To date, osteochondrosis is a fairly common disease, as people who lead a passive lifestyle are susceptible to it. As a rule, deformation of bone tissue and cartilage (code M42. 12) occurs in people under 45 years of age.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a process of deformation of the articular cartilage and its bone tissue. There is an ICD-10 code - M42. 12, which was adopted by the International Forum of Physicians. This part of the spine is most susceptible to disease, as it is the most mobile and is surrounded by a weak muscular corset, especially in children. It is also characterized by a large number of vascular and nerve formations. The symptoms of manifestation directly depend on the stage of the disease and the nature of the deformation of the intervertebral discs.
Causes of osteochondrosis
As mentioned above, the main reason for the appearance of the disease is lack of physical activity.
The passive lifestyle leads to:
- to failure of metabolic processes;
- salts appear in the lymph fluid and blood flow;
- salts are deposited in the liver, kidneys and cervical region.
Inflammation occurs in OSHOP (osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, code M42. 12) also due to the fact that there are not enough nutrients in the intervertebral discs. This happens when a person consumes unbalanced and improper food.
Symptoms include fever lasting 20 minutes, a lump in the throat, pain in the spine and neck and chest, severe attacks of pain when a person cannot sleep normally and need first aid in the form of painkillers. . against such pain. Severe cough, but it is worth noting that cough with osteochondrosis of the chest is also common. Sport in this case is contraindicated, as sport can exacerbate the problem. It is better to sleep on an orthopedic mattress.
Why is osteochondrosis dangerous?
Many people wonder why cervical osteochondrosis is dangerous? This section contains the nerve roots and spinal cord, as well as an artery that supplies blood to the back of the brain and cerebellum. When a person develops OSOP, the artery compresses, the blood circulation in the brain fails. Then there is inflammation, fever, lasts 30 minutes, a feeling of a lump in the throat, pain in the back and under the shoulder blade, which are sometimes difficult to remove.
In case of attacks of pain, you need to urgently consult a doctor, he will be able to prescribe the necessary painkillers. Folk remedies or a forum where you can find a lot of advice will not help in this case. In acute attacks, sports or massage are strictly contraindicated.
At an advanced stage, compression of the artery can cause:
- coordination problems;
- impaired vision and hearing;
- fever may occur;
- sore throat;
- blow.
If the disease is not detected in the first stage and timely treatment is not started, the consequences manifest themselves in the form of intervertebral hernia and bulge.
Degrees of osteochondrosis
Diseases such as OSHOP develop gradually. And before you start treatment for cervical osteochondrosis, it is important to know its degree. Doctors call 3 degrees of the disease.
1 degree
From this stage begins the process of deformation of the intervertebral discs. The fibrous ring is covered with small cracks, the process of reducing the elasticity and strength of the disk occurs, its height decreases. All this contributes to the compression of nerve roots. It is important to understand that in such a situation only light sports are allowed.
The first sign of this stage is the appearance of painful pain, fever and sore throat when a person goes to bed. But it often happens that osteochondrosis in the cervical region does not have clear clinical manifestations and a person practically does not experience pain and discomfort in the cervical-thoracic region.
2nd degree
This stage of the disease is chronic. This happens when aid has not been provided in a timely manner in the first stage. A person experiences constant pain, a lump in the throat, fever may rise when lying down, sore throat appears. Some patients have shortness of breath with cervical osteochondrosis. The process of compaction and destruction of the disc continues and causes small sprains of the cervical spine.
At this stage, the cider of the "falling" head develops. At the same time, a person experiences severe headaches and should hold his head with his hand for about 20 minutes to relieve some of the pain. You need to sleep on an orthopedic pillow, sports are contraindicated.
3rd degree
ICD-10 code - M42. 12 - Grade 3 osteochondrosis is the most difficult stage of the disease. It has the following characteristics:
- severe headache that keeps you awake
- frequent nausea;
- high temperature rises;
- dizziness and loss of coordination;
- loss of sensitivity in the upper extremities.
In stage 3, the fibrous ring is practically deformed, which causes serious complications, such as intervertebral protrusion or hernia.
Due to the fact that the cartilage tissue is already completely destroyed, the person ceases to feel sharp attacks of pain, the pain still remains, as the nerve roots are compressed. The temperature can often rise. Any, even light sports at this stage is strictly prohibited.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at a young age
In children, osteochondrosis of the cervical region (he has an ICD-10 code - M42. 02, established by his forum of doctors) is an extremely rare disease and at the same time dangerous. The spine in children still has a fragile structure and that is why it is so easily affected by negative factors, especially since at this age the intervertebral discs and spine continue to grow.
Osteochondrosis in children can develop for several reasons:
- lack of useful minerals and vitamins in the child's diet;
- problems with the cardiovascular system;
- spinal cord injury;
- alergy;
- sports;
- somatic diseases;
- genetic predisposition;
- various pathologies in bone development;
- when the child's body regularly carries infectious diseases.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in children
Many parents are interested in how to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis in children. First of all, in the treatment of this disease, which is accompanied by symptoms such as a lump in the throat, severe pain due to which the child can not sleep, inflammation and swelling, conservative methods of treatment are used.
- Drugs that have an analgesic effect. As a rule, with the help of such drugs the pain disappears after 20 minutes.
- Medicines that are used against swelling and relieve inflammation.
- The course of therapeutic massage, manual therapy and acupuncture, therapeutic exercise.
- Surgery. It is prescribed in the rarest cases and is directed against radicular syndrome.
What is cervical osteochondrosis and especially in children, few parents know, so when a child first complains of frequent neck pain, you should immediately contact a vertebrologist.
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis
Nowadays, in order to diagnose osteochondrosis, it is necessary to visit a doctor, who must conduct an initial examination. Then, if necessary, he sends for further review. For this, the cervicothoracic area of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography are examined. Thanks to this study it is possible to establish the diagnosis and extent of the disease.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
The patient's question how to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis (code M42. 12), the doctor will be able to answer by determining the extent of the disease and study the main clinical manifestations. To date, there are many different methods of treatment.
It is best to use a comprehensive treatment that includes traditional and non-traditional methods: manual therapy, medication, exercise, acupuncture, massage, physiotherapy and folk remedies. But it is important to understand that in the case of the latter method it is better to visit a doctor and consult with him, you should not go to the forum and get information there.
In order for the treatment of the disease (code M42. 12) to be effective, you need to visit several specialists: masseur, vertebral neurologist, neurologist, surgeon and physiotherapist, they will prescribe in combination those methods that will be most effective.
Osteochondrosis, like all diseases, is best treated in the first stage of the disease, when you can competently help. But grades 2 and 3 are virtually incurable, so a long recovery process is needed in this case.