Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis or how to recognize the disease?

Even in his youth, a person has the first symptoms of a cartilage disease - osteochondrosis.

The cervical spine often suffers first, which can lead to an intervertebral hernia and severe sensory and movement disorders.

Therefore, there is a need not only to know the symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis of the spine, but also to be able to diagnose them in good time.

Stages of cervical osteochondrosis

The disease begins to develop after 25 years, when the metabolism in the cartilage deteriorates due to hormonal changes in the body. In this case, the blood supply to the intervertebral discs naturally stops.

These changes in the spine correspond to the initial stage of the disease, when there are no manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis. However, a combination of additional factors (heredity, stress, early trauma, etc. ) stimulates further disease progression.

The next stage in the development of the disease is the stretching of the membrane of the intervertebral disc - the fibrous covering. Due to the loss of moisture, the disc changes shape and "bulges", which is known in medicine as a protrusion. At this stage, the first signs appear - sharp burning pain in the neck, caused by the pressure of the intervertebral disc on the nerves.

The onset of the third stage of the disease is evidenced by the rupture of the intervertebral disc (fiber circle) and the appearance of a herniated disc, which compresses the vessels and nerve fibers. At the same time, sensory and movement disorders of the upper limbs and the collar area are combined with the pain.

The transition to the fourth stage of the disease development is the complete destruction of the intervertebral disc when the blood supply not only to individual nerve fibers but to the entire spinal cord stops. Changes at this stage are irreversible and therefore require surgical treatment.

General symptoms of the disease

Osteochondrosis can be diagnosed in one (or more) parts of the spine. At the same time, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is considered particularly dangerous, since this part of the spine is where the large vessels and nerve roots that supply blood and innervate not only the hands but also the brain are located.

The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are divided into three large groups:

1. Compression of the arteries:Usually it is the vertebral arteries, which are located in the processes of the cervical vertebrae and supply the brain.
2. Pinched nerve roots:manifests itself in an impaired movement and sensation in the hands as well as in the parietal area of ​​the skull and in the back of the head;
3. Spinal cord compression:a variant of the IV stage of the disease associated with severe neurological disorders (paralysis, lack of superficial sensations, etc. ).

The manifestations described are general. However, there are many private symptoms that will allow you to identify the disease at an early stage.

Pain

The first manifestation of cervical osteochondrosis is a local pain syndrome - cervicalgia. This is usually a severe pain in the neck that sometimes spreads to the arm or the back of the head. Pain occurs after incorrect postures (long transport, sleep) or physical activities. Usually they pass themselves on.

After sharp turns or tilts of the head, lumbar pain can occur in the collar zone (otherwise cervicago). It is often accompanied by muscle tension, which makes head movements impossible (up to 10 days after the onset of cervicago).

Over time, an adaptation to pain occurs. However, at the second stage, the pain usually intensifies, indicating further displacement and destruction of the disc.

When the "protrusion" of the disc reaches the nerve fibers, radicular syndrome (also known as "radiculitis") occurs. Usually accompanied by unilateral pain that extends to the arm (as well as sensory and movement disorders). In this case, reflex muscle tension is observed - head tilts are not possible.

Other variants of the pain syndrome are:

• an oppressive headache that often mimics a migraine but is not relieved with the usual painkillers. Usually it "diverges" to the back of the head, to the parietal and temporal regions, sometimes to the eyeballs. In this case it can be either unilateral or bilateral;
• "Heart" pain (or cardialgia) is extremely rare. Manifested by chest pain that may resemble an attack of angina pectoris.

Be careful!If the cause of chest pain is osteochondrosis, "heart" drugs will not help in this condition! If these pills provide short-term relief despite a noticeable fear of death, then you should suspect a myocardial infarction and urgently go to the hospital.

Sensory disorders in the cervical spine

Loss, decrease, or increase in sensitivity are the main symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Therefore, sensory disturbances are often observed in the back of the head as well as around the shoulder joint or hand.

In the latter case, these manifestations are accompanied by edema or other trophic pathologies (ulcers and others).

Movement disorders

When the intervertebral hernia compresses the motor nerve fibers, the patient may feel muscle weakness with limited range of motion - paresis. The extreme degree of movement disorders is paralysis - a complete lack of exercise, as well as decreased muscle tone (up to their atrophy) and the disappearance of reflexes. In the early stages, these symptoms can be temporary.

Other symptoms

The manifestations described above are the classic symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis.

However, there are other (important! ) signs of the disease.

• Head rotation. It is often accompanied by osteochondrosis. Dizziness is associated with a defect in the delivery of blood to the inner ear, a paired organ of balance in the temporal bone. Irregular postures or periodic exacerbations of osteochondrosis lead to dizziness, sometimes accompanied by nystagmus - rapid fluctuations in the pupils. The human organ of equilibrium is supplied with blood via an artery - the vertebral artery. It runs in the cervical vertebrae and can therefore be "squeezed" in diseases of the spine (with osteochondrosis, fractures).
• Ringing tinnitus. The ringing of tinnitus or congestion in the ears is another option to interfere with the "delivery" of blood to the inner ear. This symptom appears after a long stay in the wrong position, and then goes away. It is the final symptom that distinguishes a similar symptom in osteochondrosis from similar symptoms in other diseases.
• Nausea. It's a symptom on its own, but sometimes it's accompanied by vomiting or vomiting. The latter is provoked by tilting and turning the head, sometimes even while walking. The reason for this condition is the same as for dizziness - decreased delivery of arterial blood to the equilibrium organ. However, prolonged vomiting can have serious complications - dehydration and loss of salt in the body, which can lead to alkalosis (alkalization of the blood). This condition requires the administration of appropriate saline solutions intravenously.
• Respiratory diseases. A symptom of cervical osteochondrosis can be difficulty breathing when breathing becomes shallow (you cannot fully "breathe in" with your chest). It provokes a similar state of compression or overstimulation of the phrenic nerve (it innervates the diaphragm, the muscle responsible for breathing). In such situations, the patient experiences a lack of air or shortness of breath. However, overstimulation of the phrenic nerve is more common in persistent hiccups.
• Attacks at night. Holding your breath while sleeping with an unsuccessful posture can also be linked to osteochondrosis of the neck region. But more often the disease is manifested by snoring and morning lethargy due to the lack of oxygenated blood during night sleep. Such a "lack of oxygen" can lead to disorders in the brain - loss of attention and memory.
• Sore throat. It is considered to be one of the most common symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis. It manifests as a dry throat, a "foreign body" sensation, possible itching, or difficulty with the pharynx. The reason for this is the pinching of the nerve and vascular bundles that extend from the spine to the neck organs. We must also remember that similar symptoms may indicate other pathologies (tumors or respiratory diseases). At the same time, the presence of osteochondrosis does not exclude tumor or inflammatory processes.

• Visual disturbances. The organs of vision are supplied with blood from both the vertebral and carotid arteries. Therefore, changes in vision in this pathology are less common, but they are characteristic of people with atherosclerotic vascular plaques or hypotension (low blood pressure). The manifestations can include: "fog" or "flying" in front of the eyes, reduced visual acuity or disturbance of accommodation (focusing). At the same time, the symptoms of the disease are unstable and cannot be corrected by optics (glasses, contact lenses) or visual gymnastics.
• Unstable pressure. When the vertebral artery is compressed, the blood supply to the vasomotor center may be disturbed, as a result of which an insufficient increase and decrease in pressure is observed. The latter can be accompanied by fainting spells.
• Sinkope. Fainting is often seen in older people who also have atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries. Usually, reflex vasospasm (due to overstimulation of the nerve endings from protruding hernias or bony processes) leads to a sharp decrease in the volume of blood flowing to the brain. As a result, the brain feels hypoxia - lack of oxygen - the cause of unconsciousness. Be careful! In such situations, help with fainting is to lay a person on a flat surface and raise their legs. Blood from the veins in the lower half of the body flows in large quantities to the heart, and then to the brain, thereby renewing the necessary blood flow. To bring a person to life, it is worth using a substance with a pungent odor, for example, ammonia. Sometimes people have speech and / or movement problems after syncope, but these symptoms are usually temporary due to the short duration of the fainting. If the fainting persists for more than a few minutes, after which the headache worries, while these violations do not go away after a few hours, then you should suspect a stroke and urgently go to the hospital.
• Temperature rise. This is a very rare symptom of cervical osteochondrosis. It occurs when blood flow to the hypothalamus (the thermoregulatory center of the brain) is impaired. Then not only an increase, but also a decrease in body temperature is possible. But most often local phenomena are observed - hyperemia (redness and warming) in the collar zone. Remember that the presence of osteochondrosis does not rule out a rise in temperature due to inflammation or swelling!
• Static violations. These are postural curvatures, "alignment" of the neck curve of the spine, and subluxation in the joints of the spine. Such changes lead to a redistribution of the load, which overloads some parts of the spine (e. g. the lumbar spine). This can lead to the simultaneous development of osteochondrosis in other parts of the spine.
• spinal stroke. As mentioned above, stage IV cervical osteochondrosis can lead to a stroke of the spine (spinal cord injury). Such a pathology is extremely rare, but it is characterized by its danger: as a rule, there is tetraplegia (complete immobilization of the arms and legs), no pain and sensitivity to temperature on all extremities, sometimes retraction of the eyes, drooping of the eyelid, narrowing of the pupil, Impairment of facial sensitivity, etc. In such cases, immediate surgical intervention is indicated.

Disease prevention

To prevent the development and complication of the disease you need:

• treats injuries to the spine (bruises and dislocations) immediately;
• correct posture disorders (kyphosis, lordosis, scoliosis), instability of the spinal column segments, ligamentous apparatus;
• to correct orthopedic problems (clubfoot, flat feet) and to give preference to orthopedic shoes with comfortable heels or special insoles;
• to reduce excess weight to normal;
• Balancing the diet by increasing the content of micronutrients, liquids and foods containing collagen (jelly and bone broth);
• not to lead a sedentary lifestyle and at the same time limit heavy physical activity;
• are subjected to annual preventive examinations (especially in industries in which the vibrations of machines, devices or moving machines vibrate more strongly).
• Athletes, bodybuilders, etc. do not stop training abruptly.

Older people need to control comorbidities (atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension). At the same time, it is important to exclude bad habits (alcohol and tobacco smoking) and avoid stressful situations that lead to nervous tension.

It is worth remembering that osteochondrosis is a progressive disease that does not go away on its own. Many patients are encouraged by remission (a period when the disease is weakening), which causes them to return to their old way of life and discontinue treatment. This in turn makes the outcome of the disease much worse. If you notice the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, urgently contact a neurologist! After all, there is no better treatment than timely therapy!