Due to its relative inactivity and anatomical features, osteochondrosis rarely affects the thoracic region, but this disease cannot be called rare. Therefore, if you feel stiffness and pain in the shoulder blade region, it is worth knowing what osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is, what are its symptoms and how to treat it.
In fact, the disease is rarely located in this part of the spine, but it has unpleasant consequences and sensations, no less than damage to the neck and lower back. Its peculiarity can safely be called the "cloudity" of symptoms, in which even an experienced physician can be confused at the onset of the disease.
What is Thoracic Osteochondrosis?
Osteochondrosis - degenerative-dystrophic lesions of the discs between the vertebrae and the vertebrae themselves.
As already mentioned, the disease manifests itself in the thoracic region much less frequently than in the lumbar or cervical region due to these characteristics:
- the thoracic region is inactive;
- it is well attached by the ribs and all over the chest;
- due to the kyphosis (ie, the physiological curvature of the spine backwards) in the thoracic region, the vertebrae experience maximum stress in the more durable anterior part.
But, unfortunately, everyone can develop a disease, especially if there are prerequisites for it.
What does an MRI of the thoracic spine show?
The diagnosis of a disease that has formed in the thoracic region must be made comprehensively, and MRI shows the real picture better than most studies.
How is an MRI performed?
Everything is simple and painless - you need to lie down on a bench, which enters a special spherical chamber, and wait the allotted time until the equipment "illuminates" the body. It is worth removing all metallic objects in advance and informing the team in case of the presence of pacemakers, prostheses and other foreign objects in the body.
In general, osteochondrosis was previously diagnosed exclusively with the help of palpation - the vertebrae were probed, there is pain, which means that osteochondrosis is present. Doctors now complement their knowledge with special studies, among them the most informative is magnetic resonance imaging, which allows the establishment of degenerative phenomena in cartilage and vertebrae, to determine the presence of hernias, the peculiarities of their development.
If you're not afraid of confined spaces, you can even take a nap.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The symptoms of insidious osteochondrosis in the thoracic region can successfully hide for a long time, without manifesting and without causing pain or even discomfort. And later on, when the damage is already causing obvious manifestations, it is sometimes difficult to determine the source of the painful sensations - they can lead to the heart, internal organs, legs. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze this issue in detail.
Thus, doctors distinguish several types of symptoms.
The reflexes are directly related to the negative effects of the disease in several receptors.
As a result, the patient feels:
- pain in the area of the shoulder blades or just below, often wrapping and squeezing "like a bow";
- the focus of pain can be located in different parts of the body - on the sternum, simulating a heart attack, on the right side, disguising itself as a liver, and even on the lumbar region, such as renal colic, therefore, when diagnosing, it is often necessary to pass for a comprehensive examination of the internal organs to conclude that there is a back problem.
Symptoms of compression appear due to compression or stretching of the nerve roots,
as a result, there can be:
- weakness in the legs, they seem to refuse;
- loss of sensation in limbs;
- numbness in the compressed area, "shivering" sensation;
- feeling of coma in the chest;
- tension in the surrounding muscles, which may be encountered during massage;
- deterioration in organ functioning, fortunately, these neglected cases are rare.
Given the peculiarities of female physiology, sometimes the symptoms of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region are confused with other diseases.
Often the pain radiates to the mammary glands, which automatically makes a woman think about problems with her breasts.
Drawing, regular pains resemble fibrosis, tumors and other problems with the gland, which makes you rush to a mammologist for a consultation. And if the doctor, after examinations, examinations and mammography, does not find abnormalities in the structure and functioning of the mammary glands, the presence of osteochondrosis can be safely assumed.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
The causes of osteochondrosis for the thoracic region and others are the same, but for the problem to be located exactly here, clear prerequisites are needed:
- curvature of the spine, particularly of the thoracic region;
- the presence of bad habits;
- wear high-heeled shoes;
- staying in an unnatural position for a long time, for example, at a computer, a sewing machine, weeding a garden;
- great physical activity;
- hereditary predisposition to back disease;
- pregnancy causing a shift in the center of gravity;
- flat feet and refusal to use special orthopedic insoles;
- spinal injury.
Signs of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region
Signs of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region are pain, stiffness and muscle tension in this area. As we have already established, reflex and compression syndromes are distinguished, the former need to be discussed in more detail.
back and back
The most obvious reflex syndromes of the disease are back and back pain. What is?
Dorsago - sharp, sharp, sharp pain in the spine, as if someone had stuck a knife in the back. Sometimes the painful sensations spread to the heart or sternum.
The sensations are so "rainbow" that the patient is afraid to make any movement and even take a deep breath. When palpating, you may notice muscle tension near the spine. Most of the time, an attack occurs after sitting for a long time in an uncomfortable position and a sudden change in it. Because of the intensity of the pain and its location in the chest, the back is often mistaken for a heart attack, but the removed cardiogram clarifies the picture.
Back pain is an acute pain that gradually manifests itself, covering the thoracic back, the chest, and intensifying with movement, especially by bending and turning the body, even by sneezing or riding in bumps.
It is unpleasant that it is sometimes difficult to determine the most painful area - they are superficial or deep tissues, back or chest, which makes it difficult to establish the correct diagnosis.
What is called intercostal neuralgia?
Sometimes pain is perceived in the intercostal spaces, so the symptom is called intercostal neuralgia, this symptom characterizes:
- severe pain covering the intercostal space, sometimes radiating to the lower back, arm, or shoulder blade, and lasting for hours or even days;
- pain when probing the ribs;
- redness or paleness of the skin at the focus of inflammation, a burning sensation or vice versa, numbness;
- the inability to breathe evenly and deeply - every breath brings torment;
- some muscles in the chest or back spontaneously contract.
How to Treat Intercostal Neuralgia at Home
Before treating intercostal neuralgia, the diagnosis needs to be correctly determined, as its symptoms are similar to those of heart disease, and if you start fighting the disease at home with a real myocardial problem, you could have huge problems.
If this is not the first attack and the doctor confirms the diagnosis, you can resort to home treatment methods, among which the most important are:
- bed rest for 2-3 days;
- taking a sedative to relieve pain and spasms;
- the use of local analgesics in gels and ointments;
- the use of heating agents - mustard plasters and pepper plasters;
- restoration of nervous tissues by ingesting B vitamins;
- fixation of the spine, for this a corset is used that keeps the body in the correct position and reduces the compression of the vertebrae.
Back pain can actually be removed in a few days, but to prevent relapses, you'll have to fight the cause itself for several months.
Atypical signs of breast osteochondrosis
In addition to the clinical manifestations, thoracic osteochondrosis can present completely atypical signs, so easy to be confused with other diseases. Between them:
- imitation of heart or chest pain in women, discomfort may plague for weeks, but further tests do not reveal heart and chest problems;
- localization of pain in the iliac region, as in gastritis or colitis, or on the right side, as in the case of liver dysfunction, the diagnosis is complicated by the deterioration of digestion due to a failure in the conduction of impulses along the nerves, and here it is difficult determine the primacy;
- interruptions in urination and erectile function, which also occur due to a failure in the conduction of nerve endings.
But there is a small clue - the aggravation manifests itself closer to night, growing every hour after waking up due to pinch of the nerves in the back, and after rest passes, while disturbances in the functioning of the heart or other internal organs are noticeable over time. whole.
How to treat osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine?
The treatment of osteochondrosis in the thoracic spine takes time, in fact, it is impossible to restore the tissues, it will only be possible to delay the process and prevent it from getting worse. But that doesn't mean you can settle down, reconcile, and do nothing, realizing the futility of your efforts, because the treatment will give you the opportunity to live and work fully, and while the neglected forms don't end fatally, they significantly spoil life.
drug treatment
In the first symptoms of osteochondrosis, drug treatment involves the use of drugs that eliminate pain, for these purposes it is best to take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
They are prescribed for 1-2 weeks, during which time, as a rule, the pain subsides.
You can combine taking pills, capsules or suppositories with analgesics or local compresses (although they can cause allergies, so before using you need to drip on a small area of skin and wait half an hour), similar ointments are also suitable.
Sometimes, with pains of special force, the anti-inflammatories are impotent, and so the pain relievers in the form of droppers are spared.
In some cases, it is necessary to inject painkillers along the spine, the procedure is called a paravertebral block and is performed by a doctor in a hospital.
Later, muscle relaxants are used to relax the muscles, diuretics are prescribed for swelling around the nerve endings, and blood circulation and tissue regeneration restore the trophies. In the future, to prevent relapses, you will have to drink chondroprotectants for several months.
home treatment
At home, you can use many non-drug methods to treat osteochondrosis, they are:
- massage;
- Exercise therapy;
- stretching exercises;
- compresses and infusions to normalize metabolism in the vertebrae.
As for the last point, here you can recommend such folk remedies:
- rub with calendula tincture, for this, take 200 grams of vodka, triple alcohol and camphor alcohol for 100 grams of a flower, insist for 14 days and rub on the affected area before going to bed, wrapping it with a warm handkerchief ;
- mix the same amount of orange peel and lemon balm and pour in a cup of boiling water, leave for an hour, strain, add 1 tsp each. tincture of valerian and honey, drink ½ cup twice a day for a month.
Exercises for the thoracic region
Perhaps it is the exercises for osteochondrosis of the thoracic region that are the most effective in preventing subsequent complications.
Gymnastics relieves stiffness, relaxes the muscles, strengthens them and increases the person's physical activity. Constant and regular training speeds up blood circulation, removes inflammation of the nerve roots, reduces stress on the spine, and this exercise therapy is suitable not only for damage to the chest area, but also for any part of the spine.
But doctors do not recommend using such a set of exercises during periods of severe exacerbations, with general health problems, coordination problems, hypertension, and arrhythmias.
Before training, it's best to take a shower, stretch your muscles with massage and warm up.
So, the best exercises:
- lift your shoulders 10 times;
- turn your head sideways, freezing at extreme points for a few seconds;
- place your hands behind your back under your shoulder blades, bend over and freeze for 10 seconds;
- standing, bend to the side, touching the knee with the shoulder, repeat in the other direction;
- lying on the floor, we place a roller under the thoracic region, we place our hands behind our head and lift our shoulders, then we move the roller a little higher, this movement aims to lengthen this section of the spine;
- lying face down, we raise the chest above the floor, first with arms extended forward, then with arms extended to the sides, and finally with those connected in the back in a lock.
This loading helps to forget about back problems for many months.
Massage
Massage in the case of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region helps relieve pain, improve blood circulation and lymph drainage, relieve muscle spasm, improve muscle tone and increase trophism in the intervertebral cartilage.
As a rule, the course does not start immediately on the first day, but after 3-4 days, when the main unpleasant sensations have disappeared, in rare cases the massage therapist can help during the exacerbation period.
The first sessions should be gentle, without excessive pressure on the tissues, both skillful hands and special massage machines are suitable as tools. It's not worth doing massage without the proper experience and education - you can only make the problem worse, so don't skimp on a course from a professional.
Manual therapy
At first glance, manual therapy is similar to massage - the same caressing with your hands, but in reality, a chiropractor, unlike a masseuse, works not on the muscles and skin, but on the vertebrae themselves, which requires more strength. and skill.
It uses percussion techniques, alternating tension and relaxation of muscles, spinal flexion to eliminate disorders in the spine structure and instrumental methods in the treatment of elderly patients.
A manual therapy practitioner is able to improve back muscle tone, restore spinal mobility, correct spinal curvature and prolapsed vertebrae, and improve blood circulation.
Prevention is the best treatment
To prevent this unpleasant illness from occurring, you will have to make an effort, but it will be worth it. Recommended:
- monitor weight as additional kilograms are an extra burden on the spine;
- eat well and varied;
- avoid spinal hypothermia;
- playing sports, especially in sedentary work, swimming is perfect;
- take breaks and warm up at work (some exercises from the complex above will do);
- change posture when you are at the computer for a long time, a table;
- avoid excessive stress on the spine.
nutrition adjustment
The condition of the joints, blood vessels and bones is directly dependent on nutrition, and if symptoms of osteochondrosis appear, it is worth correcting them. So it's worth deleting:
- smoked meats that clog the body;
- fried, causing extra pounds to appear;
- candy;
- soda, especially sweet.
Instead, go to:
- cooked meat and pork, chicken and rabbit broths;
- vegetable;
- greens;
- dairy products, especially kefir, cheese and cottage cheese;
- fish cooked at least once a week;
- fruits, apples are better.
correct postures in a dream
Osteochondrosis of the chest sets its own rules, even in a dream, requiring you to choose the most correct postures. You'll have to give up your favorite stomach rest - in this position, the head is thrown back and the blood vessels are compressed, impairing blood circulation in the brain.
The best poses for the disease are:
- on the side, when all organs and limbs are at rest and not compressed;
- back;
- in the fetal position, with the legs bent and pulled up, the back muscles relax well.
I note that no less attention should be paid to the bed, it should have a solid base, a hard orthopedic mattress and a small pillow on which only the head without shoulders is placed, resting at body height. We'll have to say goodbye to our favorite fluffy mattress and huge feather pillow.
sitting posture
Even sitting with chronic osteochondrosis must be okay! Tips that must be followed to the letter:
- avoid upholstered furniture;
- choose a chair so that the legs reach the floor and the depth is 2/3 of the thigh;
- there should be plenty of space under the table when you sit so you don't have to bend your legs;
- with the session prolonged every 10-15 minutes, change your position, warm up, walk;
- make sure your back rests on your back;
- do not lean forward to avoid muscle tension;
- when driving, place a roller under your lower back to preserve physiological curvature;
- even while relaxing on a couch or bed, change your position every hour, relax your back muscles, and stretch.
Osteochondrosis is not fatal, but a very unpleasant disease that must be controlled from the first manifestations. Now you know what to look for, how to recognize by multiple symptoms, which exercises to do with osteochondrosis and defeat it. Dare and be healthy!