Signs of cervical osteochondrosis in a strong manifestation usually take the patient by surprise, although the prerequisites for the disease are observed long before the onset of the main symptoms and are the result of degenerative changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Most often, the nerve roots of the C5, C6, C7 levels (cervical spine) are affected.
Clinical manifestations
The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are divided into root and reflex.
Reflex syndrome
Low back pain is characteristic of reflex symptoms. Its main characteristic is the sudden appearance of an uncomfortable movement, a jerk or a long stay of the head in one position. Lumbago of the cervical spine literally takes a person out of the routine, movements become limited, the patient takes a forced position due to severe pain.
Frequent patient complaints:
- constricting headaches radiating to the temples or eyeballs;
- decreased visual acuity, before the eyes as if "everything was floating";
- possible pressure increase.
Vertebral artery syndrome occurs when the nerve plexus is irritated, which is often misdiagnosed as a stroke. Manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis with a similar syndrome are frequent dizziness that occurs with a sharp turn of the head, almost always accompanied by an unpleasant feeling of nausea and even vomiting.
When making a diagnosis, it is important to exclude stroke, since the treatment of osteochondrosis is fundamentally different from the treatment of diseases of the vascular system.
With a cardiac symptom in the clinic of reflex syndromes in cervical osteochondrosis, the patient is characterized by sensations reminiscent of an attack of angina pectoris, but difficulties in accurately diagnosing the disease are generally not observed, since theCardialgic symptom is accompanied by a number of symptoms characteristic of osteochondrosis of the spine.
Root syndrome
Signs of cervical osteochondrosis in radicular syndrome appear in direct proportion to the "number" of the compressed nerve.
Symptoms and sensory and motor changes depend on the affected nerve root:
- C1- there is a violation of sensitivity in the occipital region;
- C2- the patient feels pain in the parietal and occipital regions;
- C3: pain appears in the middle of the neck where the infraction occurred. Symptoms: decreased sensitivity, dysfunction and touch of the tongue, speech disorders;
- C4- there are pains in the scapular region of the shoulder, altered sensitivity, it can hurt the heart and liver;
- C5- the patient does not feel the shoulder well on its outer surface, he is concerned about pain in this area;
- C6- pain in osteochondrosis at the level of the sixth vertebra that extends to the forearm, scapula, radial surface and "descends" to the thumb of the hand;
- C7- the pain "spreads" from the neck to the scapula, passes through the back of the shoulder and the forearm, reaches 2-4 fingers of the hand, the sensitivity in thisarea worsens;
- C8- the pains are localized from the neck to the shoulder and beyond the little finger.
Inseparable pathological connection
VSD and cervical osteochondrosis are closely related, and vegetative-vascular dystonia can manifest as a result of damage to the cartilage of the cervical joint, which loosen the human nervous system. Dystonia and osteochondrosis, detected at the same time, can be a common disease or VSD occurs for common reasons.
Osteochondrosis is one of the factors that causes VSD, but the second does not have to follow the first.
Vegetovascular dystonia often manifests in different types of osteochondrosis, especially cervical spine disorders. But it can also manifest itself as a result of injury, compression of the nerves in the cervical spine occurs, blood flow worsens, and pressure inside the skull increases.
Diagnostic errors
VSD, osteochondrosis, and chest pain are radically treated in different ways. Expensive (and often unnecessary) tests show nothing except problems in the cervicothoracic region, abnormalities in the functioning of the blood vessels. In this case, the treatment often remains the same: heart complexes, vitamins, antidepressants. Chiropractors eliminate pain, put the patient in an optimistic mood, but panic attacks, stress, and fatigue are going nowhere.
More and more people are falling victim to inappropriate therapy, panic attacks (or a VSD attack) are becoming almost the norm for them, but still, many of the patients prefer to self-medicate or visit "doctors"whose activities are not aimed at getting rid of the disease, but only for personal enrichment.
Groups of characteristic manifestations
The main clinical signs of cervical osteochondrosis can be divided into several groups:
- first.Neurological symptoms arise as a consequence of complications in cervical osteochondrosis and with direct pressure on the nerve roots, the nerve plexuses;
- second.Symptoms are manifested by direct exposure to the spinal cord;
- third.Symptoms arise in the brain and affect its vessels, structures, membranes, and trunk.
Each of the listed groups has its own clinical signs and pattern of manifestations, but there are common symptoms, thanks to which it is possible to make a correct diagnosis.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae often appear as a neurological complication, the characteristic feature of which is pain in the shoulder joint. This pathology is called "periarthritis of the shoulder scapula. "
The hallmarks of spinal cord compression in the cervical region are volumetric lesions in the tissues and a sharp decrease in important functions. The sensitivity of the skin and muscles is affected, paresis develops and, in complex pathological cases, paralysis.
That is why, even at the first suspicion of cervical osteochondrosis, it is important to visit a specialist, carry out the necessary diagnostic measures and undergo treatment. Remember that the pathology detected in time is eliminated quickly and without consequences.