The cervical spine is one of the most vulnerable to osteochondrosis and is unfortunately very often affected by this disease. In addition to neck pain, your symptoms may include severe headaches associated with constriction of the vertebral arteries due to bone outgrowths. Cervical osteochondrosis can be dangerous not only for the elderly but also for young people who lead a sedentary and sedentary lifestyle.
What are the causes of osteochondrosis of the neck?
The causes of cervical osteochondrosis are the same as the causes of the entire degenerative process of the spine: physical inactivity, malnutrition, heredity, sedentary work, occupational overload, and so on. Among the special factors, it should be noted the high mobility of this section of the spine, which makes the daily load on the cervical vertebrae high.
Many features of cervical osteochondrosis are also related to the fact that they differ in the structure of the cervical vertebrae and are closely related to the important blood vessels in the neck that feed the brain. These blood vessels are called vertebral arteries, or more simply vertebral arteries. They pass through the arches of the cervical vertebrae and carry blood directly into the cranial cavity. And if the cervical vertebrae are affected by osteochondrosis, the artery inside the vertebrae can be pinched, which reduces blood flow to the brain. This is one of the mechanisms for the onset of headache in cervical osteochondrosis.
What are the stages of cervical osteochondrosis?
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be mild or severe. The most severe stage of degeneration is intervertebral hernia. In the cervical region, the hernia does not appear as often as in the groin, but even here it is not uncommon. Many young people seek medical attention for hernias detected by an MRI scan, while others develop hernias during the diagnostic process. What’s important here is that a hernia alone doesn’t always cause pain, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated.
It is important to note that not all neck pain is caused by osteochondrosis. That is, this process can occur, but it cannot cause this pain syndrome in this patient. The cause of pain is much more often musculoskeletal syndrome, the essence of which is overexertion of short sections of skeletal muscle. For example, if you sit in front of a computer for a long time, the trapezius muscles become numb in a monotonous position, resulting in cramps and pain that can radiate to the neck, head, and arms.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis?
There are a number of key considerations to be made for the proper and competent treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. Each is related in some way to prevention and early doctor visits. We list the most necessary measures:
- Careful adherence to the rules of ergonomics, arrangement of the work area, proper height of the table, monitor at eye level.
- Regular warm-up of the neck and arms (which are closely related to it), at least 1, 5-2 hours of sedentary work during daily morning exercises.
- Regular massage and osteopathy courses, at least once every 6 months.
You should only start taking painkillers as instructed by your doctor, otherwise you can simply corner the disease, relieving the symptoms, and ignoring the cause of the pathology.
How can osteopathy help with cervical osteochondrosis?
Osteopathy is a very effective method of treating this disease. The fact that the need for manual procedures for osteochondrosis is obvious to everyone, but not everyone understands how dangerous these manipulations can be.
Some chiropractors practice rough confidence techniques, after which the patient suddenly feels explicitly "positive, " "enlightenment. "It’s a "reduction" of vertebrae with incredible crunches and horrible, drowning-like techniques to dissolve motor segments.
We have to say that these rough and outwardly beautiful techniques are often unsafe and have nothing to do with osteopathy. The system of the cervical vertebrae is very finely and balancedly arranged, so that any rough operation affects not only one vertebra, but the whole neck, the whole spine, the head, the blood vessels, and so on.
The osteopath works very carefully and smoothly with the neck, without rough movements and sudden manipulations. At first glance, it may seem like the doctor didn’t do anything special, but that’s not the case. The basis of osteopathy is the delicate sensitivity of the doctor’s hand. An osteopath always knows how to balance the system of muscles, ligaments and bones without damaging it. Therefore, osteopathic correction of cervical osteochondrosis is the most successful, safe, and most effective.