Due to relative inactivity and anatomical features, osteochondrosis rarely affects the chest region, but this disease can not be called rare. Therefore, if you feel stiffness and pain in the area of the shoulder blades, it is worth finding out what is osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, what are its symptoms and methods of treatment.
Indeed, the disease is rarely localized in this part of the spine, but brings unpleasant consequences and sensations no less than damage to the neck and lower back. Its peculiarity can safely be called the "fog" of symptoms, in which even an experienced physician may be confused at the beginning 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 occurs in the thoracic region much less frequently than in the middle or cervix due to such characteristics:
- chest region is inactive;
- is well fixed by the ribs and the whole chest;
- due to kyphosis (i. e. physiological curvature of the spine) in the thoracic region, the vertebrae experience maximum stress in the front, more stable.
But, unfortunately, anyone can develop a disease, especially if there are prerequisites for it.
What does a chest MRI show?
Diagnosis of a disease that has formed in the chest region should be performed in a comprehensive manner and MRI shows the true picture better than most studies.
How is an MRI done?
Everything is simple and painless - you have to lie down on a bench, which enters a special spherical room and wait for the allotted time until the devices "light up" the body. It is worth removing all metal objects in advance and warning staff in case of the presence of pacemakers, prostheses and other foreign things in the body.
In general, osteochondrosis was previously diagnosed exclusively with the help of palpation - they probed the vertebrae, there is pain, which means that osteochondrosis is present. Now doctors supplement their knowledge with special studies, among them the most informative is MRI, which makes it possible to place degenerative phenomena in cartilage and vertebrae, to determine the presence of hernias, the peculiarities of their development.
If you are not afraid of enclosed spaces, you can even take a nap.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The symptoms of insidious osteochondrosis in the chest region are able to successfully disappear for a long time, without manifesting and without causing pain or even discomfort. And later, when the injury is already causing obvious manifestations, sometimes it is difficult to determine the source of painful sensations - they can give the heart, internal organs, legs. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze this issue in detail.
So doctors distinguish several types of symptoms.
The reflex is directly related to the negative effects of the disease on various receptors.
As a result, the patient feels:
- pain in the shoulder girdle area or just below, often surrounding and squeezing "like a hoop";
- the focus of pain can be localized to different parts of the body - in the sternum, simulating heart attacks, on the right side, disguising itself as the liver, and even in the lower back, as kidney pain, therefore, when diagnosing, it is often necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination of the internal organs to conclude that there is a problem behind.
Symptoms of compression appear due to squeezing or stretching of nerve roots,
as a result, there may be:
- weakness in the legs, they seem to refuse;
- loss of sensation in the limbs;
- numbness in the captured area, feeling of "goose bumps";
- feeling of a coma in the chest;
- the tension of the surrounding muscles, which can be found when massaging;
- deterioration in the work of the organs, fortunately, such neglected cases are rare.
Given the peculiarities of women's physiology, sometimes the symptoms of osteochondrosis in the chest 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 pain resembles fibrosis, tumors and other problems with the gland, which makes you run to a mammologist for a consultation. And if the doctor, after tests, examination and mammography, does not find any abnormalities in the structure and function of the mammary glands, the presence of osteochondrosis can be safely assumed.
Causes of osteochondrosis in the chest region
The causes of osteochondrosis for the chest and other regions are the same, but for the problem to be localized right here, clear preconditions are needed:
- curvature of the spine, especially the chest region;
- the presence of bad habits;
- wearing high-heeled shoes;
- being in an unnatural position for a long time, for example, on a computer, a sewing machine, pruning a garden;
- great physical activity;
- hereditary predisposition to spinal diseases;
- pregnancy causing a shift in the center of gravity;
- flat feet and refusal to wear special orthopedic insoles;
- spinal cord injury.
Signs of osteochondrosis in the chest region
Signs of osteochondrosis in the chest region are pain, stiffness, muscle tension in this area. As we have already defined, reflex and compression syndromes are distinguished, the former should be discussed in more detail.
Dorsago and dorsalgia
The most obvious reflex syndromes of the disease are dorsago and dorsalgia. What is it
Dorsago - incision, severe pain, sharp in the back, as if someone had inserted a knife in the back. Sometimes 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 deep breaths. When you palpate, you may notice muscle tension near the spine. Most often, an attack occurs after prolonged sitting in an uncomfortable position and a sharp change in it. Due to the severity of the pain and its localization in the chest, the dorsago is often mistaken as a heart attack, but the removed cardiogram clarifies the appearance.
Dorsalgia is a painful pain that appears gradually, covers the back of the chest, chest, it intensifies with movement, especially with tilting and turning of the body, even from sneezing or riding bumps.
Unpleasants are uncomfortable as it is sometimes difficult to determine the most painful area - these are superficial or deep tissues, the back or chest, which complicates establishing the correct diagnosis.
What is intercostal neuralgia called?
Sometimes the pain is noticed in the intercostal spaces, then the symptom is called intercostal neuralgia, this symptom characterizes:
- severe pain, covering the space between the ribs, sometimes radiating to the lower back, arm, or shoulder, and lasting for hours, or even days;
- soreness during rib probing;
- redness or pallor of the skin at the focus of inflammation, a burning sensation, or conversely, numbness;
- inability to breathe evenly and deeply - every breath brings discomfort;
- some muscles in the chest or spine vibrate spontaneously.
How to treat intercostal neuralgia at home
Before treating intercostal neuralgia, you need to determine the diagnosis correctly, as its symptoms are similar to heart disease and if you start fighting the disease at home with a real myocardial problem, you may have major problems.
If this is not the first attack and the doctor confirms the diagnosis, you can use home treatment methods, the most important of which are:
- bed rest for 2-3 days;
- taking a painkiller to relieve pain and relieve spasm;
- use of topical analgesics in gels and oils;
- use of heating agents - mustard plaster and speci plaster;
- restoration of nerve tissue by taking B vitamins;
- fixation of the spine, for this purpose a corset is used that keeps the body in the right position and reduces the pressure of the vertebrae.
Back pain can really go away within two days, but in order to avoid relapses, you will have to fight the cause yourself for a few months.
Atypical signs of osteochondrosis of the breast
In addition to clinical manifestations, thoracic osteochondrosis can have completely atypical signs, which are so easy to confuse with other diseases. Among them:
- imitation of heart or chest pain in women, discomfort can torment for weeks, but additional examinations 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 deterioration of digestion due to failure to transmit impulses along the nerves, and here it is difficult topriority is determined;
- disruption in urination and erectile function, which also occurs due to a failure in the conduction of nerve endings.
But there is a small clue - the deterioration is manifested closer to night, increasing every hour after waking up due to tightness of the nerves in the back, and after rest passes, while disturbances in the work of the heart or other internal organsare visible all the time.
How to treat osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine?
Treatment of osteochondrosis in the thoracic spine is a long matter, moreover, it is impossible to restore the tissues, it will only be possible to slow down the process, to prevent it from getting worse. But this does not mean that you can calm down, agree and do nothing, realizing the futility of the effort, because the treatment will give you the opportunity to live and work fully, and although the neglected forms will not endfatally, they will significantly ruin life.
Medication treatment
At the first symptoms of osteochondrosis, medication treatment involves the use of medications that eliminate pain, for these purposes it is better to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
They are prescribed for 1-2 weeks, during which time, as a rule, the pain disappears.
You can combine taking pills, capsules or suppositories with analgesics or local compresses (although they can cause allergies, so before use you should pour on a small area of skin and wait half an hour), similar oils are alsoconvenient.
Sometimes, with pain of particular force, anti-inflammatory drugs are ineffective, and then analgesics in the form of drops are stored.
In some cases, you need to inject pain relievers along your back, the procedure is called paravertebral blockade and is performed by a doctor in a hospital.
Later, muscle relaxants are used to relax muscles, diuretics are prescribed against edema around nerve endings, and blood circulation and tissue regeneration restore trophies. In the future, to prevent relapses, you will need to take chondroprotectants for several months.
Home treatment
At home, you can use many non-medicated methods to treat osteochondrosis, these are:
- massage;
- Exercise therapy;
- stretching exercises;
- compresses and infusions to normalize metabolism in the vertebrae.
As for the last point, here you can advise such popular tools:
- rub with calendula tincture, for this, take 200 grams of vodka, triple alcohol and camphor alcohol per 100 grams of a flower, insist for 14 days and wipe on the affected area before going to bed, wrapping it in a warm scarf;
- mix the same amount of orange peel and balsam herb and pour a glass of boiling water, leave for an hour, drain, add 1 tsp each. tincture of valerian and honey, drink ½ glass twice a day for a month.
Exercises for the chest region
Perhaps it is the exercises for osteochondrosis in the chest region that will be most effective in preventing subsequent complications.
Gymnastics eases stiffness, relaxes muscles, strengthens them and increases a person’s physical activity. Continuous and regular training speeds up blood circulation, relieves inflammation of nerve roots, reduces stress on the spine, and this exercise therapy is suitable not only for injury in the chest region, but also for any part of the spine.
But doctors do not recommend the use of such a set of exercises during periods of severe deterioration, with poor overall health, coordination problems, high blood pressure and arrhythmias.
Before training, it is better to take a shower, stretch your muscles with massage and warm-up.
So, the best exercises:
- raise your shoulders 10 times in a row;
- turn your head to the sides, freezing at extreme points for a few seconds;
- put your hands on your back under your shoulder blades, bend over and raise for 10 seconds;
- in a standing position, bend sideways, touching the knee with your shoulder, repeat in the other direction;
- lying on the floor, we place a roller under the chest region, place the hands behind the head and lift the shoulders, then move the roller slightly upwards, this movement is intended to extend this part of the spine;
- lying on the abdomen, we raise the chest to the floor, first with the arms extended forward, then with the arms extended to the sides, and finally with those tied at the back in a lock.
Such a charge helps to forget about back problems for many months.
Massage
Massage in case of osteochondrosis in the chest region helps relieve pain, improve blood circulation and lymph outflow, relieve muscle spasm, improve their 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 already disappeared, in rare cases the masseur can help during the period of deterioration.
The first sessions should be done softly, without excessive pressure on the tissues; both skilled hands and special massage machines are suitable as tools. It is not worth doing massage without the right experience and education - you can only make the problem worse, so do not skimp on the course from a professional.
Manual therapy
At first glance, manual therapy is similar to massage - the same as hand strokes, but in reality, a chiropractor, unlike a massage therapist, acts not on the muscles and skin, but on the vertebrae themselves, which requires morestrength and skill.
Uses stroke techniques, alternating tension and muscle relaxation, spine flexion to eliminate disorders in spinal structure, and instrumental methods in treating elderly patients.
A manual therapy professional is able to improve back muscle tone, restore movement in the spine, correct its curvature and vertebral prolapse, and improve blood circulation.
Prevention is the best treatment
In order to prevent the appearance of this unpleasant disease, you will have to make an effort, but it will be worth it. Recommended:
- monitor weight, as extra pounds are an extra burden on the back;
- eats well and varied;
- avoid spinal hypothermia;
- playing sports, especially when working sitting, swimming is perfect;
- take a break and warm up at work (will do some exercises from the above complex);
- change presents when you are at the computer for a long time, a desk;
- avoid excessive stress on the spine.
Regulation of nutrition
The condition of joints, blood vessels and bones depends directly on nutrition, and if symptoms of osteochondrosis appear, it is worth correcting it. So, it is worth excluding:
- smoked meats that block the body;
- fried, causing the appearance of excess pounds;
- sweet;
- soda, especially sweet.
Instead, go to:
- boiled meat and broth from pork, chicken and rabbit;
- vegetables;
- vegetables;
- dairy products, especially kefir, cheese and cottage cheese;
- boiled fish at least once a week;
- fruits, apples are better.
Corrected postures in a dream
Chest osteochondrosis dictates its own rules even in a dream, asking you to choose the most correct postures. You will need to give up your favorite abdominal rest - in this position, the head is thrown back and the blood vessels are compressed, damaging blood circulation to the brain.
The best poses for the disease are:
- laterally, when all organs and limbs are at rest and not compressed;
- on the back;
- in the fetal position with bent legs pulled up to the chest, the back muscles relax well into it.
I note that no less attention will have to be paid to the bed, it should be with a firm base, a strong orthopedic mattress and a small pillow on which is placed only the head without shoulders, supported at body level. We will have to say goodbye to our favorite soft mattress and a large pillow underneath.
Sitting posture
Even the reduction with chronic osteochondrosis must be correct! Tips to follow strictly:
- avoid upholstered furniture;
- choose a chair so that the feet 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 that you do not need to bend your legs;
- with prolonged sitting every 10-15 minutes, change your position, warm up, walk;
- make sure the back is on the back;
- do not lean forward to avoid muscle strain;
- while driving, place a roller under the lower back to maintain physiological curvature;
- even when relaxing on a sofa or bed, change your position every hour, relax your back muscles and stretch.
Osteochondrosis is not a fatal disease, but a very unpleasant disease that must be controlled from the first manifestations. Now you know what to look for, how to recognize from the many symptoms, what exercises to do with osteochondrosis and defeat it. Dare and be healthy!