The neck is a small structure of great importance. And the neck is a place that can hurt, complicating movements and making our lives difficult. What causes neck pain, how to treat it and how to prevent it - let's figure it out.
More than 30 million people worldwide take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) daily to treat pain and inflammation [40]. Among the potentially dangerous side effects of NSAIDs, gastrointestinal (GI) ones are the most important.
The problem of thrombophilia is very relevant for doctors of various specialties, both adult and pediatric practice. One of the most striking and prognostically dangerous conditions manifested by recurrent thrombosis is antiphospholipid syndrome.
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From sudden love you can lose not only your head, but also your health. And what’s most offensive is that “love” can pass very quickly, but its consequences are quite capable of ruining the rest of your life, because some STDs are still considered incurable.
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My husband and I tried unsuccessfully to have a child for 2 years. Recently, I was diagnosed with a poor uterine structure; an uzologist diagnosed hyperplasia, but it was questionable and recommended hysteroscopy. But the gynecologist said that since the ultrasound was done on the 11th day of the cycle, the data was not correct and prescribed Duphaston for 10 days and a repeat ultrasound on the 5-7th day of the cycle. I haven’t gone for an ultrasound yet, because it’s been delayed for the 5th day. Of course I want there to be a pregnancy, but is it possible to carry a pregnancy with a poor structure (echo 11) and a short cervix (2.5 cm)?
And the second question. As luck would have it, my husband had an exacerbation of hip arthritis this month. And as it turned out, the doctors injected him with Dexomethasone and Declofenac. I know that the first one is a strong hormonal drug. How can it affect the child? How can it be dangerous?
Thank you in advance and I look forward to your response.
On September 11, 2001, literally in the very first minutes after the terrorist attack on the twin buildings of the World Trade Center in New York, rescuers and firefighters began a selfless fight against the fire. But now heroes are increasingly affected by dangerous diseases.
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The fact that breastfeeding is irreplaceable and extremely beneficial for the health of children and their mothers is clear to everyone, but in addition to the well-known benefits, scientists have recently discovered one more. It was found that breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women.
Nowadays, more than 35 types of various NSAIDs are known (aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, indomethacin, meloxicam, etc.). These are one of the most prescribed medications, widely used in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, so-called “rheumatic” diseases (reactive and rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, etc.), as well as pathologies of the cardiovascular system. Frequent use of NSAIDs, as well as the need for prolonged use of these drugs, is among the main factors leading to the development of side effects, the main of which is a negative effect on the gastric mucosa - the development of non-steroidal gastropathy and an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. In this case, there is an urgent need to take specific gastroprotective agents.
Much more popular in the vastness of the former USSR than in her homeland, film actress Kathleen Turner is, by Hollywood standards, not yet an old woman. But for more than 10 years she has not acted, as she is exhausted by two ailments that ruined her film career.
Long-term (for more than 10 years) use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increases the risk of kidney cancer by at least 3 times. Of the large group of such drugs, only good old aspirin turned out to be safe.
The situation with obesity in the United States is becoming increasingly grim: if in 1971, only 14% of Americans had problems with weight, currently their number is 34%. According to analysts, the growth in the number of overweight people should slow down somewhat in the coming years, but will nevertheless continue until it reaches 42% of the total population. It turns out that the situation of pets, animals that live side by side with Americans, is much more serious - the number of cats, dogs and other four-legged animals that are overweight is even higher than among people. However, obesity is more dangerous for animals than for humans, since its negative consequences appear much earlier.
Systemic arthritis is a severe inflammation of the joints, which leads to the most undesirable consequences and requires immediate medical intervention. Moreover, this disease can smoothly lead to another disease, the most dangerous and serious for humans, which will be discussed below.
The question about the degree of danger of arthritis and how long you can live with it can only be answered by a highly qualified specialist in this field. In other words, you need to accept everything that a professional doctor says; the opinion of amateurs in this case does not matter to you. Why is such a disease as arthritis dangerous?
As you have probably already seen, it is better to consult a doctor immediately, that is, at the first signs of reactive arthritis. Be reasonable and do not self-medicate, as this can only negatively impact your own body. Folk remedies will not work; only the means of a specialist, his advice and methods will help solve the problem.
This disease initially affects one joint. And today there are legends that arthritis is inflammation of one joint, and arthrosis is inflammation of several. In fact, arthritis is much more dangerous. As stated above, this disease will ultimately lead to a number of problems in a person, due to which all active life activities of the body will be reduced to a minimum.
Leg injuries and twisting of the foot while walking do not go away without leaving a trace. The ankle joint bears the brunt of the load and softens the tension. But over time, accidental and seemingly unserious injuries subsequently lead to pathological changes in cartilage tissue. A patient who seeks help is often prescribed treatment for arthrosis of the ankle joint.
what does arthrosis in the ankle look like? Deforming arthrosis of the ankle joint is a rather serious pathology associated with degenerative changes in the structure of the joint. Often accompanied by an inflammatory process, pain and gradual destruction of cartilage tissue. It is necessary to begin treating arthrosis of the ankle joint as early as possible. The most favorable prognosis for therapy occurs in the first stage of the disease.
What provokes the onset of pathological changes? The ankle performs an important function in allowing a person to walk. When running or walking, it allows the foot to flex and extend, providing stability to the person. But when you twist your leg, a colossal load is placed on the joint.
The fact is that the direction of movement of the ankle is limited to flexion and extension. It is not anatomically designed for lateral movements. It is not surprising that deforming post-traumatic arthrosis of the ankle joint after a fracture occurs in more than 50% of cases.
All patients who have suffered ankle injuries are at risk. They are often diagnosed with stage 1 arthrosis of the foot. Therapeutic exercises and monitoring the condition of the joints will prevent further development of the disease.
During an injury, damage is caused not only to the joint, but also to the muscle tissue surrounding it. As a result, normal blood supply is disrupted and there is a lack of proper metabolism. First, as a rule, arthrosis of the small joints of the foot occurs, and later the pathology spreads to the entire ankle.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is called gonarthrosis. It is a kind of leader among the arthrosis group of diseases. People often attribute “salt deposits” to arthrosis, which, of course, is not always true. The process of deposition of calcium salts (calcification) in the joints is limited and unimportant. The main factor in arthrosis is the degenerative-dystrophic factor, which manifests itself in the hyaline cartilage of the knee joints. The pathology originates from a problem in the circulation of blood reaching the soft tissues of the joint and the knee itself. In a third of cases, gonarthrosis develops with a number of other joint diseases. By gender, approximately the same number of women and men develop arthrosis of this type, but there are observations that among the female population, arthrosis of the knee joints occurs earlier, and severe forms are more common.
To overcome the disease, the attending physician sets the following tasks for a patient suffering from knee arthrosis:
The causes of arthrosis of the knee joints are a combination of factors of a mechanical and biochemical nature, in which the structure of the cartilage tissue of the knee joints is disrupted. Osteoarthritis of the knees is conventionally divided into primary and secondary.
Primary gonarthrosis is diagnosed when there are no obvious causes of the disease. It affects overweight people and older people. Secondary gonarthrosis most often develops against the background of injuries (tibia fracture, ligament rupture, meniscal deformation), dysplasia of the knee joints, due to disruption of endocrine and metabolic processes in the body.
We spend most of our lives in motion, putting a lot of stress on our joints, not paying due attention to their condition, and often carelessly ignoring alarming pain signals, hoping that everything will go away on its own. However, few people think that in the end this is fraught with serious consequences, resulting in dangerous diseases - osteoarthritis or arthrosis deformans, which can even lead to disability.
Our joints are exposed to heavy loads every day, and, accordingly, to great risk, since this leads to a number of specific diseases. Deforming arthrosis, osteoarthrosis, arthrosis - all these are, in fact, synonymous designations for one disease. Today, arthrosis deformans is the most common joint disease among the elderly population. According to statistics, three quarters of people over 65 years of age suffer from osteoarthritis or arthrosis deformans. Deforming arthrosis is severe depletion and gradual destruction of the cartilage tissue of the joints. This disease is very dangerous and almost irreversible, since in an advanced state, drug and physiotherapeutic treatment of deforming arthrosis is a very complex process.
The disease is periodic in nature with attenuation of pain during remissions and its sharp intensification during exacerbation with accompanying joint deformation and limitation of mobility.
There are two main symptoms of deforming arthrosis:
A joint disease called “osteoarthritis” is often found among the population of civilized countries. Damage to the knee and hip joints in this disease leads to disability. The basis of the disease process in arthrosis is the gradual degeneration and death of articular cartilage cells.
The former name for osteoarthritis is arthrosis deformans. This term was used in medicine earlier, until the beginning of the 21st century. Now both names are used as synonyms. Deforming arthrosis affecting the knee joint has a special name - gonarthrosis.
The layer of cartilage covering the articular surfaces of bones consists of cells (chondrocytes) and extracellular substance. The extracellular substance (matrix) contains strong collagen fibers, glycoprotein molecules and hyaluronic acid. Chondrocytes produce matrix components and enzymes - proteinases. In healthy cartilage tissue, the interaction of matrix substances is balanced.
Arthrosis deformans begins with excessive work of enzymes - proteinases, damaging the components of the matrix. But the speed of work of cartilage cells to synthesize new molecules of intercellular substance remains the same or decreases. This disrupts the self-renewal mechanism of cartilage tissue.
Irregularities in the bone bed are an additional cause of cartilage destruction in the knee joint. Changes in the mechanical properties of the bone surface after microfractures disrupt the uniformity of pressure on the fragile living shock absorber.
In addition to degenerative changes, deforming arthrosis of the knee joint is also characterized by inflammatory symptoms. Inflammation predominates during an exacerbation. There is a thickening of the inner (synovial) membrane of the knee joint, which is very similar to its change in arthritis. With gonarthrosis, inflammation occurs at the points of contact between the synovium and cartilage. Swelling and thickening of the periarticular soft tissues may also occur.
With the onset of autumn cold, joints begin to ache and ache. The cause of discomfort is most often arthritis or arthrosis. AiF.ru found out why people with joint diseases should not delay treatment.
Diseases that sound similar actually differ significantly in how they are treated. Arthritis is a group of diseases in which the primary inflammation of a joint, sometimes one, and often several at once. The cause may be an infection, sometimes something as harmless as a cold. Arthritis occurs at different ages, but the most severe and dangerous of them, rheumatoid arthritis, most often affects people between 30 and 50 years old. Women get sick three times more often than men, since periods of hormonal changes that affect the weaker sex increase inflammation. With arthritis, the joint becomes swollen, hot, and stiff. If arthritis is not treated, the likelihood of remaining disabled reaches 70%.
Arthrosis is a separate group of diseases that affects the entire joint. Most often, deformation occurs for one of three reasons - congenital inferiority of the joint, injury or inflammation. With age, microtraumas to the cartilage lining the joint accumulate. The result is pain and restrictions in movement.
Joint pain has become so common these days that many people no longer pay attention to the early signs of the disease. All kinds of ointments, rubbing, heating and massages are used. Fans of traditional medicine tie burdock, horseradish, and nettle to sore joints, steam them in hay, turpentine and other baths, and even use warm manure. At the first symptoms, adherents of traditional medicine prefer to drink handfuls of painkillers from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), in particular ibuprofen and diclofenac.
Modern medicine is not yet able to cure these diseases; doctors do not even know what causes them, but if you consult a specialist in the early stages, you can significantly reduce pain.
“Self-medication is dangerous because the pain can actually be relieved for a while, but it does not cure the disease itself,” explains rheumatologist of the highest category Nikolai Zamantsev . “We encounter patients whose disease has already progressed very far. The most severe arthritis becomes chronic within just three months. But if treatment is started in a timely manner, then they can be completely cured - in recent years this result has been achieved in approximately half of the patients. An advanced disease is much more difficult to treat. In addition, folk remedies will never compare with modern ones in effectiveness.”
According to Zamantsev, doctors understand perfectly well that the main thing for a patient is to get rid of pain, and only then he agrees to treatment with so-called basic drugs. To relieve pain and reduce inflammation, rheumatologists use NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
“However, these drugs have side effects, including the most serious ones, such as stomach bleeding, and even the most experienced of my rheumatologist colleagues are often late in changing the drug or reducing the dose,” the expert warns.
As Zamantsev explained, he and his colleagues from rheumatology and traumatology usually advise their patients to use warming ointments like the drug Capsicam. They contain substances that have a vasodilating effect and irritate sensitive nerve endings, relieving pain.
However, there are rules for the safe use of warming ointments that you need to know about.
“Any such ointment must first be tested for skin sensitivity. Squeeze out 0.5 cm of ointment and apply to the skin, after a few hours pay attention to the reaction. If the drug is easily tolerated and there are no allergic manifestations in the form of rash, redness and swelling, it can be used for sore joints, applying about a teaspoon of this product. When you feel warmth, rub the ointment. If the rubbing area is too painful and sensitive, you can rub a little higher or lower,” explains Zamantsev.
According to an expert rheumatologist, the first time warming ointment is applied is before bed. If there is no redness the next day, the product should be applied three times a day in the same dosage. After the procedure, sore joints should be wrapped in something warm. If the burning sensation is severe, the already lubricated area of skin should be moistened with Vaseline. The warming ointment should not touch the mucous membranes, so after using it it is recommended to wash your hands with warm water and soap.
Systemic arthritis often occurs in people in adulthood. The pathology clearly manifests itself at the age of 25–40. This is due to the peculiarities of its development. The disease causes discomfort in various joints in a person. This happens due to a strong inflammatory process in the body. Treatment should only be carried out by a specialist. Only a doctor can achieve stable remission.
The pathology is autoimmune in nature. It affects all organs and tissues that contain collagen fibers. For this reason, the joints suffer the most.
For various reasons, the body’s protective functions are activated. Specific antibodies are released into the blood. Antibodies attack collagen compounds. In this case, a connection of the substance with the antibody occurs. The resulting compound causes a strong inflammatory process. The joints become inflamed. The long course of the disease causes tissue destruction. A person is diagnosed with a disability.
This process occurs due to various external and internal factors. The disease often affects people in adulthood, but it also occurs in children. In children, the systemic type of arthritis is diagnosed as Still's disease. Pathology may appear in infancy. In many cases, children do not live to see adolescence.
Since the pathology is autoimmune, it affects neighboring organs and tissues. Systemic rheumatoid arthritis is considered a terrible complication. It causes inflammation in the spinal canal. The outcome of such a complication is fatal.
The disease got its name due to the nature of its development. “Systemic” is translated from Latin as immune, “Arthritis” is translated as an inflammatory process. Accordingly, the pathology is characterized as an autoimmune inflammatory disease.
Arthritis affects the body under the influence of various factors. Factors such as:
Arthritis occurs in people whose family members have the disease. Many years of medical research indicate that the pathology is genetic in nature. That is, this feature is developed in the patient in utero. When additional factors appear, the pathology becomes more active. The release of antibodies increases. Clear signs of systemic arthritis appear. This formation of the disease cannot be eliminated medically. A spinal cord transplant may be a possible solution. It is responsible for the production of antibodies.
Infectious lesions occur due to a decrease in the body's protective properties. Often a harbinger of systemic arthritis are herpetic lesions of the costal girdle, viruses of the bursae, and bacterial chondrosis of the joints.
These diseases occur due to pathogens and viruses. Their cells enter the human body in various ways. The main route is injury to the skin. With a herpetic infection, a person is considered a carrier of this virus. The processes activate protective functions, the body begins to fight bacteria. Due to the autoimmune nature, the fight shifts to collagen cells. Severe inflammation occurs in the affected area. For therapy, it is necessary to examine the patient for the presence of harmful microbes.
Poisoning with heavy metal salts is rarely diagnosed in patients. This reason is possible only in places where these substances are localized. A systemic form of arthritis due to poisoning occurs in miners of these salts. Sometimes pathology occurs in children who live in places where metals accumulate. Against the background of this feature, the pathology acquires a genetic character.
Temperature changes affect the health of joint tissue. Inflammation in it manifests itself against the background of severe hypothermia or overheating. The systemic type of arthritis can also develop due to solar overheating. These changes are not bacterial in nature. The body activates the process of producing antibodies. Antibodies do not detect pathogenic microorganisms; they attack cells characteristic of the human body. Arthritis of a systemic nature occurs.
A terrible reason for the appearance of pathology is improper treatment of concomitant diseases. Medicines have a huge number of side effects. If the therapy was carried out by an illiterate specialist, then side effects quickly appear. These actions activate the spinal cord. Antibodies are required for drug rejection. They destroy not only the drug molecule, but also collagen fibers. The patient is affected by arthritis. Therapy is carried out only after a careful study of the patient's medical history.
The symptoms of systemic arthritis are not similar to other joint pathologies. The patient develops symptoms such as:
Chills occur under the influence of high temperature. The temperature rises against the background of the inflammatory process. The process is accompanied by increased production of leukocytes and antibodies. High temperature helps to quickly kill a small number of inflammatory cells. This symptom is usually confused with a cold. This leads to improper treatment of systemic arthritis.
The rash and spots look like allergic ones. The main difference is the absence of itching. The spots are localized on the area of the affected joint. If the patient has several such areas and they are mirror-like in nature, the help of a specialist is necessary.
Since the systemic form of arthritis affects hematopoiesis, the first sign of systemic arthritis is pain in the liver area. The syndrome occurs due to the passage of antibodies through the liver. The liver is a lipid organ; antibodies quickly destroy its cells. The patient experiences pain.
Multiple arthritis indicates a systemic form of pathology. If joint inflammation manifests itself alternately in different joints, then a thorough examination of the patient is necessary.
Diagnosis involves taking a sample of fluid from the spinal canal and blood. In laboratory conditions, specific antibodies are detected in the sample. In the blood, experts study the quantitative composition of cells.
If these substances are detected in a patient, a systemic form of arthritis is diagnosed. It must be borne in mind that the pathology cannot be completely eliminated. Therapy can only achieve stable remission. The disease in all cases entails disability.
A person who notices frequent inflammatory processes in the joints should consult a specialist. The doctor will determine their cause and help reduce the frequency of manifestations of the acute form of the disease.
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Arthrosis most often affects large joints of the extremities (hip, knee) and intervertebral joints of the sacro-lumbar and cervical spine. Much less common is arthrosis of the costovertebral and costotransverse joints, which is localized in the thoracic region. This is explained by the fact that the mobility of the spine in this section is limited and it is not subjected to intense loads. But in older people, the risk of arthrosis of the costovertebral joints increases; women are more susceptible to this disease.
The thoracic region consists of 12 vertebrae, their bodies are smaller in diameter and shorter than the vertebral bodies of the lumbar region, but the spinous processes are quite long. Adjacent vertebrae are articulated using a pair of symmetrical joints that are located between the articular processes. They are called intervertebral, facet or facet. Such joints are found in all sections except the sacral and coccygeal, which consist of fused vertebrae. The facet joints of the thoracic region are flat and inactive.
The thoracic spine performs a special function; the ribs of the chest are attached to the bodies and processes of its vertebrae. Vertebrae and ribs are separate bones, so between them there are also two types of articulations:
The posterior extremity of the rib consists of a head and a neck, which passes into the body. The vertebral bodies have costal fossae into which the heads of the ribs enter. In the II-X ribs, the head is divided into 2 parts and resembles a scallop; it articulates with the articular fossae of two vertebrae, and the undivided heads of the I, XI and XII ribs articulate with only one vertebra. These joints are called costovertebral joints. Another group of costal fossae is located in the transverse processes of the vertebrae; they include the tubercles of the ribs, which are located at the junction of the neck and the body. The costotransverse joints are formed only by the I-X ribs; the two lower ones do not have such joints.
The costovertebral and costotransverse joints form a combined rotary joint. Both fibrous and hyaline cartilage are subject to wear and destruction, as a result of which the articular surfaces of the articulating bones (vertebrae and ribs) begin to deform. Most often, degenerative-dystrophic changes affect the articulations with the spine of the IX-X ribs, less often III-V; other localizations are practically never found.
The main factors provoking the development of arthrosis of the costovertebral joints:
Primary costovertebral arthrosis is caused by the natural aging of the body, during which all of the above processes occur. The secondary form of this type of arthrosis also occurs in young people.
It is not difficult to completely restore JOINTS! The most important thing is to rub this on the sore spot 2-3 times a day...
The development of osteoarthritis in the thoracic spine is provoked by:
Risk factors include flat feet, poor posture, excess weight, unbalanced diet, sedentary lifestyle, sedentary work. If a person is not accustomed to systematic stress, episodic stress is enough to damage the joint capsules.
This type of arthrosis can be asymptomatic for several years, in a latent form. At an early stage, short-term pain in the ribs and sternum, and morning stiffness in the movements of the spine are possible. In the back area, pain is rarely localized, mainly accompanying bending and movements in which the spine bends. Standing work contributes to the occurrence of pain. In the mornings, they appear only during exercise, and in the evenings, if a person is tired during the day, they can disturb during rest, but quickly subside. Discomfortable sensations spread to the muscles adjacent to the chest; the pain can be either mild, aching, or intense.
As the disease progresses, the pain makes breathing difficult. The movements of the ribs that accompany inhalation and exhalation cause pain. The process involves muscles, ligaments, and adjacent parts of the spine. In addition, arthrosis of the costotransverse joints is characterized by the following manifestations:
The disease is complicated by infringement of the spinal roots. As a result, feelings of numbness, pins and needles or burning occur, and dysfunction of internal organs develops. Spondyloarthrosis is often accompanied by gastrointestinal disorders, vascular diseases, and deterioration of the skin and nails.
Diagnosis begins with collecting anamnesis, examining the patient and palpating the spine. An x-ray can confirm the diagnosis; the image shows typical manifestations of arthrosis: narrowing of the joint space, the formation of osteophytes. To assess the condition of the cartilage and musculo-ligamentous apparatus, MRI is prescribed. Arthrosis can occur in combination with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases; to clarify the diagnosis, a general and biochemical blood test is performed. Differential diagnosis with coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, intercostal neuralgia, cholecystitis and gastrointestinal diseases is necessary, since referred pain distorts the clinical picture.
For this form of osteoarthritis, conservative treatment is indicated. It must be comprehensive and selected on an individual basis. Main components of treatment:
Drug treatment is aimed at relieving pain, improving the nutrition of cartilage tissue, and slowing down the degenerative processes in it. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed to reduce pain, chondroprotectors to protect cartilage from destruction, muscle relaxants to eliminate muscle spasms, warming ointments to stimulate blood circulation and tissue trophism. Some drugs are injected directly into the lesion during electrophoresis and phonophoresis. Other physiotherapeutic procedures relieve pain, spasms and improve tissue trophism: magnetotherapy, laser therapy, ultrasound, abdominal decompression.
A qualified chiropractor and therapeutic massage specialist can significantly improve the patient’s condition. But it is extremely dangerous to trust the spine to specialists whose qualifications are questionable. The same applies to the popular alternative medicine technique - acupuncture. With spondyloarthrosis, it is necessary to strengthen the back muscles, but it is unacceptable to overload the spine, so a set of exercises should be selected for each patient by a specialist. In advanced forms of the disease and in the acute phase, exercise therapy is not prescribed. Herbal medicine, hirudotherapy, mud and clay therapy, healing baths, treatment with traditional methods also give an effect, but all these methods are auxiliary.
Surgical intervention for damage to the costovertebral and costotransverse joints is rarely resorted to. For severe pain that cannot be relieved conservatively, radiofrequency denervation of the joints is performed. The nerve endings are exposed to UHF currents through cannula needles. As a result of the release of thermal energy, nerves coagulate and the passage of pain impulses is blocked. This is a minimally invasive intervention. If arthrosis is complicated by a spinal injury or occurs in a decompensated form, surgical operations on the spine are possible with excision of part of the bone tissue to decompress the spinal roots and stabilize the spinal column.
Arthrosis, which affects the articulation of the ribs with the spine, is the rarest type of spondyloarthrosis. It can be asymptomatic for a long time or disguised as diseases of internal organs. Effective treatment is hampered by late diagnosis. In advanced forms, the disease leads to disability; 4% of patients who are assigned a disability group suffer from arthrosis of the thoracic region, including costovertebral joints.
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A dangerous disease that, in the absence of complex therapy, leads to disability is known as facet arthropathy, spondyloarthrosis or spondylosis. It is mistakenly associated with salt deposition, but in fact the causes of spondylosis deformans are different and require complex treatment that lasts a lifetime.
Most patients diagnosed with this disease have never heard of spondylosis. The essence of this disease can be described in a few words: bone growths - osteophytes - appear at the location of the intervertebral discs. The formation of bone outgrowths of osteophytes can begin in any part of the spine. As facet arthropathy progresses, they fuse together and the vertebrae are immovably connected to each other.
Spondyloarthrosis of the spine always occurs against the background of destructive, degenerative and inflammatory diseases of the spinal column. Experts also note that spondylosis and spondyloarthrosis are names of the same disease. Another variation of the disease is spondyloarthrosis deformans, which has some differences from classic spondylosis.
Spondyloarthrosis deformans differs from ordinary spondylitis in only one feature: osteophytes on adjacent vertebrae grow together, causing the spine to lose mobility. In addition, destructive processes occur in the spine, or more precisely, in the intervertebral discs. They become hard and begin to break down.
Despite the fact that spondylosis and spondyloarthrosis with deformation are the same thing, the second name speaks of deeper pathological changes.
At the initial stage, the manifestations of spondyloarthrosis deformans may seem frivolous to the patient, however, this is not the case. If symptoms of the disease appear, it is important to consult a doctor as soon as possible and follow his recommendations.
Experts note that spondylosis is a disease that does not arise out of nowhere. It is always preceded by a pathological condition that affects the structural elements of the spine:
It is important to understand that spondyloarthrosis is a disease that always develops against the background of changes in physiological metabolic processes, autoimmune pathologies, and hereditary predisposition.
Often the mechanism of appearance and causes of spondylosis and spondyloarthrosis are related to the patient’s lifestyle. Lack of movement and poor nutrition sooner or later lead to wear and tear of the spinal structures . The body, trying to protect the spine from displacement of the vertebrae or spondylolisthesis, osteophytes are growths from bone tissue (spondylous growths). Over time, they fuse with neighboring vertebrae, making a person disabled.
The first sign that a patient is developing spondyloarthrosis deformans appears long before a clear clinical picture of the disease appears. This is morning stiffness in the back with mild pain and a crunching sensation when trying to warm up. The discomfort goes away after a couple of simple gymnastic exercises.
Later, signs of spondylosis appear during the day. Back pain worsens when changing body position, when bending or arching the back, during active turns of the body and repeated bending.
In general, the disease spondylosis has varied symptoms due to the fact that pathological processes in the spine occur in its different parts:
As the disease progresses further, the signs of spondyloarthrosis deformans are supplemented by the resulting paresis and paralysis of some muscles. If the vertebral arteries are compressed, a micro-stroke occurs, and if a fragment of an ossified disc falls into the spinal canal, muscle paralysis can occur.
In clinical practice, deforming spondylosis of the spine is divided into several types depending on the causes of its occurrence and the location of the affected vertebrae.
Experts say that spondylosis deformans is a disease in which the deformed segment of the spine cannot be completely returned to a healthy state. This means that in the classification of pathology there are no concepts of “acute” or “chronic” forms of the disease, but there is the concept of the gradual development of the disease, that is, stages (degrees):
There is also a fourth, final stage of the disease, in which neighboring vertebrae, soft tissues and internal organs are involved in the pathological process. It is considered advanced - treatment for spondyloarthrosis is started, that is, the doctor’s recommendations are followed. In this case, the pain persists at rest and movement, dysfunction of organs and systems is observed, and the patient’s condition is serious.
To identify spondyloarthrosis deformans, in addition to collecting an anamnesis, external examination and a set of laboratory tests, the patient is examined using instrumental methods.
Radiation diagnostics helps to make the correct diagnosis if spondyloarthrosis is suspected:
If the diagnosis of spondyloarthrosis is confirmed, the doctor prescribes complex therapy taking into account the characteristics of the disease in an individual patient.
Video - symptoms and treatment of spondylosis deformans
The first question patients with facet arthropathy ask is which doctor treats spondyloarthrosis? The treatment of this disease is carried out by several specialists, depending on the existing clinical picture:
In some cases, patients require consultation with several doctors, since treating spondyloarthrosis requires a complex of measures. Most often, orthopedic traumatologists, vertebrologists, neurologists, rheumatologists, and surgeons are involved in consultations. Consultations with a nutritionist, exercise therapy specialist, physiotherapist, and chiropractor are mandatory.
Since the patient does not always know for sure what exactly is hurting him and why, first of all it is worth contacting a family doctor (general practitioner) so that after the initial examination he can tell you which doctor specializes in treating spondyloarthrosis, and issue a referral for a consultation with the necessary specialist.
Surgical treatment of spondyloarthrosis is practiced in the event of persistent neurological symptoms, which indicate compression of the nerve roots.
During the intervention, ossified growths are removed. Since the disease is prone to relapse, sometimes doctors use the method of spondypodesis - fusion of adjacent vertebrae using a bone graft. As a result of the operation, osteophytes no longer form on their surface.
At any stage of spondyloarthrosis, treatment includes taking medications. First of all, these are anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics and antispasmodics. Starting from the second stage, they are taken not orally, but by injection (pharmacopuncture method). At the same time, the symptoms of the disease are treated (eliminated), so patients often have a question: how to treat spondylosis so that it does not progress? To protect the vertebrae from further deformation, chondroprotectors are prescribed from the second stage.
Exercise therapy is used to treat spondylosis from the initial stage. This therapy method helps maintain spinal mobility and strengthen the muscle corset. Exercises are selected individually depending on which section of the spinal column is damaged by the disease. Most exercises are performed from a supine position or sitting on a chair. This way you can avoid additional stress on your back.
Patients are often interested in whether it is possible to completely cure spondylosis with the help of planks or other popular exercises for building a muscle corset, and how to do this? Unfortunately, complete recovery from this disease is impossible, but through exercise therapy you can reduce the intensity of pain.
Comprehensive treatment of spondylosis includes massage, starting from the first stage of the disease. For grade 1 vertebral damage, a technique for adjusting the position of the vertebrae is used. From stage 2 of the disease, massage is used only in the absence of inflammation and acute pain. The effect of the massage is aimed at relaxing muscles during spasm and increasing local blood flow. Additionally, medicinal ointments with anti-inflammatory effects are used. The optimal duration of a massage course for spondyloarthrosis is 15 sessions of 20 minutes each.
The complex treatment of spondylosis deformans includes traditional methods of therapy. They use tincture of mistletoe and other plants with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. It is important to understand that treatment with folk remedies for spondyloarthrosis cannot replace drug therapy . These drugs complement the action of drugs well, but do not have an independent therapeutic effect. Before you start treating spinal spondyloarthrosis with unconventional methods, you should consult your doctor.
To prevent the treatment of spondylosis from turning into an endless series of procedures, patients are advised to follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle and regularly perform physical therapy exercises. It is advisable to avoid sudden movements, falls, and other injuries . It is recommended to sleep on a flat, semi-rigid mattress with an orthopedic pillow.
When a diagnosis is made, patients are given an individual diet and a list of what can and cannot be done with spondylosis. Pickles and marinades, fatty meats, and sweets are completely excluded from the patient’s menu. If you are overweight, baked goods, grape juice and raisins are excluded. The diet should consist of 80% vegetables and fruits. The menu is dominated by vegetarian soups, salads dressed with olive oil, cereals and nuts. Dishes made with milk and chicken broth are prepared no more than once a week.
If you have this disease, it is strictly forbidden to engage in traumatic sports, lift weights, or sit or stand for long periods of time. The more movement, the better, but they should also be soft and gentle. The ideal activity is swimming in the pool.