During the 18th century, osteochondrosis was treated with hot mustard baths. There are now many more methods of treatment, ranging from warming ointments to surgery.
Osteochondrosis is a disease that affects more and more young people. Wrong lifestyle leads to this: little movement, constantly sitting position, excess weight, etc. Previously, people over the age of 45 suffered from osteochondrosis, now it is often diagnosed in their thirties.
What is osteochondrosis
With osteochondrosis, degenerative damage to the intervertebral discs occurs. If the disease is not treated, over time the disc will collapse, grow back with bone tissue, and the spine will lose mobility. Also, with degenerative changes in the disc, the contents of the nucleus leak out, forming an intervertebral hernia. Disc protrusion and hernia cause severe pain that must be stopped with novocaine.
The content escaping from the disc affects the nerve endings of the spinal column, compressing them. This disrupts the work of all internal organs. With cervical osteochondrosis, the blood supply to the brain deteriorates, severe migraines occur, and vision sits down. With lumbosacral, the legs suffer: they become numb and swell, the joints and bones are destroyed, a heel spur can occur. In severe cases, paralysis occurs. Osteochondrosis of the thoracic region causes diseases of the stomach and heart. In some cases, a person develops osteochondrosis of different parts of the spine, which requires immediate treatment.
How to treat osteochondrosis
First of all, with an exacerbation of the disease, it is necessary to relieve pain. If analgesics do not help, it is necessary to administer a novocaine injection. The next step is to unload the spine. The first 4-6 days with exacerbation of osteochondrosis require bed rest.
The main stages of osteochondrosis treatment are as follows:
- Provide the patient with bed rest to relieve stress from the spine.
- Eliminate pain with analgesics - tramadol, nefopam, etc.
- Eliminates inflammation with NSAIDs: diclofenac, ketoprofen, piroxicam, meloxicam, etc.
- In case of pronounced and persistent pain, an injection with novocaine or glucocorticoids should be given. These drugs work for a long time to help the muscles relax, which leads to less pain.
- If osteochondrosis pain interferes with sleep, you need to take sleeping pills.
- If hypertonicity of the back muscles is detected, muscle relaxants are prescribed.
- Diuretics are used to relieve spinal edema.
- After the acute pain has been relieved, anti-inflammatory ointments and gels can be used. The products contain not only anti-inflammatory and analgesic components, but also collagen hydrolyzate. Collagen hydrolyzate restores the destroyed tissues of the vertebral disc, helping to get rid of osteochondrosis.
- To restore blood supply to the spine, angioprotective and venotonic drugs are prescribed, which eliminate congestion in the blood, as well as nicotinic acid, which is a vasodilator.
- In advanced cases of osteochondrosis, with paralysis, only surgery helps.
In addition to all of the above, the following are effective for the treatment of osteochondrosis:
- physiotherapy;
- acupuncture;
- mud therapy;
- bathrooms.
Particular attention should be paid to gymnastics for osteochondrosis. It is gymnastics that helps strengthen the back muscles that support the spine. With the help of exercises, you can cure osteochondrosis if you start doing them in time.