You probably can't find a single adult who didn't know what "lumbar osteochondrosis" is.On average, every healthy third person, from the intermediate years and sometimes more often had an episode of acute lumbar pain in his life, and every fifth - sixth indicates that these problems arise regularly and are even a "source" of the hospital leaf.
However, to explain in detail what exactly the violation occurred in the lower back, patients usually fail.Most of them have never been examined, and the treatment consisting of the form of "injections", "ointments", massage sessions, usually helps for a period from several months to a year.
If you "pose" this patient and start asking about the diagnosis, having suffered a little, he will declare that he is sick with "osteochondrosis".What does this disease mean in relation to the lumbar spine?
Lumbar osteochondrosis - a disease or "norm of life"?
First of all, you need to say with authority: "osteochondrosis" cannot harm.And anyway it cannot manifest itself, as this is the process of dystrophy and degeneration of intervertebral discs, ie cartilage, which consists of a pulpitic nucleus and a fibrous ring.The intervertebral disc is cartilage and is designed to function as an airbag that absorbs shock, softening vertical and angular accelerations - inhibition between adjacent vertebrae.
As you know, cartilage is devoid of nervous and vascular tissue, so that the processes that go "purely in the discs" simply cannot affect neighboring structures and do not appear at all.A similar example in vertebroneurology is the hernias of shomorle, in which the hernial protrusion is reliably covered by the spongy bone tissue of the neighboring vertebra.The intervertebral discs do not hurt.
Condrosis (suffix "-o" indicates an increase, increase), in this case-not quite correct.It does not occur during human life of growth and increased cartilage.Here with liver fibrosis (cirrhosis), it can be noted that the liver mesh structure began to develop, to the detriment of the function.
And with chondrosis (or osteochondrosis), intervertebral discs begin to change their configuration under the influence of perennial loads.
They cause pressure on neighboring vertebrae, because, according to Newton's law, each static load action gives light exactly the same opposition or reaction of support.How does osteochondrosis develop and why does it happen?
The causes of "osteochondrosis lumbar"
Signs of osteochondrosis in the lumbar region (more accurately, intervertebral discs) can be found at an early age, especially with various violations of the musculoskeletal system.
They can be attributed, for example:
- Congenital anomalies (different leg length);
- various types of flat feet (longitudinal, transverse);
- spine column deformation (scoliosis);
- Spondylolistz (sliding the lower lumbar vertebra of the sacral bone front and back).
All of these diseases can cause or increase the shock load in the spine column (for example, with flat feet, when the elasticity of the foot decreases) and with severe spine asymmetry, when the support function is systematically performed due to the load on the disc.
It was known that with the experiments, it was found that healthy and young cartilage, if it received a load evenly and static across the surface, were able to support up to 2000 kg and even louder for themselves.Obviously, there is no such charge in everyday life, but it can increase these values when exposed to the edge of the disc.
If the support area is 20 times smaller, and the disc will not be so healthy (for example, in old age), exposure at 60-80 kg (for example, falling on ice on the side, with a shoulder load) can cause disk destruction, which may be in the form of a ban or hernia.
It is the appearance of protrusion or hernia that indicates that the disc was deformed and even "crawled" on one or more sides.And around the record, as you know, there is no empty place.Once the disc begins to contact nerve roots, ligaments and neighboring muscles, the consequences of osteochondrosis occur: reflex pain and muscle-tenic syndromes that make the patient resort to a neurologist, manual therapist and masseuse.
Meanwhile, the discs have a normal shape and wear out evenly, without extreme cargo, then lumbar spine osteochondrosis bothers the patient no more than usual age abrasion, with which criminals are well known.How do the syndromes of reflex pain manifest themselves?
Symptoms and signs of complicated lumbar osteochondrosis
You have already realized that we diligently “reproduce” bridges: common osteochondrosis is a completely inevitable process of common aging of elastic intervertebrals in the “reasonable man” type, as it moves vertically throughout life.And "osteochondrosis" that patients with acute pain recovery is a complicated condition.
We will start, perhaps, with signs of root compression.Signs of lumbar osteochondrosis, of course, are associated with pain due to the segmental nerve spine pressed by the disc.In addition to pain, they are possible sensitive, motor and vegetative disorders.
Low pain in osteochondrosis has the following characteristics:
1) Pain dish.It is secondary and proceeds according to the type of neuralgia, when the nerve spine very "violently" reacts to a concussion.
The pain is clear, sudden, throwing, piercing the lower back, possibly giving up.The pain appears and intensifies instantly, so it is called "Lumbago" or "background".It is a "shutter" that makes a person "face a Naracan" because any movement leads to increased pain.
In addition, the pain intensifies with the smallest cough, sneezing, tensions, laughs - any situation where a swollen shakes pimple.
In the case of the spine is part of the sciatic nerve, the pain "fires" through the buttock in the popliteal fossa and below, and this is called "lumbar algae".
2) Muscle pain.Near the nerve spine, there are large muscle mass.Many times, in spring and fall, they "get up" and make up, become dense.Venous flow is difficult in them, and they themselves are a source of pain.
This pain is painful, constant and not so hard.On the contrary, it intensifies not only with a clear movement, but also with a prolonged in a monotonous position (deterioration of the blood supply).
- Sometimes this myofascial syndrome occurs after protrusion or hernia exacerbation, when a herniated hernia "hook" "massages" muscles and ligaments for a long time.
3) engine disorders.Since the disc can squeeze not only a sensitive column, but also a motor column, peripheral paresis or even paralysis can be developed.With different levels of damage, it is possible to appear weakness in the legs (for example, weakness by climbing the stairs on the one hand), weakness on the foot, which leads to impaired march.
There is muscle hypotrophy, a leg is "losing weight".Such a purely motor and painless disorder is rare and, remaining unnoticed, can lead to disability.
4) Sensitive violations.They arise along with pain, there are often even after the end of pain instead of pain.They manifest themselves by numbness, a decrease in the sensitivity of the skin of the legs by the type of "stripes", in the form of vertical bands, a feeling of "goose bumps" on the fingers and feet.
- Sometimes, with damage to vegetative fibers, symptoms are combined with hyperhidrosis, skin cooling, hair growth and nails.
These are the most general signs of complicated lumbar osteochondrosis in the lower back.There are separate syndromes, for example, damage to the outer thigh skin, or damage to the horse's tail, epicon, pure radiculitis or pear -shaped muscle syndrome - but even its brief description will take a long time.
For patients, the above is sufficient, the main signs to sign up for a neurologist.How can you "remove exacerbation with your own hands"?How to treat lumbar osteochondrosis of the house?
What to do during the exacerbation of lumbar osteochondrosis?
The basis of all treatment is ethiotropic therapy (cause elimination) and pathogenetic treatment (affecting disease mechanisms).Symptomatic therapy accommodates you.
With verten pain (caused by spinal problems), things are like this:
- The elimination of the cause is the elimination of protrusion pressure, a spasmoded hernia or muscle in a nerve root;
- The impact on mechanisms is the elimination of muscle spasm, restoration of the venous output in the muscles, the removal of nerve spine edema and the fight against inflammation;
- The elimination of symptoms (the fight against pain, numbness, limitation of mobility) is performed by returning to paragraph 2, since the removal of edema and inflammation, for example, will return mobility and relieve pain.
Free -protrusion and hernia
As a rule, he does not start treating acute back pain.Almost always at first they interrupt pain syndrome and, after the massage and treatment sessions of the manual therapist, all symptoms disappear and the operation is not required.
The issue of surgical intervention arises with the progression of weakness in the foot and with intense and unconscious pain in 2 months.In addition, the operation is necessary to compress the central canal at high levels where the spinal cord is located or the “horse tail”.
Treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis
The treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis and its complications provides the following measures.In the clear phase (first day - two):
- To reduce edema and muscle spine, a sleepless diet is indicated and the limitation of the amount of fluid used.You can even give a mild diuretic medicine tablet that saves potassium.
- The use of a half -rigid orthopedic score is shown, which saves the muscles from excessive movement.
- From the early days, the friction ointments containing NSAIDs, the application of implaces, for example, "Pepper", is shown.
- You cannot warm your back in the clear phase.With increasing inflammation, edema increases.Therefore, all types of heating pillows are prohibited.You can warm up, catching your own heat (wool belt, hot ointments), which are not added outside, but, on the contrary, are removed from the depths.
- In the acute phase of lumbar osteochondrosis, short -term treatment with intramuscular "injections" of NSAI and muscle relaxing "injections" may be performed.This will help interrupt nervous tissue edema, eliminate inflammation and normalize muscle tone.
In the subacute period, after overcoming the maximum pain, "injections" should no longer be taken, and attention should be given to restorative media, for example modern preparations for group "B" vitamins.They effectively restore impaired sensitivity, reduce numbness and paraesthesia.
Physiotherapeutic measures continue, it is time to perform exercise osteochondrosity exercise therapy.Its task is to normalize blood circulation and muscle tone, when edema and inflammation have already retired, and muscle spasm was not yet fully resolved.
Exercises for the lumbar spine osteochondrosis should be performed after a hot and light -up light in the "warm -up muscles".
The main therapeutic factor is movement, not the degree of muscle contraction.Therefore, to avoid relapse, the use of charges, a gymnastics rug and a gymnastics rug is not allowed.With their help, you can effectively restore the volume of movements.
Ointment friction, the use of Kuznetsov ipllicator continues.They are shown swimming, underwater massage, Sharko shower.It is at the stage of damaged exacerbation that drugs for magnetotherapy and physiotherapy at home are shown.
Normally, treatment does not take more than a week, but in some cases osteochondrosis may manifest with such dangerous symptoms that the operation may be necessary and urgent.
Complications of lumbar spine osteochondrosis
It is, first and foremost, about the condition when the herniated disc has become an independent fragment and, having penetrated the central canal, formed a free kidnapping.There you can squeeze the nerves of the horse's tail, and can suddenly (in the gym, after an episode of acute pain) develop steep weakness or paralysis in the legs, numbness of the peineum.
After a few minutes, brutal leg pain appears and then a reflex delay in the urine, or the appearance of incontinence, develops, impotence develops.This arose from the horse's tail syndrome, as a complication of a herniated disc.In this case, urgent intervention, sequence removal, and restoration of the horse's nerves function with its decompression are needed.
However, other complications usually arise.With age, multiple hernias occur and protrusion, vertebrae osteoporosis appears and mobility simply decreases and the risk of acute back pain increases.These patients certainly “license” a few times a year and are often treated in sanatoriums.
Treatment forecast
Lumbar spine osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment of which we dismantled louder, as we understand for ourselves, is largely a disease, but simply by an inevitable aging manifestation and premature "shrinkage" of intervertebral discs.
Can humanity be completely spared from lumbar osteochondrosis?This answer can be answered in the affirmative, but we will have to master a different style of movement: all our lives to follow on all fours, or, like IchtyAnder, float in the depths of the ocean, moving constantly in childhood water.It is then that the axial and static load on the intervertebral discs will disappear and with it the "chondrosis" signs will disappear.But another problem will arise: In water, such a powerful design will simply become unnecessary and begin to change until it will disappear or not decrease significantly.
As for the personal and individual prediction for osteochondrosis, it all depends on the time when a person "decided to adopt the mind."If at this point there is no pronounced destruction of intervertebral discs, protrusions, hernias and deformations, then subject to a healthy lifestyle and hygiene, physical activity cannot be known as the same age as the back of the lower back.
In the same case, when there is already a "hot point" in the lumbar area, for example, in the form of a hernia, which periodically squeezes the nervous spine, then a person needs to take care especially of strange twists, the inadequate survey of gravity and seasonal hypothermia, which usually cause spacecraft.