Headache is one of the typical signs of cervical osteochondrosis. Pain can be oppressive, burning, or bursting. The intensity of the headache, its duration and localization can be multifaceted.
Clinical symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Headache is mainly a leading sign of the disease, but not everything is as simple as it seems, as cervical osteochondrosis can include many symptoms indicative of this disease. In addition to pain, you can distinguish:
- dizziness;
- nausea and vomiting;
- loss of consciousness;
- paresthesia on the face, in the occiput or in the sky;
- vision disorder( shroud, front sight flies);
- ringing in the ears;
- sensation of an alien body in the throat;
- sleep and performance disorder, weakness;
- irritability and anxiety.
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The nature of headaches in osteochondrosis
A distending or pressing headache that extends from the occiput to the crown is the most characteristic symptom of the osteochondrosis of the cervical region. Disturbances of hearing or vision, paresthesias are mostly one-sided. All these signs are doubly amplified by turning the head and tilting it. The head can spin so much that a person can fall and hit.
Quite often, many are mistaken in taking increased intracranial pressure for osteochondrosis, since dizziness for these diseases is a characteristic symptom. Unlike increased pressure, with osteochondrosis there is no violation of venous outflow. Otherwise, the disease would have been even more complicated.
Causes of headaches in cervical osteochondrosis
In short, headaches for cervical osteochondrosis arise from the destruction of intervertebral discs.
This leads to a disorder in the organization of structures accompanied by compression of the arteries, nerve trunks and veins.
There are four main causes of the origin of pain in osteochondrosis of the cervical spine: vertebral artery syndrome, compression of vertebral nerves, infringement of the occipital nerves, hypertensive syndrome.
These include:
Spinal artery syndrome
Syndrome of the vertebral artery is accompanied by a pulsating headache, localizing mainly in the occiput, pain can also gradually spread to the parietal part of the head. As a rule, the pain is a long, two-sided nature. Analgesics are practically ineffective.
The cause of pain is the compression of the vertebral artery due to displacement of the vertebrae, subluxation of the joints, hernia, or protrusions. In addition to the headache, there may be a deterioration in vision, dizziness, nausea.
Compression of the vertebral nerves
Compression of the vertebral nerves is the second cause of headaches in osteochondrosis. The peculiarity of this pain( the second name is cervical migraine) is localization on the side of the affected nerve.
The neck and occiput mostly hurt on one side, but gradually the pain moves to the parietal and temporal lobes. It should be noted that headaches are sometimes prolonged and up to several hours.
Nocking of the occipital nerve
Nocking of the occipital nerve is one of the symptoms of radicular syndrome, which is accompanied by infringement, displacement of vertebrae, osteophytes. Headache occurs when the neck turns, starting from the head and spreading to the occipital, parietal and anterior lobes. These symptoms are similar, as in the development of vertebral artery syndrome. Dizziness is occasional. On the spread of pain, neuralgia can be one-sided, or generalized.
Hypertensive syndrome
Headache with hypertensive syndrome of a bursting and pressing nature. The reason is the compression of some arteries and veins in the cervical vertebrae. This is due to the fact that there is a shift in the vertebrae, a narrowing of the lumen of the channels, there is a development of compression of the blood vessels and all this leads to the fact that there is a violation of blood circulation in the brain.
It should be noted that the pain increases with a sharp turn of the head and eye movements. The head can bother up to several hours.
Treatment
Medication therapy
Treatment with medicines consists of the following principles:
- elimination of pain syndrome;
- cupping of inflammation;
- restoration of the normal metabolic process.
Assign analgesics, such as Analgin or Ketorol. To drugs that have an anti-inflammatory and at the same time analgesic effect include: Diclofenac, Indomethacin, Ketonal, Piroxicam. Spasm of muscles is removed with the help of: Trental, Midokoli and Sirdalud.
Anesthetics are mainly used in the acute period, and in some cases, with a sufficiently intense pain during the remission period, the use of such drugs is not ruled out. In those cases where the patient is in pain all the time, a medical examination should be performed to avoid complications.
In case of cervical osteochondrosis, local preparations are also used: Ketonal, Voltaren, Fastum gel, Teraflex, Treumel, Chondroxide. The first three drugs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory hormones, so you should use them with caution - they are not recommended for patients with stomach diseases.
The rest of the ointments are referred to stimulators of regenerative tissue functions, which allow to restore the structure of the vertebrae.
Non-drug therapy
During the period of exacerbation of the disease, the necessary medications are prescribed. The patient is provided with complete peace.
All other treatment is performed at the end of the acute stage.
The only exception is manual therapy, which is prescribed for nerve injuries to stretch the vertebrae of the neck.
Also, the pinching can be treated by stretching the so-called glyson loop.
In some cases, a rather effective tool is a special collar that is worn around the neck, fixing the spine.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis by non-medicamentous methods includes:
- massage;
- gymnastic exercises, the effectiveness of which is the regularity of their implementation;
- manual therapy;
- swimming occupation;
- influence on certain active points;
- folk methods of treatment.
Folk methods of treatment are based mainly on the use of medicinal herbs. These include:
- tea from the roots of sunflower;
- infusions from the roots of celery, mother-and-stepmother or madder.
The severity of the disease, the presence of complications or concomitant pathology, the stage of the disease play a large role in the choice of methods for treating osteochondrosis of the cervical region.
Treatment must be comprehensive and continuous. Exercise exercises should be performed immediately after the pain syndrome is eliminated - throughout the life span.
Prevention of osteochondrosis
To prevent the occurrence of osteochondrosis, it is necessary to take preventive measures from childhood.
A pledge of health is a well-built posture.
What else can I do for preventive purposes:
- Correctly sit-straight posture, shoulders in a relaxed state. The chair and chair should be chosen such that they would support the spine as much as possible and allow evenly distributing the load on the buttocks;
- Do regular breaks at work, during which to perform special exercises;
- Heaviness should never be lifted with a jerk, and as rarely as possible to carry heavy objects in front of you;
- While working on simulators, all safety rules must be taken into account;
- Sleeping should be on a flat and firm surface with a small pillow;
- Avoid back injuries and falls on it;
- You should do exercises to strengthen the abdominal press and maintain the tone of the back muscles;
- Visit the swimming pool often - this helps to improve the correct posture and strengthen it;
- If any unpleasant symptoms appear in the spine, try to seek medical advice as soon as possible. This will allow to make the necessary treatment on time and prevent the occurrence of complications associated with this disease.
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Video, which reveals the causes of osteochondrosis: