What is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine? How is lumbar osteochondrosis treated? And is it true that osteochondrosis is not treated?
Considering the incidence statistics, the number of cases does not decrease every year. Intervertebral osteochondrosis affects both a young organism and the elderly. The treatment of lumbar spine osteochondrosis and the main symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis will be described in detail by a neuropathologist or osteopath.
Osteochondrosis is a very common disease. Malaise refers to 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. Being at the bottom of the spine, the vertebrae assume the maximum load. When lifting weights, all the force acting on the body is charged with the depletion of the intervertebral space and this leads to the compression of the nerve roots. From here, signs of lumbar osteochondrosis begin to appear.
Reasons
Each disease has predisposing factors that act negatively on the body. Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine also has its own causes. Doctors do not exclude the cause, the transmission of the disease at the genetic level. It is believed that if parents have problems with malnutrition of the intervertebral discs, then there is a high probability that this problem will not ignore children. One of the most popular reasons is heavy physical work. When lifting weights, most of the load goes to the lumbosacral spine.
Obesity is an equally common cause of illness. The excess weight that accumulates in the body presses the spine and causes pain. It seems that poor posture will not take anything seriously, but this is also one of the reasons for the wear of the intervertebral discs, which turns into osteochondrosis. Back injuries are important. Bruises, or lifting heavy objects by a poorly trained athlete, or an incorrectly combined load are also adversely affected.
The most common cause of malnutrition in disc cells is sedentary lifestyle.
To maintain a healthy body, a person needs a moderate load. Limited or completely absent 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 does not become as mobile as in youth, the elasticity of intervertebral discs decreases, which leads to disease.
Infectious diseases or inflammations that affect bones or joints cause changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Congenital malformations of the skeleton or deviations in the development of the musculoskeletal system. Flat feet, leading to the destruction of segments of the spine, due to the lack of shock absorption in the limbs. Most of the load does not fall on the legs, but on the lower back, which leads to deformation of the segments. Stressful situations are a common cause of several diseases. Therefore, lumbar osteochondrosis and its symptoms are no exception. A strong nervous shock can serve as an impetus to tighten nerve endings and cause an attack of pain. More often, stress is the cause of osteochondrosis in women, they are more prone to emotions than men.
Symptoms
The initial stage of the disease, doctors rarely diagnose. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the primary symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. The disease manifests itself gradually.
As the main manifestation is low back pain, there is a division of pain into 3 groups, which in turn characterize the symptoms and signs of low back pain.
- Lumbago- paroxysmal pain that occurs in response to sudden movement or weightlifting. When trying to take a different position, the pain becomes even stronger, reaching 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 heat in the lower back and lower extremities. They arise in response to the pinching of the spinal cord roots.
The second most important symptom in the diagnosis of a disease is the limitation of physical activity, due to painful sensations. When trying to do a regular job or exercise for himself, the person feels an increase in pain, which can affect the entire leg. Even in a sitting position, the patient experiences tingling sensations from the lower back to the feet.
Equally important is the local decrease in temperature and the discoloration of the skin, which becomes dry and pale. Numbness, weakness in the muscles of the lower extremities, indicates the progression of the disease. The most serious phenomenon, which manifests itself in the last degree of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, is a dysfunction of Organs pelvic organs. Constant debilitating pain is accompanied by faecal and urinary incontinence, or vice versa, a delay in excretion.
When diagnosing disease, there are four stages of lumbosacral spine osteochondrosis. For each stage, the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine are characteristic, in addition to pain in the sacrum.
In the process of disease progression, osteochondrosis can descend to the final spine, the coccyx. The disease is called osteochondrosis of the sacral spine. There are acute paroxysmal pains in the coccyx area. Women suffer more in this case. The anatomical structure of the body and age-related changes contribute to the development of intervertebral osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis in women is often complicated by other internal diseases.
The symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis have some difference from lumbar osteochondrosis.
Symptoms are manifested in dysfunction of Organs pelvic organs, which makes it difficult to choose the correct treatment and diagnose the cause of the disease.
Signs such as frequent urination, urinary and fecal incontinence appear. If the diagnosis is not correct, complications arise.
Stages of the disease
The treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis also differs from the stage of the disease.
- The first, and is the initial stage of the disease, is characterized by the manifestation of pain in the lower back - low back pain, muscle spasm, local edema of the skin.
- Secondstage, starts with lumbodynia. The pains become regular and more intense than in the initial phase. In the joints of the spine, unusual mobility may appear, which increases the pain. Pain is felt along the sciatic nerve. Less commonly, the functions of internal organs can be impaired.
- The third stageis characterized by the appearance of intervertebral hernias. The spine is deformed, the curvature can be left or right, this is scoliosis, forwards - lordosis, backwards - kyphosis. Because of this, the person is plagued by constant sharp pains.
- Fourthstage, the most difficult. Due to the constant strong pain, the patient's movement is difficult. Without starting treatment in time, a person may be permanently disabled.
Complications
The most common complication is dysfunction of the genitourinary system. Along with incontinence, urine and feces, inflammation occurs in the urine-genitals and the rectum. With a more pronounced injury to the vertebrae, irritation occurs towards the sciatic nerve and its inflammation. Protrusion of the intervertebral disc is a very dangerous complication. Protrusion is a borderline condition 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 protrusion is a herniated disc. That is manifested by a change in its shape and a rupture of the intervertebral disc membrane.
Constant compression of the spinal cord's nerve roots and inflammation lead to complications such as radiculitis.
Complete obstruction of the spinal canal may occur. Due to instability in the lumbosacral region, men develop congestion in the small pelvis, which leads to impotence. In women, this leads to inflammatory diseases of the uterus, ovaries and appendages. On the kidney side, it is renal colic, which cannot be eliminated until osteochondrosis of the lower back is treated. Paralysis of the lower limbs, which can confine a person to a wheelchair. Timely diagnosis and timely treatment of lumbar spine osteochondrosis help prevent these complications and prevent disabilities.
Treatment
Let's look at lumbar osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment. In modern times, medicine is capable of recovering a person suffering from osteochondrosis. The treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine is time-consuming. A sick person, who has intervertebral osteochondrosis for the first time, will still wonder if it is possible to cure osteochondrosis and how to get rid of it forever?
What to do? Is osteochondrosis of the lower spine treated? First, you need to completely rethink your lifestyle. Draw certain conclusions. You need to move towards the cherished goal of healing every day, without interruption. In osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, the complex treatment of the disease is of great importance. The treatment of lumbosacral osteochondrosis includes several methods.
Conservative
Conservative treatment, based on massage techniques, which, if done well, can relieve muscle spasm and improve the nutrition of muscle fibers. By improving the trophism, the corset of the back muscles is strengthened. The posture assumes the correct position, which determines the appearance of several problems with the spine. Physiotherapy for lumbar osteochondrosis is very useful, but you need to exercise during the remission period, between exacerbations. Being engaged in the acute period of the illness, you can only aggravate the situation and harm your health.
Manual therapy also refers to conservative treatment. It must be performed by a professional specially trained in this technique. Thanks to this therapy, the spine can return to the desired position. This is sometimes the most effective method. It is necessary to perform such a procedure in the subacute period.
Eating diets, obese people, leading a healthy lifestyle and following a healthy diet will not hurt anyone. And people with this disease will only benefit. Being overweight, this is one of the reasons for the appearance of osteochondrosis. Physiotherapy is an equally effective treatment. Magnet therapy, UHF are capable of long-term treatment, improving blood circulation in the affected area with lumbar osteochondrosis. They also have a vasodilating and analgesic effect.
Type of drug treatment. How to cure osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine with medications? What treatment should be, all of these issues are of great interest to the patient. The treatment is divided into two types. In the first case, during the acute period of intervertebral osteochondrosis, the drugs aim to eliminate pain and inflammation. Means are used that release the compressed roots of the spinal nerves. These include muscle relaxants, glucocorticosteroids, blockade, NSAIDs. For the second period, between exacerbations, medications are used to improve blood circulation, restore muscle and nerve fibers, damaged body tissues. For this, vitamins and preparations of vegetable and animal origin are used.
To improve blood circulation, vascular preparations are used, as well as warming and anesthetic ointments.
Operational
Neurosurgeons perform microsurgical and endoscopic operations on the spine.
These methods are more common and are removed when other treatments fail.
When the effect of drug therapy has not been achieved and complications such as a hernia appear, surgery to remove the affected disc is indicated.
Disease prevention
The prevention of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine consists of the elimination of the risk factors that lead to this disease. In order not to think about how to cure lumbar osteochondrosis, it is necessary to prevent its occurrence. Eliminating the causes is the main preventive measure.
Normalized physical activity, strengthening of the back muscles, avoiding the maximum load on the lumbar spine, avoiding the development of diseases that lead to osteochondrosis, these are all preventive measures to prevent the symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis. By adhering to these simple principles, you will maintain your health and prolong your life. After all, without following treatment and prevention, you will never be able to return to a full life.