We are sure that you have read and heard that lumbar osteochondrosis usually affects bank and office employees, programmers and representatives of heavy physical work. This is true, but the truth is that today it is difficult to find at least one type of activity that is not associated with the risk of developing this disease.
Why is that? Lumbar osteochondrosis is a kind of "walking rate", a tribute that each of us has to pay to nature. The reason for the degenerative changes in the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral disc lies not so much in the increase of the charges in its pulpous nucleus, but in the peculiarities of the blood supply to these structures.
Around the twentieth year of life, the arteries that feed the fibrocartilaginous tissues of DIV in adolescence are obliterated and, for all the remaining years, the pulpous nucleus and fibrous annulus receive nutrients exclusively by diffusion, and this is clearly not enough! Trace elements, polysaccharides, amino acids and other structural components enter chondrocytes (cells that synthesize the interstitial substance of the disc) in extremely limited quantities, which creates a fertile ground for the development of dystrophic processes.
In the course of our professional activities, we regularly plant seeds in this fertile soil. We sit in the wrong position, lift weights incorrectly, move around a bit and spend a lot of time behind the wheel or behind a computer monitor. All other things being equal, such a form of physical activity "would escape us", but under conditions of a limited supply of cartilaginous structures in the IVD, degenerative processes inevitably develop.
How is lumbar osteochondrosis manifested?
The first manifestation of osteochondrosis of the lower back is pain syndrome. As a rule, for the first time a "lucky man" is hit by a sharp pain in the back, which pierces his body with a dagger. The pain occurs after an inadvertent twisting of the trunk, inclination or after hypothermia. There is no way to endure so much pain - she literally knits a person by the hands of his legs and chains him to the bed.
What changes occur in the spine in the context of pain syndrome? To reduce pain, the nervous system sends stimulating signals to the deep muscles of the back. Strengthening muscle tone helps to reduce mobility in the affected segment of the spine, which for some time decreases the intensity of pain. In the future, myofixation ceases to have a compensatory function, and such a tonic-muscular imbalance only intensifies the pain.
When examining the patient, the neuropathologist will detect signs of fixation syndrome or objective symptoms of the disease - changes in statics and dynamics. By changes in statics in lumbar osteochondrosis, we mean a flattening or intensification of the physiological curvature (lordosis) and the appearance of pathological curvature towards pain (scoliosis). The dynamic symptoms of the disease are a marked limitation of mobility (until complete immobilization) in the affected segment.
All of these changes can be confirmed through spondylography (spine X-ray) and more modern research methods, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The images also show a decrease in disc height in the area of clinically significant PDS, hernial protrusion, osteophytes.
Lumbar osteochondrosis, treatment
Fixation and pain syndrome in combination with morphological signs on diagnostic images form a complete picture of vertebral syndrome, which is caused by lumbar osteochondrosis. The next question we ask the doctor after completing the diagnostic phase is how to treat the disease.
Of course, it is not always the disease that needs to be cured, but the patient, but we will not shy away from philosophical discussions. And we will solve more urgent problems - first we will have to overcome the pain syndrome. For this, we need drugs with systemic and local action, such as NSAIDs, corticosteroid hormones, muscle relaxants and possibly even antidepressants. After the relief of pain syndrome, it is time for conservative treatment methods.
If you have been diagnosed with lumbar osteochondrosis, treatment will be long and you must be prepared for it morally and financially. In fact and de jure, it is impossible to completely overcome the disease, so you will often have to go to the doctor until the end of your days.
The treatment algorithm is always individual, and is developed by the attending physician who knows the history of the disease, we will only list the possible directions of the therapy. Reflexology has a positive effect, among the methods in which acupuncture comes first. Some experts advocate traction therapy, although other schools of vertebrology deny this technique. It is worthwhile to try massage therapy, you definitely need to include back exercises (LFK) in your rehabilitation program, you can also enlist the help of qualified chiropractors.
In 90 cases out of 100 conservative therapy methods sufficient to control the disease, the remaining ten patients are referred for surgical treatment. In the absence of absolute indications for surgery (severe spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis), treatment with minimally invasive surgery is possible. If the degree of morphological changes in the spine has reached a critical level, modern methods of disc reconstruction using implants are used.