Symptoms and treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine

Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is much less common compared to a similar pathology affecting adjacent segments. This is due to the strengthening effect of the chest - a strong and flexible frame made of ribs well supports the intervertebral joints. Even if osteochondrosis develops in this segment, it rarely reaches late stages. The ribs partially relieve the load from the cartilaginous discs, not allowing them to collapse under intense and prolonged stress.

Chest osteochondrosis often develops in men - they naturally have to do a harder and more harmful job. But if a woman is in similar working conditions, then her risk of osteochondrosis increases dramatically. Women’s ligaments and muscles are naturally more flexible and extensible, which protects the weaker sex from degenerative breast damage.

In men, on the contrary, already in adulthood, there is an "ossification" of all movable joints - first, such changes are observed in the joints between the ribs. Therefore, the clinical picture develops gradually, as it is associated with slow damage to the joints between the ribs and vertebrae. The sooner a person defines the first symptoms of osteochondrosis in the chest, the more effective and shorter the subsequent treatment will be.

Symptoms

Chest osteochondrosis rarely occurs even without minor manifestations, but in the early stages, patients usually simply do not notice the signs of the disease. Any discomfort is attributed to banal fatigue, which arose as a result of prolonged work or an unpleasant behavior. But the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine have an insidious feature - to develop in large steps.

That is, the progression of manifestations does not occur gradually, but suddenly - under the influence of some external factor. Their development is subject to a certain mechanism that occurs in the joints between the vertebrae and the ribs:

• During a person's life, the mobility of the chest decreases - this is due to the thickening of the connective tissue that connects the adjacent bones.
• From a long and heavy load, metabolic products accumulate in it, leading to damage to the "soft" structures - ligaments and cartilage.
• At intercostal joints, they begin to be replaced by bone tissue, which forms small outlets at the site of defects.
• First, these spines begin to irritate the nerve roots that emerge from the spinal cord in the neighborhood. From the impact on them, a reflex contraction of the surrounding muscles occurs - a spasm.
• Exacerbates impaired mobility by making the chest less flexible and elastic. From these changes, the nutrition of the surrounding tissues changes, as their blood supply deteriorates.
• A vicious circle gradually forms - impaired blood flow deprives soft tissues of the possibility of rapid healing. If the load continues to act, then gradually osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine develops.

The rate of disease progression depends on the severity of the damaging factors and the abilities of the body - in most patients it remains in the early stages until old age.

First step

In the early stages, it is difficult to diagnose thoracic osteochondrosis - the symptoms of the disease are still very nonspecific. Most patients lose the first degree of the disease, going to the doctor only when severe symptoms form. But with a careful attitude towards your health, the signs of pathology can be easily identified:

1. Since soft tissues are compressed in the joint area between the ribs and vertebrae, their flexibility and elasticity are reduced. Therefore, when you lie down or do exercises, there is pain and chewing in the chest region, which occurs between the shoulder blades.
2. A similar sound can be heard in the clavicle or sternum, where both cartilage and connective tissue are thickened.
3. Along with them, the flexibility of the shoulder girdle is disturbed, which is manifested with difficulty in placing the hands behind the back. It is especially difficult for the patient to perform some movements - to scratch his back, to join the shoulder blades.
4. There is a feeling of discomfort in every part of the chest, but most often in the intercapsular region. It is on it that most of the nerve roots that emerge from the spinal cord in this part are projected.
5. Resistance to prolonged physical work and posture maintenance decreases - a feeling of fatigue in the back quickly arises.
6. There is a decrease in the depth of breathing - when you try to breathe deeply, its limitation is noticed.

At this stage, the disease can be safely treated at home, as irreversible soft tissue changes in the joint area have not yet formed.

The second degree

As the influence of negative factors continues, the signs of osteochondrosis in the chest begin to intensify - it is at this stage that patients usually seek help. The disease begins to significantly limit a person's activity - symptoms interfere not only during work but also during rest. Their appearance is accompanied by the formation of constant changes that lead to ossification of cost-vertebral joints:

1. The pain, which is the result of pressure on the nerve roots, already emerges among the symptoms. It has several characteristics - a burning or shooting character, a connection to physical activity or prolonged uncomfortable behavior.
2. Unpleasant sensations are usually defined between the shoulder blades, from where they spread along the course of the ribs. The pain impulse is always one-sided.
3. The intensity of this symptom depends entirely on the movements of the trunk or breathing - even with a calm breath, an increase in pain is observed.
4. The disease is distinguished from ordinary intercostal neuralgia by the persistence of symptoms - in the first case, the pain syndrome passes on its own and quickly (within minutes). Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is distinguished by the duration of pain - they are persistent, decreasing only at rest.
5. Discomfort and stiffness in the chest increases, which leads to a decrease in exercise tolerance. It becomes more difficult for the patient to perform work associated with prolonged stress.

At home, it is almost impossible to eliminate the symptoms at this stage - they try to use a long course of medication, combined with physiotherapy procedures, for treatment.

Third degree

In the final stage of the disease, there is a strong deformation of the joints between the ribs and vertebrae. This puts pressure on the surrounding vessels and nerves, which run to the internal organs. Therefore, the symptoms of the disease take on the unusual features characteristic of another pathology:

1. The pain syndrome continues, taking on an intense and persistent character. Lumbago between the shoulder blades and along the ribs disturbs the patient even at rest, which is accompanied by constant pressure on the nerve roots.
2. There are areas of damaged tenderness in the abdomen and chest - they look like lines along the direction of the ribs. They are characterized by numbness, tingling or "crawling".
3. There are periodic cramps of the abdominal muscle reflex, accompanied by unpleasant sensations.
4. Since the nerves of the internal organs are involved in the process, symptoms of their defeat can occur. False attacks of angina pectoris, hepatic or renal colic, which simulate diseases of similar organs are most often observed.
5. Chest osteochondrosis often leads to the formation of irritable bowel syndrome - disorders of the digestive tract, the causes of which were not identified during the examination.

Even long-term treatment will not allow you to permanently get rid of the symptoms if the patient has kept the disease to this degree. Supportive therapy will only reduce the signs of the disease, which is firmly entrenched in the thoracic spine.

treatment

How to treat thoracic osteochondrosis? Assistance tactics are based on the duration of the disease - the more severe the symptoms, the more stages will involve the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine. Despite the frequent difficulties in prescribing medication, many patients want to undergo all home treatment procedures. The patient does not want to spend the extra time required to visit the hospital or clinic.

In addition, sick leave is rarely issued for this disease, which forces people to quickly give up the activities they have started. After feeling some improvement, the last patient returns to his usual activities. But incomplete treatment of breast osteochondrosis leads to a rapid return of previous symptoms. Therefore, overly "busy" patients can perform some procedures at home - the main thing is that they do not give up on what they have started.

In home

You can do without going to the hospital only in the early stages of the disease, when all the changes in the spine are reversible. With the help of some measures, it is possible to eliminate muscle spasm, which is the cause of the manifestations:

• It is necessary to change the place of rest - the bed, in which the soft tissues of the back are restored during sleep. To do this, you need to make it stiffer, buy an orthopedic mattress to rule out the wrong back position.
• For any activity, you should use back support - a soft corset that grips the lumbar and thoracic regions. It should be worn regularly to work, getting up only when you rest or sleep.
• It is recommended to use warming oils to eliminate the symptoms. They are applied between the shoulder blades before the next load in order to artificially warm the muscles.
• You need to get into a good habit - do exercises at home after you wake up. Moreover, it is not necessary to do it only in the morning - for any discomfort in the back, you should find a few minutes to warm up.
• You need to change your diet, increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your diet - the vitamins they contain slow down the destruction of connective tissue.

Patients who have plenty of free time are advised to engage in physical activity - walking or swimming.

CONSERVATIVE

With the development of pronounced signs, treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine begins with the help of medication. They allow you to eliminate pain and other manifestations that interfere with normal activity:

• First of all, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed, which have an analgesic effect. They inhibit the processes of soft tissue destruction, which inevitably lead to the formation of bone outgrowths.
• Muscle relaxants are also used - medicines that eliminate painful muscle contractions. Using them allows the chest to return to its previous flexibility and mobility.
• Further, vitamin complexes have been described, which are intended to protect nerve tissue. They allow you to quickly restore the roots of the spinal cord, which have been subjected to pressure.
• Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs can also be used in the form of creams that are applied between the shoulder blades. But they are usually combined only with medicines to ensure synergy.

The course of treatment usually lasts from 2 to 3 weeks, after which the patient is transferred to home treatment.

Surgical

The operative method of treatment is usually used when medications are ineffective. Moreover, the intervention is not always of a radical nature:

• The most commonly used blockade is the insertion of medication directly into the lesion with a needle. A local anesthetic is usually used to relieve symptoms. After the procedure, its effect lasts for several days.
• Blockades performed with the help of glucocorticosteroids are more effective - they provide a therapeutic effect that lasts for several weeks. The composition contains hormones that suppress the inflammatory process in the field of administration.
• In the most severe cases, an operation is performed - removal of deformed areas of the joints between the ribs and vertebrae. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the pressure on the nerve roots and blood vessels, which leads to the elimination of most manifestations.

Surgical correction does not lead to a complete cure of the disease, but only makes the patient's condition easier. Therefore, after any manipulation, continuation of conservative therapy is required, aimed at slowing down the progression of the disease.

reHabiLitatiON

Elimination of the main signs of osteochondrosis does not mean the end of treatment. In the post-treatment period, the patient undergoes restorative measures:

1. In the initial period, procedures that have a reflex effect are described. Electrophoresis and phonophoresis, UHF and laser can eliminate reflex muscle contraction in the thoracic spine.
2. Then begin the most active procedures - massage, therapeutic exercises. They help to strengthen the muscular frame of the chest.
3. Recovery ends with independent training, which must continue on an ongoing basis. They allow you to slow down the progression of osteochondrosis.

Such patients are advised to choose sports disciplines that allow them to develop endurance and muscle strength at the same time. Therefore, patients are advised to deal with swimming and walking in the race, which allow you to create an equal load on all muscles. Daily exercises are optional - three sessions a week is enough.