In just 24-36 sessions, depending on the intensity of treatment and the stage of development of the disease, you will get rid of pain due to osteochondrosis of the breast, normalize sleep and enjoy life to the fullest
It is important to understand
If osteochondrosis of the chest is detected, it is necessary to select an individual set of therapeutic exercises, study the technique of their implementation and exclude exercises with contraindications.
With this diagnosis, it is important to regularly attend treatment sessions, undergo full treatment in a specialized center and, in the future, maintain your health yourself in a preventive manner.
Osteochondrosis is a fairly common and serious disease.
The danger is that in the initial stages it does not manifest itself in any way or is disguised as another pathology.
This is especially common with osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
At this point, the vertebrae are not connected so flexibly, so degenerative processes rarely occur here.
However, when osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine occurs, it causes pronounced symptoms and severe pain.
Pathogenesis of osteochondrosis
Recently, osteochondrosis is not diagnosed only in older people, as before. This pathology is becoming more and more common in young people.
This is due to the peculiarities of lifestyle and diet. After all, osteochondrosis arises due to a disruption in metabolic processes and blood circulation.
There can be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is lack of physical activity and sedentary work.
This is a degenerative-dystrophic pathology characterized by the gradual destruction of the intervertebral discs. You lose water and nutrients, the cartilage tissue dries out and begins to tear.
As a result, the intervertebral disc loses its shock-absorbing function, the vertebrae move closer together and also begin to collapse.
Such processes rarely develop in the chest area because the load on the intervertebral discs is low here. But various injuries, metabolic disorders and circulatory disorders can also lead to the development of thoracic osteochondrosis.
In addition, the disease is particularly serious at this point. After all, many nerve endings lead to the internal organs.
Possible complications
The danger of thoracic osteochondrosis is that it begins unnoticed. In the first stage, there are often almost no painful sensations and those that occur can be confused with stomach or heart pain.
Therefore, many patients are unsuccessfully treated for gastritis or angina for a long time until they undergo a full examination. An X-ray of the spine helps to detect narrowing of the intervertebral space and suspect the development of osteochondrosis.
If this does not happen and treatment is not started, the disease progresses rapidly. The destruction of the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral discs can only be stopped using special methods. The hard drives themselves cannot be restored. In addition, this process occurs more quickly in the chest area, as the blood supply to the tissue is poorer due to the low mobility of the spine.
Therefore, without timely treatment, osteochondrosis can lead to serious complications. It can cause the following pathologies:
- protrusion or intervertebral hernia;
- compression of the spinal cord;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- biliary dyskinesia;
- Diseases of the intestines, liver or pancreas;
- Heart disease.
Typical symptoms and signs of breast osteochondrosis
Every person prone to spinal diseases should know how osteochondrosis manifests itself. If you do not ignore typical symptoms, you can start treatment in a timely manner and stop the progression of the pathology.
The main symptom of spinal injury is that the pain is associated with physical activity. In the initial stages they are not severe and appear in the evening and disappear again after rest.
In addition, the pain increases when taking deep breaths, raising the arms, turning the upper body or lifting heavy objects. And it usually starts in one spot and then spreads to the entire breast.
Due to painful sensations, muscle spasms occur in this place and it becomes difficult for the patient to move. Often the pathology is accompanied by intercostal neuralgia.
What can be confused with osteochondrosis of the breast?
This disease can only be cured in the initial stages. However, the problem is that it is difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the breast in a timely manner; their symptoms are often confused with other pathologies.
Typical symptoms do not always occur. Some patients do not experience back pain or intercostal neuralgia.
Sometimes thoracic osteochondrosis manifests itself with atypical symptoms characteristic of other diseases. Most often it is confused with pathologies of internal organs.
- Basically, the manifestations are similar to angina pectoris. Pain in the heart that increases when inhaling, shortness of breath and the inability to raise an arm force patients to take heart medications. However, there is no relief and the ECG does not show any disturbances in cardiac function.
- Pain similar to symptoms of stomach ulcer, gastritis, or pancreatitis sometimes occurs. But they do not worsen after eating, as in these pathologies, but after physical activity.
- Women may notice pain in the mammary glands.
- Localization of the pathology in the upper part of the thoracic region can cause a lump in the throat and difficulty swallowing.
Osteochondrosis of the breast can cause nausea, difficulty breathing, or even suffocation.
There is often numbness or tingling in the upper extremities, muscle weakness, and the inability to lift or move the arm to the side.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the breast
To accurately diagnose a disease, it is often necessary to consider its possible causes. People with a hereditary predisposition, excess weight and bad habits are prone to such pathologies.
It is also recommended to examine the spine in patients with various endocrine and metabolic disorders, diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine most often occurs in people over 45 years old. At this time, metabolic processes slow down and the tissue lacks nutrients.
In addition, physical activity decreases, which leads to a weakening of the muscular corset of the spine.
But there are also other causes of osteochondrosis in the chest area:
- back injuries, bruises or sprains;
- regular lifting of weights, heavy physical activity;
- rachiocampsis;
- Sitting in an incorrect position for a long time, for example when working on a computer or driving a car.
What levels of severity are there?
Osteochondrosis of the breast is a chronic pathology. It develops very slowly, but is constantly progressing.
In order to choose the right treatment methods, doctors distinguish different stages of the disease. They have characteristic symptoms and require a special therapeutic approach.
- The first degree of osteochondrosis causes almost no pain. When they occur, it is after physical activity.
- In the second stage the pain becomes more severe. In fact, due to the gradual destruction of the disc, the vertebrae move closer together, which can lead to pinching of the nerve roots. In this case, neurological symptoms and signs of dysfunction of internal organs appear.
- In the third stage of osteochondrosis, an intervertebral fracture often occurs. A herniated disc puts pressure on blood vessels and nerves, causing severe pain and other health problems. The mobility of the spine is severely limited at this point.
- The final stage of pathology is characterized by complete destruction of the intervertebral disc. Osteophytes appear on the vertebrae, sometimes they completely merge with each other. Every movement of the patient causes pain, so the disease often becomes disabling at this stage.
Why should you see a doctor immediately?
Some patients ignore the first symptoms of the disease. You confuse mild back pain and muscle weakness with overuse. And after the rest period, they continue to lead their usual lifestyle. This causes the disease to progress and lead to serious complications.
A decrease in the shock-absorbing functions of the intervertebral discs leads to a curvature of the spine. Breast kyphosis usually develops. This compresses the chest and affects breathing.
If you do not seek medical attention in time, the intervertebral discs can collapse completely. This leads to convergence of the vertebrae and pinching of nerve endings. With every movement, the situation becomes worse as the vertebrae begin to collapse due to friction. This can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the body below the damaged vertebrae.
Disease prevention
To avoid serious complications of pathology, you must consult a doctor in a timely manner. The earlier treatment is started, the greater the chance of completely stopping degenerative processes.
This is best achieved with the help of kinesiotherapy. In the initial stages of pathology, as well as in its prevention, this method helps to strengthen the muscular corset of the spine and improve the blood supply to the intervertebral disc tissue.
Specialists of a modern center for kinesiotherapy help prevent the development of degenerative processes in people with a corresponding predisposition. Moderate physical activity is necessary to maintain a healthy spine.
An individually designed daily routine with special exercises and a special diet will help avoid destruction of the intervertebral disc and complications of this process.
How is the treatment carried out?
Taking anamnesis – analysis of the disease, identification of limitations and contraindications, explanation of the principles of exercise therapy, features of the recovery period.
Myofascial diagnostics is a manual diagnostic method in which the doctor assesses the range of motion of the joints, detects painful tension, swelling, hypo- or hypertonicity of the muscles and other changes.
Functional diagnostics (carried out in the rehabilitation room) - the doctor explains how certain exercises are performed on the devices and observes: how the patient performs them, what range of motion he can work with, what movements cause pain, what weight the patient can carry while working with them, how the cardiovascular system reacts. Vascular system. Problem areas are identified. The data is entered into the map. Accents are set.
Based on the results of the initial medical examination and functional diagnostics, a preliminary individual treatment program is drawn up.
It is advisable to have the following with you:
- for pain in the spine - MRI or CT (magnetic resonance or computed tomography) of the problem area;
- for joint pain – X-ray;
- if there are concomitant illnesses - an extract from the medical history or outpatient card;
- comfortable (sports) clothing and shoes
Lessons with a teacher
At the beginning of the treatment cycle, the doctor and patient create a treatment plan that includes the date and time of the treatment session and follow-up visits with the doctor (usually 2-3 times a week).
The basis of the treatment process is treatment sessions in the rehabilitation room with simulators and sessions in the gym.
Rehabilitation simulators allow you to precisely dose the load on individual muscle groups, thereby ensuring an appropriate physical activity regime. The treatment program is compiled by the doctor individually for each patient, taking into account the body characteristics. Supervision is provided by qualified trainers. At all stages of recovery, it is important to follow the correct movement and breathing technique, know your weight standards when working on exercise equipment, adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and follow the recommendations of specialists.
Joint gymnastics sessions help restore visual coordination, improve joint mobility and elasticity (flexibility) of the spine, and are an excellent self-use prevention system.
Each treatment cycle consists of 12 sessions. Each lesson is supervised by a teacher. The duration of a treatment session is 40 minutes to 1. 5 hours. The lecturer creates a program taking into account comorbidities and the patient's condition on the day of the course. Teaches the technique of executing exercises and monitors correct execution. A second doctor's consultation takes place every 6th lesson; changes and additions are made to the program depending on the dynamics.
How many cycles will it take? – individual for everyone
It is important to know:
- How long have you had this problem (stage of the disease)?
- How is your body prepared for physical activity (do you do gymnastics or another sport)?
- What result do you want to achieve?
If the disease is in its early stages and the body is prepared for it, one course of treatment is sufficient. (Example - young people 20-30 years old who play sports. We concentrate their attention on the technique of performing exercises, breathing and stretching, excluding "wrong" exercises that are harmful to problem areas. Such patients are trainedand gain the ability to "take care of your body", receive recommendations in case of exacerbation and continue learning independently).