What is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine? How to treat lumbar osteochondrosis? And is it true that osteochondrosis is not treated at all? Considering the morbidity statistics, the number of cases does not decrease every year. Intervertebral osteochondrosis affects both a young organism and older people. A neuropathologist or osteopath will describe in detail how to treat osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine and the main symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common ailment. Discomfort refers to a change in the shape of the vertebrae and a decrease in the elasticity of the intervertebral discs, due to malnutrition of the cells. The lumbar spine suffers for a reason. Being in the lower part of the spine, the vertebrae assume the maximum load. When lifting weights, all the force acting on the body is charged with exhaustion of the intervertebral space and this leads to compression of the nerve roots. From here, signs of lumbar osteochondrosis begin to appear.
Reasons
Every disease has predisposing factors that act negatively on the body. Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine also has its own causes. Doctors do not exclude the cause, the transmission of the disease at the genetic level. It is believed that if parents have problems with malnutrition of the intervertebral discs, there is a high probability that this problem will not be overlooked in children. One of the most popular reasons is hard physical work. When lifting weights, most of the load goes to the lumbosacral spine.
Obesity is an equally common cause of disease. The excess weight that accumulates in the body puts pressure on the spine and causes pain. It seems that poor posture will not lead to anything serious, but this is also one of the reasons for the wear of the intervertebral discs, which turns into osteochondrosis. Back injuries are important. Contusions, or the lifting of heavy objects by a poorly trained athlete, or an improperly equalized load are also adversely affected.
The most common cause affecting disc cell nutrition is a sedentary lifestyle.
To keep the body healthy, a person needs a moderate load. Limited or completely absent physical activity leads to a decrease in the speed of blood circulation. As a result, the muscles of the back, without receiving the necessary nutrients, weaken and the load on the lumbar spine increases. Also, over the years, the spine does not become as mobile as in youth, the elasticity of the intervertebral discs decreases, which leads to disease.
Infectious diseases or inflammation affecting the bones or joints cause changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Congenital malformations of the skeleton or deviations in the development of the musculoskeletal system. Flat feet, leading to the destruction of segments of the spine, due to the lack of shock absorption in the extremities. Most of the load falls not on the legs, but on the lower back, which causes deformation of the segments. A common cause of various illnesses is stressful situations. Therefore, lumbar osteochondrosis and its symptoms are no exception. A strong nervous shock can serve as an impulse to pinch the nerve endings and cause an attack of pain. More often, stress is the cause of osteochondrosis in women, they are more prone to emotions than men.
Symptoms
The initial stage of the disease, doctors rarely diagnose. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the primary symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. The manifestation of the disease occurs gradually. Since the main manifestation is low back pain, there is a division of pain into 3 groups, which in turn characterize the symptoms and signs of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine.
- Lumbago- paroxysmal pain that occurs in response to sudden movement or lifting weights. When trying to take a different position, the pain becomes even stronger, up to lumbago.
- Lumbodynia: pain increases and becomes regular. Muscle fibers and intervertebral cartilage are affected. Low back pain is a consequence of low back pain.
- Lumboishalgia: painful, cold or hot sensations in the lumbar region and lower extremities. They arise in response to pinching of the roots of the spinal cord.
The second most important symptom in the diagnosis of a disease is the limitation of physical activity due to painful sensations. When trying to do regular work or exercise for oneself, a person experiences increased pain, which can affect the entire leg. Even in a sitting position, the patient experiences tingling sensations from the lower back to the foot.
Equally important is a local decrease in temperature and discoloration of the skin, it becomes dry and pale. Numbness, weakness in the muscles of the lower extremities, indicates the progression of the disease. The most serious phenomenon, manifested in the last degree of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, is a dysfunction of the pelvic organs. Constant debilitating pains, incontinence of stool and urine, or vice versa, are coupled with a delay in excretion.
When diagnosing diseases, there are four stages of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine. For each stage, symptoms of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine are characteristic, to which is added pain in the sacrum.
In the process of disease progression, osteochondrosis can descend to the final spine, the coccyx. The disease is called osteochondrosis of the sacral spine. There are acute paroxysmal pains in the coccyx area.
Women are the ones who suffer the most in this case. Its anatomical structure of the body and age-related changes in it contribute to the development of intervertebral osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis in women is often complicated by other internal diseases.
The symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis are somewhat different from osteochondrosis of the lower back. The symptoms are manifested in disorders of the functioning of the pelvic organs, which complicate the selection of the correct treatment and the diagnosis of the cause of the disease. Signs such as frequent urination, urinary and fecal incontinence appear. If the diagnosis is wrong, complications arise.
Stages of the disease
The treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis also differs from the stage of the disease.
- The first, and is the initial stageof the disease, characterized by the manifestation of pain in the lower back: lumbago, muscle spasm, local swelling of the skin.
- The second stage,begins with lumbodynia. The pains become regular and more intense than in the initial stage. In the joints of the spine, unusual mobility may appear, increasing pain. Pain is felt along the sciatic nerve. Less often, the functions of the internal organs may be affected.
- The third stageis characterized by the appearance of intervertebral hernias. The spine is deformed, the curvature can be left or right, this is scoliosis, forward - lordosis, backward - kyphosis. Because of this, a person is tormented by constant sharp pains.
- Stage four,the most difficult. Due to the intense and constant pain, movement of the patient is difficult. Without starting treatment on time, a person can be permanently disabled.
Complications
The most common complication is dysfunction of the genitourinary system. Along with incontinence, urine, and stool, inflammation occurs in the urinary genitalia and rectum. With a more pronounced injury to the vertebrae, irritation occurs in the direction of the sciatic nerve and its inflammation. Bulging of the intervertebral disc is a very dangerous complication. Protrusion is a borderline condition of the intervertebral disc, which can lead to the next complication if treatment is not started in time. It occurs due to a transient degenerative change in the spine.
The consequence of the protrusion is a herniated disc. It is manifested by a change in its shape and a rupture of the membrane of the intervertebral disc.
Constant compression of the spinal cord nerve roots and inflammation lead to a complication such as radiculitis.
Complete obstruction of the spinal canal can occur. Due to instability in the lumbosacral region, men develop congestion in the small pelvis, which leads to impotence. In women, this leads to inflammatory diseases of the uterus, ovaries, and appendages. From the side of the kidneys, this is renal colic, which cannot be eliminated until osteochondrosis of the lower back is treated. Lower extremity paralysis, which can confine a person to a wheelchair. Timely diagnosis and timely treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine help prevent these complications and avoid disability.
Treatment
Let's analyze lumbar osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment. In modern times, medicine can bring about the recovery of a person suffering from osteochondrosis. Treatment of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine lasts a long time. A sick person, having intervertebral osteochondrosis for the first time, will still wonder whether osteochondrosis can be cured and how to get rid of it forever.
What to do? Is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine treated? First you need to completely review your lifestyle. Draw certain conclusions. You must move towards the precious goal of healing every day without interruption. With osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, complex treatment of the disease is of great importance. Treatment of lumbosacral osteochondrosis includes several methods.
Conservative
Conservative treatment is based on massage techniques which, if done correctly, can relieve muscle spasms and improve the nutrition of muscle fibers. By improving trophism, the corset of the back muscles is strengthened. The posture takes the correct position, which determines the appearance of various problems in the spine. Physical therapy for lumbar osteochondrosis is very useful, but it is necessary to exercise during the remission period, between exacerbations. Being involved in the acute period of the disease, you can only aggravate the situation and harm your health.
Manual therapy also refers to conservative treatment. It must be done by a professional specially trained in this technique. Thanks to this therapy, the spine can return to the desired position. Sometimes this is the most effective method. It is necessary to carry out such a procedure in the subacute period.
Eating diets, obese people, leading a healthy lifestyle and adhering to a healthy diet will not harm anyone. And people with such an ailment will only benefit. Since being overweight is one of the reasons for the appearance of osteochondrosis. Physical therapy is an equally effective form of treatment. Magnetotherapy, UHF are capable of long-term treatment, improve blood circulation in the affected area with lumbar osteochondrosis. They also have a vasodilator and analgesic effect.
Type of medication treatment. How to cure osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine with drugs? What treatment should it be, all these questions are of great interest to a sick person. The treatment is divided into two types. In the first case, during the acute period of intervertebral osteochondrosis, drugs are aimed at eliminating pain and inflammation. Means are used that release the pinched roots of the spinal nerves. These include muscle relaxants, glucocorticosteroids, blockers, NSAIDs. For the second period, between exacerbations, agents are used to improve blood circulation, restore muscle and nerve fibers, damaged body tissues. For this, vitamins and preparations of plant and animal origin are used.
To improve blood circulation, vascular preparations are used, as well as anesthetic and warming ointments.
Operational
Neurosurgeons perform microsurgical and endoscopic operations on the spine.
These methods are more common and are dropped if other treatments fail. When the effect of drug therapy has not been achieved and complications such as a hernia appear, an operation to remove the affected disc is indicated.
Disease prevention
Prevention of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine consists in excluding the risk factors that lead to this disease. In order not to think about how to cure lumbar osteochondrosis, you need to prevent its occurrence. Eliminating the causes is the main preventive measure.
Normalized physical activity, strengthening the back muscles, preventing the maximum load on the lumbar spine, preventing the development of diseases that lead to osteochondrosis, all these are preventive measures to prevent the symptoms of lumbosacral osteochondrosis. By adhering to these simple principles, you will maintain your health and prolong life. After all, without observing treatment and prevention, you may never return to a full life