the cervical spine may develop.
Compression of the roots at the level of the first or second segments leads to numbness of the occipital skin or pain in the occipital region.
Grip of the roots of the third spinal nerve leads to numbness of the tongue and skin behind the ear. If the motor fibers are pressed, it becomes difficult for a person to chew food and he has a feeling of an enlarged tongue.
Compression of the roots at the level of the fourth segment of the spinal cord causes pain in the heart and cervical bone, hives and pharyngeal migraine. There is a sensation of a foreign body in the throat, it is difficult to swallow food. There may be a sore throat that mimics a sore throat. But the differential diagnosis of cervical osteoarthritis and tonsillitis is by no means difficult. Inflammation of the pharynx is always associated with hyperthermia, while with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, the body temperature does not rise.
Symptoms for cervical osteochondrosis
The most common symptom of pinching the roots of the fifth spinal nerve is impaired movement of the shoulder muscles. It is difficult for the patient to raise his hand and take it sideways.
Grip of the roots of the sixth segment most often causes pain in the shoulder and forearm. It becomes difficult for the patient to bend and rotate the forearm.
The seventh pair of spinal nerves mainly irritates the hand, index and middle fingers. When pressed, the movement of these body parts is disturbed, numbness or pain occurs.
The grip at the level of the eighth segment makes it difficult to bend and lengthen the ring finger and little finger. Pain and sensory damage may also occur. However, these manifestations can already be attributed to the symptoms of cervicothoracic spine osteochondrosis because the roots of the eighth spinal nerve are located between the seventh cervical vertebra and the first thoracic vertebra.
What is the risk of cervical osteochondrosis? First of all, from its complications. The appearance of intervertebral hernias can lead to spinal cord compression and, as a result, to the development of paresis and paralysis. When the first symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis appear, treatment should begin already. Properly selected therapy will slow the progression of the disease, improve the patient's quality of life, and avoid the development of complications of cervical osteochondrosis.