We are sure that you have read and heard that lumbar osteochondrosis often affects bankers and office workers, programmers and representatives of heavy physical labor. This is true, but the whole truth is that today it is impossible 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 "vertical walking tax", a tribute that each of us has to pay to nature. The cause of degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc is not an increase in the load on the nuclear pulp, but the characteristics of the blood supply to these structures.
In about the twentieth century, the arteries that feed the fibrocartilaginous tissues of IVD during adolescence are destroyed, and for the rest of the years the pulposus and annulus fibrosus nucleus receive food only by diffusion, and this is clearly not enough! Trace elements, polysaccharides, amino acids and other structural components enter the chondrocytes (cells that synthesize the interstitial substance of the disc) in extremely limited quantities, creating a fertile ground for the development of dystrophic processes.
During our professional activities, we regularly sow seeds in this fertile soil. We sit in the wrong position, lift weights incorrectly, move a little, and spend a lot of time behind the wheel or behind a computer monitor. When all other things being equal, such a form of physical activity would "move away from us, " but degenerative processes inevitably develop in IVD under conditions of a limited supply of cartilage structures.
How does lumbar osteochondrosis manifest itself?
The first manifestation of osteochondrosis of the lumbar region is pain syndrome. As a rule, the "lucky man" for the first time suffers a sharp pain in the back, piercing his body with a dagger. Pain occurs after involuntary bending, bending or hypothermia of the body. There is no way to endure such pain - literally weaving a person with his hands and feet and tying him to his bed.
What changes occur in the spine against the background of pain syndrome? To reduce pain, the nervous system sends stimulus signals to the deep muscles of the back. Strengthening muscle tone helps reduce mobility in the affected part of the lower back, which in turn reduces the severity of pain. In the future, myofixation ceases to perform a compensatory function, and such a muscle-tonic imbalance only exacerbates the pain.
When examining such a patient, the neurologist will detect signs of fixation syndrome or objective signs of the disease - static and dynamic changes. Static changes in lumbar osteochondrosis refer to the correction or intensification of physiological curvatures (lordosis) and the appearance of pathological curvature towards pain (scoliosis). Dynamic symptoms of the disease Acute restriction of movement in the affected segment (until complete immobilization).
All of these changes can be confirmed using more modern research methods such as spondylography (spinal radiography) and computed tomography and MRI. The images also show clinically significant PDS, a hernia, and a decrease in disc height in the area of osteophytes.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the lower spine
Fixation and pain syndrome, together with morphological signs in the diagnostic images, form a complete picture of the vertebral syndrome caused by lumbar osteochondrosis. The next question we will ask the doctor after completing the diagnosis is how to treat the disease?
Of course, we do not always need a patient to be treated, we need a patient, but we will not shy away from philosophical discussions. And we will solve more pressing problems - we must first overcome the pain syndrome. To do this, we need drugs that have a systemic and local effect, such as NSAIDs, corticosteroid hormones, muscle relaxants and even antidepressants. After pain syndrome, conservative treatment methods come.
If you are diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the spine, the treatment will take a long time, and you must be prepared for it, both morally and financially. De facto and de jure, it is not possible to completely eliminate the disease, so you will have to visit doctors until the end of your days at some point.
The treatment algorithm is always developed by the attending physician, who knows the individual and the history of the disease, we will only list the possible directions of therapy. Reflexology has a positive effect, among which acupuncture is the first. Some experts advocate traction therapy, although other vertebrology schools deny the technique. It is worth trying massage therapy, you must include back exercises (LFK) in your rehabilitation program, but you can also seek the help of qualified chiropractors.
Of the 100 methods of conservative therapy, 90 are sufficient to control the disease, and the remaining ten patients are indicated 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 reconstruction of discs using implants are used.