Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs after remission. The pathology develops in a chronic form. Osteochondrosis cannot be completely cured.
The disease develops due to an insufficiently active lifestyle, alcohol abuse and nutritional problems.
Intervertebral discs reduce pressure on the vertebrae, but over the years the cartilage tissue wears down due to poor lifestyle choices. Cartilage tissue renewal is not easy.
Reasons
Let's find out what causes the symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Some signs appear due to deformation of the spine, osteophytes appear.
- The position of the vertebrae in relation to each other changes, the arteries narrow and the blood supply to the nervous system deteriorates.
- The appearance of complications due to displacement of intervertebral discs also causes pain in the nerve endings.
- When the nerves of the cervical spine are pinched, radicular syndrome occurs.
- Constant overloading of the neck muscle tissue while working at the computer or driving a car.
How does cervical osteochondrosis worsen?
The size of the spine in the neck is small. Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs with special symptoms. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you need to contact a specialist.The main problem is that patients do not notice the symptoms of the disease.
Excellent quality
Initially, small cracks appear on the disks. The elasticity of the cartilage tissue decreases and painful pain appears in the neck if you do not change the position for a long time.
second degree
Severe neck pain indicates the beginning of the second stage. Pain intensifies due to deformation of the intervertebral disc, dislocations appear.In rare cases, numbness of hands and face occurs.
At the end of the day, the patient experiences pain in the neck, which flows down the spine.
Exacerbation is manifested by head-falling syndrome, during which unbearable pain occurs, it is impossible to raise the head, you have to straighten it with pillows or hands to reduce the symptom.
third degree
The third stage of the disease manifests itself clearly, the cause of unpleasant symptoms cannot be excessive work after physical exertion. In the third stage, the patient begins to experience weakness, dizziness, ringing in the ears and frequent weakness. Acute osteochondrosis is characterized by neck numbness and tinnitus.
Sometimes the symptoms of the disease disappear, but after a certain period of time, they recur. New signs appear and the pain intensifies.
How to behave during an exacerbation?
During an exacerbation, you should not rub warming ointments on the neck and do not rub a large area. If you feel the signs of cervical osteochondrosis, you should try to rest and take the most comfortable position.
You should lie on your back so that the muscle tissue stops straining. The attack does not go away by itself.To help with painkillers, you need to call the doctor, then make an appointment with a specialist. Many people have pain relievers in their home medicine cabinet. You can take these medications so you don't need to call an ambulance.
First aid and treatment
Treatment is carried out by a specialist:
- It is necessary to move as little as possible until the doctor arrives.
- Sit comfortably on the bed, do not strain your body.
- Take painkillers.
- Wait for the doctor.
The specialist will prescribe antibiotics and medicines to eliminate inflammatory processes. They are needed during exacerbations.
Patients are prescribed chondroprotectors, which change the destructive processes in the discs and worsen the speed indicators when they occur.
The course of treatment with such drugs is long, less than six months. They can prevent the exacerbation of the disease.
Medicines belonging to the category of muscle relaxants also help with osteochondrosis and relieve tension. Diuretics and vascular drugs, nootropics and B vitamins are also used.
During an exacerbation, the disease is accompanied by pain, and a procedure called blockade is prescribed. An injection of novocaine is made in the area of the deformed spine. Symptoms may be relieved quickly. We list non-narcotic treatment methods: exercise therapy, physiotherapy, massage.
It will be possible to reduce the intensity of the symptoms and alleviate the aggravation with the help of therapeutic exercises. Exercises to strengthen the neck and spine muscles should be done daily. Thanks to the developed muscles of the back, weakened vertebrae will hold themselves better.
Massage is mandatory, thanks to the full course, muscle tone improves, spasms are removed, swelling is reduced, cerebrospinal fluid circulates better and blood supply is stabilized. Intervertebral discs stop deformation.
other treatment
Thanks to the Shantz collar, you can reduce the load on the cervical spine during exacerbations. Such a device will keep the neck in a normal position, reduce the load on the muscle tissue and vertebrae. You need to arrange a sleeping place properly, you need a heavy mattress with an orthopedic effect, as well as a pillow that does not bend the neck during rest.
If therapy is carried out at the beginning of an attack and everything is done correctly, the peak of the disease will subside after some time. If the disease is not treated in time, the attack will subside, but it will not be completely eliminated. In the future, we should expect several exacerbations, between which the pain will subside. Painful symptoms worsen during an attack.
What medications are used?
When the patient's condition worsens, medication should be used. Exacerbation is eliminated with the help of such medicines. Anti-inflammatory or analgesic in tablets, ointments for local or external use. Muscle relaxants help eliminate muscle spasms, which often occur with pain.
Vitamin B improves the conduction of nerve impulses through neurons. Initially, it is used in the form of intramuscular injections, then patients are transferred to tablets.If the disease increases blood pressure, calcium channels are blocked, inhibitors, ACE or combination agents.
When cervical osteochondrosis worsens, its symptoms cause cerebral circulation. Therapeutic procedures include the use of medicinal products for recovery. For this, it is advisable to contact a specialist to get accurate recommendations on medications.
When patients experience emotional disturbances, doctors prescribe sedatives, which can be herbal ingredients or tranquilizers. When choosing, specialists are often guided by the severity of these symptoms. Spinal blocks using novocaine are used for severe painful symptoms.
surgery
What should we do in case of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, if the above methods are ineffective? It is necessary to undergo an examination; If complications are detected, a specialist may recommend a surgical procedure aimed at reducing compression and stabilizing the position of the spine. Complications arise after such operations, so they are done as a last resort.
What to do at home?
Doctors do not recommend treating cervical osteochondrosis at home without prior consultation during an exacerbation. You can take painkillers, wrap a scarf around your neck and wait for the doctor to come. Depending on the severity of the process, therapy continues at home or in the hospital.
Symptoms of acute osteochondrosis worsen the quality of life, so urgent measures should be taken. Therapy should be carried out after diagnosis, doctor's report and exclusion of other pathological options.
Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis does not occur in a short period of time, the disorder does not disappear by itself.. Destructive processes of the cervical spine can develop and lead to complex consequences.
Exacerbation during pregnancy
The body of pregnant women changes at the physiological level, the level of hormone production changes, the center of gravity of the body changes due to the weight of the developing fetus. Minerals and nutrients are absorbed and absorbed more intensively. These changes have a serious effect on the musculoskeletal system. There is a lot of pressure on the spine.
Symptoms in women are the same as in other patients. The difficulty lies in choosing the treatment regimen, since when prescribing drugs, we must take into account their probable effect on the child. When dealing with exacerbations, ointments are used that do not harm the child.
Recurrence of osteochondrosis during pregnancy occurs in 50% of cases due to changes in the spine.
Sometimes painkillers or injections are prescribed for complex pain. Many pregnant women are treated with non-traditional methods. Traditional medicine recipes are less harmful to the fetus.
Other ways to eliminate aggravation
If it is not possible to visit a doctor, you can use several recipes to alleviate the general condition of patients with osteochondrosis in the cervical region. For example, a warm shower helps you relax. You can wrap a wool scarf or other clothes made of this material around your neck. Or apply herbal compresses to the affected area.
Onion, mint and sage are also used for such purposes. Try making an ointment from mummy and butter. You can also hold the neck in a stationary position without holding the roots of the spinal cord.
gradual deterioration
If the recurrence of painful symptoms is moderate, it is necessary to visit a specialist. The patient can take painkillers and fix the neck with a collar, but only a specialist can choose the appropriate therapeutic procedure.
during an exacerbationCervical osteochondrosisProhibited:
- Apply heating pads to the neck. Blood will flow intensively in the problem area, the swelling will worsen and the pain will intensify.
- You should not massage the cervix in order not to worsen its condition.
In such situations, manual therapy will be helpful. A qualified professional can realign the vertebrae in a way that does not put pressure on the nerve.
therapeutic measures
The main condition for the successful outcome of the disease is complex therapy. Treatment measures include the use of injections, tablets, ointments, special patches and physiotherapeutic procedures.
Drugs
Drug treatment aims to relieve pain, which is very pronounced in the acute period. Prescribed medications such as:
- Analgesics. Before the arrival of the ambulance, they try to give an anesthetic injection, since it will be very difficult for the patient to bear the pain. If a person suffers from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, then he always has a painkiller.
- Muscle relaxants. Their action is to reduce the spasm of the skeletal muscles of the cervical spine.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They relieve pain well, relieve inflammation and help if the patient has a fever.
- Vitamin preparations. For the treatment of exacerbation of osteochondrosis, injectable preparations based on B vitamins are used, which help to restore the nerve tissue, which is damaged due to pathological changes in the intervertebral area of the cervical spine.
- Means for local therapy. In order to alleviate the patient's condition, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving ointments and gels are prescribed. They are a means of additional therapy and are prescribed to enhance the effect of injected drugs. In addition, special stains impregnated with drugs are used. For example, a patch containing diclofenac and lidocaine.
manual therapy
Manual therapy is a method of treatment of osteochondrosis that has only proven positive and has been used for several decades. During this time, new techniques were developed, the use of which helps to relieve the symptoms of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis much faster.
If the technique of manual therapy is performed at a high professional level, it has a beneficial effect on the condition of the muscle tissue, the spine and the articular apparatus of the cervical spine.
The following methods of manual therapy are used:
- Muscle twisting on a separate segment. This technique helps to relieve muscle tension.
- mobilization techniques. The doctor performs a series of actions, due to which the function of the articular apparatus is restored only in a certain area of the cervical spine.
- Manipulation techniques. The procedure is a set of actions aimed at restoring the entire articular system affected by pathological changes. This method is used both for cervical osteochondrosis and for the treatment of a disease called general osteochondrosis.
If the patient is prescribed a course of manual therapy, he should carefully choose a doctor who will treat him. After all, even a small mistake is fraught with serious consequences, including the disability of the patient.
Massage
Massage is another method of relieving the patient's condition during exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Its implementation helps to relieve neck muscle tension, reduce the amount of lactic acid, the accumulation of which causes muscle spasm, and normalize blood circulation in the inflamed area. The combination of these effects leads to a reduction in pain.
surgery
If the doctor sees that conservative treatment does not bring the desired result, he prescribes surgical intervention to the patient. There are several signs that surgery is imminent.
- Narrowing of the spinal canal due to an intervertebral hernia, which causes compression of the vascular and nerve plexuses.
- Displacement of the spine relative to the horizontal axis.
- Intervertebral hernia, which can be single or multiple. This pathology is not an absolute indication for surgery if it does not cause associated symptoms. If a positive result could not be achieved after several courses of conservative therapy, then they resort to surgery.
Exercise therapy
Therapeutic exercise is a method used at a later stage. Any exercise performed during the acute period will bring nothing but additional suffering to the patient. But when the attack is stopped, the inflammatory process is on the decline, then the appointment of a course of physiotherapy becomes an assistant.
Thanks to exercise therapy, blood circulation returns to normal and muscles become stronger. Spinal mobility improves and stiffness disappears, nerve tissue is restored and pain is reduced.
When prescribing physiotherapy, the doctor takes into account the factors in which it is contraindicated. Exercise therapy should not be used if the patient suffers from diseases of the cardiovascular system, benign or malignant neoplasms, severe visual impairment or diabetes mellitus.
Operation
Surgical intervention is performed in two stages, but during one operation. At the first stage, the neurosurgeon explains the cause of the pain syndrome. This is the decompression method.
After that, the vertebrae are stabilized. The doctor assumes that after removing the section of the intervertebral disc, the articular apparatus of the spine becomes dysfunctional.
Therefore, the vertebrae are fixed using special techniques.
In modern orthopedic practice, artificial intervertebral discs are used, which make it possible to avoid the fusion of the vertebrae when the damaged discs are completely removed.
What can you do at home?
All patients suffering from cervical osteochondrosis should know what to do if it worsens at home. First of all, moving during an attack is strictly prohibited. The patient should lie on a flat surface and take a position in which the muscles are minimally tense.
Give the patient an anesthetic injection. If this is not possible, then give the patient a pain reliever in the form of a tablet. In addition, anti-inflammatory ointment or gel must be applied to the neck area. The emergency doctor will tell you what to do next.
The period of exacerbation of osteochondrosis: first aid at home
Treatment of spine pathologies should be entrusted only to an experienced doctor. And yet there are situations when pain suddenly appears and limits the patient's body. An acute exacerbation may occur, for example, if there is a suspicion of an intervertebral hernia. In this case, the patient cannot tolerate it and measures should be taken to improve his condition.
For this you need to take the following steps:
- If possible, place the patient on the bed or floor to immobilize the spine;
- wrap the painful area with a woolen scarf (the use of a heating pad is strictly prohibited);
- If the patient is bent because he is in severe pain, you should not try to straighten him. It is better to place it in the same position on a flat surface;
- Give him a pain reliever to drink. It can be Analgin, Diclofenac or Ibuprofen;
- call an ambulance.
The emergency doctor will decide how to relieve the pain symptom, whether it is necessary to be hospitalized or whether treatment can be continued at home.
First aid to the patient
Acute osteochondrosis causes a lot of pain and discomfort, even limits the mobility of the spine. If it is possible to call a doctor at home, it is better to do so, because self-medication is fraught with even greater complications. However, he did not have to endure the pain until he came. The patient can receive first aid:
- To begin with, you should limit the mobility of the cervical spine as much as possible, it is better to sleep.
- If painful osteochondrosis of the cervical spine causes very severe pain, then it can be removed with the help of medication. If the discomfort is very severe, these medications may not help.
- The neck muscles should be relaxed so that the spasm passes as quickly as possible.
- Topical medications can also be used to relieve pain.
- In the first days after the attack, it is necessary to use special orthopedic collars, which will help to deal with it faster.
Many people are interested in the question of how long the exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis lasts. This stage is different for each person. If the treatment of the attack was started on time and the drugs proved to be effective, then its duration does not exceed a few days. Otherwise, discomfort accompanies the patient for several weeks.
How long the exacerbation period will be depends on the characteristics of the human body, as well as the speed of the disease. If the treatment of the pathology is started late, then this situation is repeated.
Exacerbation during pregnancy
Exacerbation of diseases during pregnancy is always undesirable. This brings suffering to the expectant mother and her baby, but in addition, it is difficult to use therapeutic measures due to contraindications to medication. Physiotherapy methods should not be prescribed to pregnant women.
Among the medicines used during pregnancy, traumelim in the form of tablets, ointments and injections and paracetamol are allowed. In addition, physiotherapy is prescribed, but under the strict supervision of a doctor. Exercises that require minimal physical activity are chosen. Preference is given to yoga techniques.
Traditional medicine for severe back pain: effective recipes
The use of traditional methods has a positive effect only in combination with drug treatment. You can eliminate pain and discomfort in cervical osteochondrosis using horsetail leaves.
They should be applied to the painful area, fixed with a bandage and adhesive tape and left overnight. Cosmetic clay mixed with water worked well as a compress.
Our grandmothers treated all types of osteochondrosis with compresses made of grated raw potatoes mixed with honey. This mixture is applied to the affected areas, firmly fixed and left for several hours or overnight. Pepper oil tincture is great for dressing.
How to reduce relapse rates
If the disease can worsen, then the person already has a large number of drugs that can relieve the pain. However, without eliminating the cause, treatment will not be effective.
In addition, unpleasant sensations can return again and with a vengeance. With the exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment of the disease have already been discussed earlier, it is necessary to understand how to prevent exacerbation.
For this, you should observe the following preventive measures:
- Visit the massage room. Naturally, the specialist should be skilled and experienced in order not to aggravate the exacerbation of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Massage sessions allow you to develop the cervical spine, increase its functionality and mobility. At the same time, both hard and soft tissues are better nourished, as blood circulation is normalized.
- doing physical exercise. This is necessary to strengthen the muscular corset of the upper back.
- It is advisable to take a walk every day before going to bed. This will allow you to rest at night. It is best to avoid heavy sports, jumping and other exercises that involve heavy loads or sudden movements.
- If a person spends a lot of time in a static sitting position, then from time to time he needs to get up and warm up. When working while sitting, it is better to change your body position every quarter of an hour.
- Swimming is an excellent preventive measure for spine problems. It not only relaxes the muscles, which allows you to relieve spasm, but at the same time strengthens them.
- For night sleep, it is better to choose an orthopedic mattress that maintains the correct position of the body throughout the night, regardless of how it turns.
- For prevention, you can also use non-traditional methods, for example, acupuncture. Naturally, you cannot do this yourself, and you should not trust your health to the first "master" you come across. The procedure should be performed by an experienced specialist.
Prevention
In order to prevent the exacerbation of the disease, it is recommended to follow a number of rules:
- Watch your posture.
- Avoid straining your muscles while working at a computer or sitting at a desk.
- Change your position every few minutes to prevent muscle stiffness.
- If you have to stay in one position for more than half an hour, then take a break to warm up.
- You should sleep on a flat surface; Hanging armored beds are contraindicated for patients with osteochondrosis.