Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs after remission. The pathology develops in a chronic form. It is impossible to completely cope with osteochondrosis.
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 away due to poor lifestyle choices. Renewing cartilage tissue is not easy.
Causes
Let's see what causes the symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Some signs occur due to deformation of the vertebrae, osteophytes appear.
- The position of the vertebrae relative to each other changes, the arteries are pinched, and the blood supply to the nervous system deteriorates.
- The appearance of complications due to the displacement of the intervertebral discs also causes pain in the nerve endings.
- When the nerves in the cervical spine are pinched, radicular syndrome occurs.
- Constant overstrain of neck muscle tissues in front of the computer or when driving a car.
How does cervical osteochondrosis get worse?
At the neck, the size of the vertebrae is small. Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs with special symptoms. Therefore, as soon as the first symptoms appear, you should contact a specialist.The main problem is that patients do not notice the symptoms of the disease..
First degree
Initially, small cracks appear on the discs. The elasticity of cartilage tissue decreases and aching pain appears in the neck if you do not change position for a long time.
Second degree
Severe neck pain indicates the beginning of the second stage. The pain is aggravated by deformation of the intervertebral disc, dislocations appear.In rare situations, numbness of the hands and face occurs.
At the end of the day, the patient feels pain in the neck, which spreads further down the spine.
An exacerbation is manifested by head drop syndrome, in which unbearable pain occurs, the head cannot be supported, it must be fixed with pillows or hands so that the symptom decreases.
Third degree
The third stage of the disease manifests itself clearly: the cause of unpleasant symptoms cannot be attributed to overwork after physical exertion. In the third stage, the patient begins to experience nausea, dizziness, tinnitus and frequent fainting. Acute osteochondrosis is characterized by neck numbness and tinnitus.
Sometimes the signs of the disease disappear, but reappear with exacerbations after a while. New signs appear and the pain becomes stronger.
How to behave during an exacerbation?
During an exacerbation, you should not apply warming ointments to your neck or massage a large area. If you experience signs of cervical osteochondrosis, you should try to relax and take the most comfortable position.
You need to lie on your back so that the muscle tissue stops contracting. The attack does not go away on its own.You need to call a doctor to administer painkillers, then make an appointment with a specialist. Many people have pain relievers in their medicine cabinet. You can take these medications so you don't have to call an ambulance.
First aid and treatment
The treatment is carried out by a specialist:
- Before the doctor arrives, you should move as little as possible.
- Sit comfortably on the bed, do not burden the body.
- Take painkillers.
- Wait for the doctor.
The specialist prescribes antibiotics and medications to eliminate inflammatory processes. They are necessary during an exacerbation.
Patients are prescribed chondroprotectors, which change the destructive processes of the discs and worsen the speed indicators when they occur.
The duration of treatment with these drugs is long, less than six months. They are able to prevent exacerbation of the disease.
Medicines belonging to the category of muscle relaxants also help to fight osteochondrosis and relieve tension. Diuretics and vascular drugs, nootropics and B vitamins are also used.
During exacerbations, the disease is accompanied by pain and a procedure called blockade is prescribed. An injection of novocaine is performed in the area of the deformed vertebra. Symptoms can be quickly relieved. We list non-drug treatment methods: exercise therapy, physiotherapy, massage.
It will be possible to reduce the intensity of symptoms and alleviate exacerbations with the help of therapeutic exercises. You should do exercises daily to strengthen the neck and spine muscles. Weakened vertebrae will be better supported thanks to the developed back muscles.
Massage is obligatory, thanks to a complete course of treatment, muscle tone improves, spasms are eliminated, swelling is reduced, cerebrospinal fluid circulates better and blood supply is stabilized. The intervertebral discs stop deforming.
Other treatments
Thanks to the Shants collar, you can reduce the load on the cervical spine during exacerbations. Such a device will maintain the neck in a normal position, the load on muscle tissues and vertebrae will be reduced. You need to properly arrange your sleeping space, you will need a hard mattress with an orthopedic effect, as well as a pillow that does not bend the neck when resting.
If treatment is carried out at the beginning of the attack and everything is done correctly, the peak of the disease will disappear after a while. If the disease is not treated in time, the attack will subside but not be completely eliminated. In the future, several exacerbations should be expected, between which the pain will subside. Painful symptoms worsen during the attack.
What medications are used?
When the patient's condition worsens, medications should be used. The exacerbation is eliminated with the help of such drugs. Anti-inflammatories or analgesics in tablets, ointments for local or external use. Muscle relaxers help eliminate muscle spasms, which often occur with pain.
Vitamin B improves the conduction of nerve impulses through neurons. Initially used in the form of intramuscular injections, patients are later transferred to tablet form.If the disease increases blood pressure, calcium channels are blocked, inhibitors, ACE inhibitors or combined agents.
When cervical osteochondrosis worsens, its symptoms cause cerebral circulation. Therapeutic procedures involve the use of medications for healing. To do this, it is advisable to contact a specialist in order to receive accurate recommendations on medications.
When patients suffer from 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 to treat severe painful symptoms.
Surgical intervention
What to do in case of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis if the above methods are not effective? It is necessary to undergo an examination; If complications are identified, a specialist may recommend surgery to reduce compression and stabilize the position of the vertebrae. Complications arise after such operations, so they are performed in extreme cases.
What to do at home?
Doctors do not recommend treating cervical osteochondrosis at home during exacerbations without prior consultation. You can take a painkiller, wrap a scarf around your neck and wait for the doctor to arrive. 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. Treatment should be carried out after diagnosis, a doctor's conclusion and exclusion of other pathological options.
Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis does not occur for a short time; the disorder does not go away on its own. Destructive processes in 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 impact 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 a treatment regimen, because when prescribing medications, their probable effect on the child must be taken into account. In case of exacerbations, ointments are used that do not harm the child.
During pregnancy, a relapse of osteochondrosis occurs in 50% of cases due to changes in the spine.
Sometimes for complex pain, painkillers or injections are prescribed. Many pregnant women are treated by unconventional methods. Traditional medicine recipes are less harmful to the fetus.
Other ways to eliminate exacerbations
If it is not possible to consult a doctor, you can use several recipes to alleviate the general condition of patients with osteochondrosis of the cervical region. For example, a hot shower helps you relax. You can wrap a wool scarf or other item of clothing made from this material around your neck. Or apply herbal compresses to the affected area.
Onions, mint and sage are also used for these purposes. Try making an ointment from mumiyo and butter. You can also keep the neck in a stationary state so that the roots of the spinal cord are not pinched.
Gradual worsening
If the relapse of painful symptoms is moderate, you should consult a specialist. The patient can take painkillers and secure his neck with a collar, but only a specialist can choose the appropriate therapeutic procedure.
During an exacerbationcervical osteochondrosisforbidden:
- Apply heating pads to your neck. Blood will flow intensively to the problem area, swelling will worsen and the pain will become stronger.
- The cervical region should not be massaged so as not to aggravate its situation.
Manual therapy will be useful in such situations. A trained professional can realign the vertebrae so that no pressure is placed on the nerve.
Therapeutic measures
The main condition for the success 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:
- Painkillers. They try to give an injection of anesthetic before the ambulance arrives, because it can be very difficult for the patient to endure the pain. If a person suffers from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, he always has a pain reliever in stock.
- Muscle relaxers. Their action is to reduce spasms of the skeletal muscles of the cervical vertebrae.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They relieve pain well, relieve inflammation and help if the patient has a fever.
- Vitamin preparations. To treat the exacerbation of osteochondrosis, injectable preparations based on B vitamins are used. They help to restore nervous tissue damaged due to pathological changes in the intervertebral region of the cervical spine.
- Means of local therapy. In order to alleviate the patient's condition, ointments and gels with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects are prescribed. These are means of complementary therapy and are prescribed to enhance the effect of injectable drugs. Additionally, special patches impregnated with drugs are used. For example, a patch containing diclofenac and lidocaine.
Manual therapy
Manual therapy is a method of treating osteochondrosis that has only proven itself positively and has been used for several decades. During this time, new techniques have been developed, the use of which makes it possible to relieve the symptoms of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis much faster.
If manual therapy techniques are carried out at a highly professional level, they have a beneficial effect on the condition of muscle tissues, vertebrae and the joint apparatus of the cervical spine.
The following manual therapy techniques are used:
- Knead the muscles on a separate segment. This technique helps relieve muscle tension.
- Mobilization technique. The doctor performs a series of actions due to which the function of the joint 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 joint system that has suffered from pathological changes. This method is used both for cervical osteochondrosis and for the treatment of a disease called common osteochondrosis.
If a patient is prescribed manual therapy, he should carefully choose the doctor who will treat him. After all, even a small error has serious consequences, including the patient's disability.
Massage
Massage is another method of relieving the patient's condition during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Its implementation helps relieve tension in the neck muscles, reduce the amount of lactic acid, the accumulation of which causes muscle spasms, and normalize blood circulation in the inflamed area. The combination of these effects results in a reduction in pain.
Surgical intervention
If the doctor finds that conservative treatment will not give the desired result, he prescribes surgical intervention to the patient. There are several indications in which surgery is unavoidable.
- Narrowing of the spinal canal due to intervertebral herniation, leading to compression of the vascular and nervous plexuses.
- Displacement of the vertebrae relative to the horizontal axis.
- Intervertebral hernia, which can be single or multiple. This pathology does not constitute an absolute indication for surgical intervention if it does not cause associated symptoms. If, after several conservative treatments, it was not possible to achieve a positive result, then they resort to surgery.
Exercise therapy
Therapeutic exercise is a method used at the aftercare stage. In the acute period, any exercises performed will only bring the patient additional suffering. But when the attack is stopped, the inflammatory process is in the waning stage, so the prescription of a course of physiotherapy then becomes a help.
Thanks to exercise therapy, blood circulation returns to normal and muscles are strengthened. Spinal mobility improves and stiffness disappears, nervous tissue is restored and pain is reduced.
When prescribing physical therapy, the doctor takes into account the factors for 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
The surgical procedure takes place in two stages, but in a single operation. First, the neurosurgeon eliminates the cause of the pain syndrome. This is a decompression method.
The vertebrae are then stabilized. The doctor takes into account the fact that after the removal of a section of the intervertebral disc, a malfunction of the articular apparatus of the spine occurs.
Therefore, the vertebrae are fixed using a special technique.
In modern orthopedic practice, artificial intervertebral discs are used, which help prevent the fusion of the vertebrae when the damaged discs are completely removed.
What can you do at home?
Every patient suffering from cervical osteochondrosis should know what to do if the situation worsens at home. First of all, it is strictly forbidden to move during an attack. The patient should lie down on a flat surface and take a position in which the muscles are not very tense.
Give the patient an anesthetic injection. If this is not possible, give the patient a pain reliever in tablet form. Additionally, an anti-inflammatory ointment or gel should be applied to the neck area. The emergency doctor will tell you what to do next.
Period of exacerbation of osteochondrosis: first aid at home
Treatment of spinal pathologies should be entrusted only to an experienced doctor. And yet, there are situations where pain appears suddenly and strains the patient's body. An acute exacerbation may occur, for example, if an intervertebral hernia is suspected. In this case, the patient cannot tolerate it and measures must be taken to improve his condition.
To do this, you must follow the following steps:
- if possible, place the patient on the bed or floor to immobilize the spine;
- wrap the sore spot with a woolen scarf (the use of a heating pad is strictly prohibited);
- If the patient is bent over because they are in severe pain, you should not try to straighten them. It is best to place it in the same position on a flat surface;
- give him a painkiller to drink. This can be Analgin, Diclofenac or Ibuprofen;
- Call an ambulance.
The emergency doctor will determine how to relieve painful symptoms, whether hospitalization is necessary, or whether treatment can be continued at home.
First aid to a patient
Acute osteochondrosis causes a lot of pain and discomfort, even limiting the mobility of the spine. If it is possible to call a doctor at home, it is better to do so, since self-medication leads to even more serious complications. However, you should not endure the pain until it arrives. First aid can be provided to the patient:
- To begin with, you must limit the mobility of the cervical spine as much as possible; it is better to lie down.
- If painful osteochondrosis of the cervical spine causes very severe pain, then it can be relieved with medication. If the discomfort is very severe, these medications may not help.
- The neck muscles should be relaxed so that the spasm disappears as quickly as possible.
- Local medications may also be used to relieve pain.
- In the first days after the onset of an attack, it is necessary to use special orthopedic collars that will help to cope with it faster.
Many people are interested in the question of how long exacerbations of cervical osteochondrosis last. This phase unfolds differently for each person. If the treatment of an attack was started on time and the drugs proved effective, its duration does not exceed several days. Otherwise, discomfort will accompany the patient for several weeks.
The duration of the exacerbation period depends on the characteristics of the human body, as well as the speed of development of the disease. If treatment of pathology begins late, this situation will repeat itself.
Exacerbation during pregnancy
Exacerbation of diseases during pregnancy is always undesirable. This causes suffering to the pregnant woman and her baby, but in addition to this, it is difficult to apply therapeutic measures due to contraindications to taking medications. Physiotherapeutic methods should not be prescribed to a pregnant woman.
Among the drugs used during pregnancy, Traumeel in the form of tablets, ointments and injections, as well as Paracetamol are allowed. Additionally, physical therapy is prescribed, but under the strict supervision of a doctor. The chosen exercises require minimal physical activity. Preference is given to yoga techniques.
Traditional medicine for severe spinal pain: effective recipes
The use of traditional methods has a positive effect only in combination with drug treatment. You can eliminate pain and discomfort associated with cervical osteochondrosis using horseradish leaves.
They should be applied to the sore spot, fixed with a bandage and tape and left overnight. Cosmetic clay mixed with water works well as a compress.
Our grandmothers treated all types of osteochondrosis using compresses made from grated raw potatoes mixed with honey. This mixture was spread over the affected areas, firmly fixed and left for several hours or overnight. Pepper oil tincture is excellent for rubbing.
How to reduce relapse rates
If the condition may worsen, the person already has a large number of medications that can relieve the pain. However, without eliminating the cause, treatment will not be effective.
In addition, unpleasant sensations may reappear, and more aggressively. With exacerbations of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment of the disease have already been discussed earlier, it is necessary to understand how to prevent exacerbations.
To do this, the following preventive measures must be respected:
- Visit to the massage room. Naturally, the specialist must be experienced and skillful, so as not to aggravate the exacerbation of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Massage sessions help develop the cervical spine, increase its functionality and mobility. At the same time, hard and soft tissues are better nourished, as blood circulation is normalized.
- Do 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 get a good night's sleep. It is best to avoid intense sports, jumping and other exercises involving high loads or sudden movements.
- If a person spends a lot of time in a static sitting position, he should occasionally get up and warm up. When working in a sedentary manner, it is best to change your body position every quarter of an hour.
- Swimming is an excellent preventive measure against spinal problems. Not only does it relax the muscles, allowing you to relieve spasms, but it strengthens them at the same time.
- For a night's sleep, it is best to choose an orthopedic mattress that maintains the correct position of the person's body throughout the night, regardless of which way they turn.
- For prevention, you can also use non-traditional methods, for example, acupuncture. Naturally, you can't do this yourself, nor should you entrust your health to the first "master" you meet. The procedure should be carried out by an experienced specialist.
Prevention
To avoid an exacerbation of the disease, it is recommended to follow a number of rules:
- Watch your posture.
- Avoid tensing your muscles when working at a computer or sitting at a desk.
- Change positions every few minutes to avoid muscle stiffness.
- If you have to stay in the same position for more than half an hour, take a break to warm up.
- It is necessary to sleep on a flat surface, sagging armored beds are contraindicated for patients suffering from osteochondrosis.