Cervical osteochondrosis often remains undetected for a long time.Headaches, dizziness and other symptoms are attributed to general malaise or vitamin deficiency.But taking vitamins and a long rest do not help - over time, headaches appear in the morning after proper sleep and rest.What's up?“Normal” osteochondrosis of the cervical spine progresses, which is easy to detect at home and accurately diagnosed through a complete examination.Timely detection of pathology guarantees quick and effective treatment.Otherwise, the disease causes severe pain in the neck and partial paralysis or numbness of the limbs.
What is cervical osteochondrosis?
Before studying the question of how to determine cervical osteochondrosis, it is necessary to study the pathogenesis of the pathology.Cervical osteochondrosis is destructive damage to the intervertebral discs.The defeat can be long-lasting or progress quickly.The same applies to the stage of the disease: depending on external and internal factors, the pathology can reach an advanced stage within a short period of time or become noticeable for many years with aching pain in the neck after a long static position.
Cervical osteochondrosis is the destruction of the cartilage of the intervertebral discs, which occurs for various reasons.The leading position is occupied by cartilaginous dystrophy - a kind of thinning of the cartilage of the intervertebral disc, which occurs due to a lack of useful microelements, impaired blood circulation and pressure on the vertebrae.The thinning causes the spinal cord root to be pinched - this is where severe pain begins in the neck and back of the head and an increase in blood or even skull pressure occurs.
To the horror of people who are not yet aware of the development of the presented pathology, it must be noted that the destruction can be affected by a long stay at the computer or a banal unhealthy diet.Therefore, it is important to diagnose the disease in a timely manner and start treatment.
Important!Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease that cannot be completely cured.Therefore, it is important to prevent this and not to “repair areas that have already been destroyed”.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Doctors recommend contacting the clinic at the first symptoms of the development of cervical osteochondrosis.Of course, they are easy to recognize at home and not only here - even with a harmless activity, dangerous phenomena can await the patient.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis include:
- Headache, dizziness, periodic loss of balance for no apparent reason, fainting, blurred vision - the presented symptoms indicate a syndrome (pinching) of the vertebral artery, as a result of which the brain and organs do not receive the necessary useful microelements and oxygen.
- Increased intracranial pressure, nausea and vomiting - against the background of insufficient oxygen supply and other disorders in the blood supply to the brain, hypertensive syndrome develops.
- Pain in the neck, shoulders, arms, characteristic tingling or numbness, partial or complete paralysis of the arms, pain in the neck and ears, hearing impairment - radicular syndrome develops, which is characterized by the already mentioned entrapment of the spinal cord root.
- Hypertension and tachycardia, the development of cervical migraine – impaired blood flow in the vertebral arteries.
From the above it becomes clear that unspoken manifestations can manifest themselves in the future with significant signs, leading to disruption of a person's usual life activities and partial loss of motor activity.
Important!Already at the stage of pain and neck problems after staying in a static position for a long time or after sleeping, you should consult a doctor.If you feel heat in the affected area after moving your head, there is probably destruction of the intervertebral disc and the heat will cause a rush of blood and complete restoration of blood circulation.
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis
As soon as pain and discomfort in the neck area is detected, you should immediately consult a doctor for an examination, which is carried out in three steps:
- Inspection;
- Roentgen;
- Differential diagnosis.
Visual inspection by a specialist
If pain occurs, it is better to immediately contact a chiropractor who, after just one examination, can give a more accurate picture of the development of the pathology.So at the appointment the doctor checks:
- condition of the muscles of the collar zone, shoulder girdle, arms;
- symmetry of the neck, chin and supraclavicular areas;
- shoulder position;
- Presence of spinal curvature.
The therapist conducts an examination by palpating the back and sides of the neck - usually people with osteochondrosis feel pain or discomfort that should not be there.If the development of cervical osteochondrosis is suspected, the doctor will conduct tests to determine the intervertebral space using special instruments.
An important criterion in a visual examination is the determination of normal neck mobility - as a rule, the patient cannot easily turn or tilt the head completely.This criterion can determine in advance the location of the affected area and the resulting entrapment of the spinal cord root.
X-ray and other instrumental diagnostics
After osteochondrosis has been diagnosed, it is important to understand what stage the disease is in and what possible further consequences it can have.Here they resort to instrumental diagnostics, which consists of the following methods:
- X-ray is the simplest and most informative method for determining the development of pathology.It is radioactive X-rays, on the basis of which an image is created that highlights the musculoskeletal system.The image allows you to determine the affected intervertebral disc, possible pinching and other features of the pathology.
- MRI and CT are the most modern methods of instrumental diagnostics, which allow doctors to determine the type of entrapment that exists and its stage.According to the data received, the doctor suspects a further deterioration in the patient's condition.
- Doppler ultrasound examination allows you to determine the condition and blood supply of the brain and neck.This can explain the presence of dizziness or headaches.
A comprehensive study of the data obtained allows not only to diagnose the disease and determine its stage, but also to prevent further damage to the spine.Based on the diagnosis, appropriate treatment is initiated.
Differential diagnosis
Differential diagnosis is the usual exclusion of possible diseases that have signs and symptoms similar to cervical osteochondrosis.If a person suffers from headaches during the pathology under consideration, it is necessary to exclude possible head injuries and other causes that caused this symptom.
If neck pain is detected, it is also important to rule out diseases of the spine itself - for example, the same injury, dystrophic changes of a congenital or acquired nature, an inflammatory process or cancer.Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is often confused with heart disease, stomach ulcers, vegetative-vascular dystonia and other diseases.
Therefore, the doctor may additionally prescribe the following tests to the patient:
- general blood test to exclude the development of an oncological process;
- general urine analysis – to exclude an inflammatory process;
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs – to exclude gastritis, ulcers and other organ diseases;
- Fluorography - to exclude tuberculosis;
- other methods of examining the patient's health status.
Based on the data obtained, the doctor prescribes appropriate treatment, which consists of several stages: elimination of the exacerbation, maximum recovery with treatment of the consequences of the disease and preventive measures to avoid a new exacerbation.You should not delay visiting a specialist, as treatment and rehabilitation for advanced diseases can take several years.