Such injuries to the spine, or rather the intervertebral discs, like osteochondrosis, are becoming more and more common in our day and age. This is one of those diseases that absolutely no one is immune to. Risk increases with age, however, young adults can also develop osteochondrosis.
Particularly unpleasant is that, without proper treatment, osteochondrosis actively triggers the development of a range of concomitant diseases. These include arterial hypertension, neuralgia, increased intracranial pressure, metabolic disturbances, and restricted head and back mobility. Sometimes patients are critically ill and life-threatening.
In representatives of different genders, the course of osteochondrosis has its own characteristics. Of the five patients with osteochondrosis, three were women. At the same time, weaker sexes have more pronounced symptoms and are more prone to the side effects of the disease. This trend can be explained by the details of women's body work.
Disease characteristics
According to statistics, female osteochondrosis mainly affects the neck. This is because the cervical spine is more fragile than other vertebrae. The neck area also has extremely fragile muscles and a fairly thin bone structure. Therefore, the constant pressure and load on the spine has a faster and stronger effect on this area.
Women often work in jobs considered at risk for osteochondrosis of the neck: cashiers, seamstresses, computer operators, accountants. At the same time, it is difficult to notice the initial stages of disease development, as the patient may not experience any severe pain or particular discomfort. At the same time, osteochondrosis can already lead to a marked degenerative process when symptoms are found, disrupting the function of the nervous system and blood flow, which is fraught with deterioration of the nutrition of the brain tissue.
Additionally, women are extremely at risk if they experience one or more of the following manifestations.
- Menopause and related problems of cell metabolism in cartilage and bone tissue;
- Genetic susceptibility to osteochondrosis and other similar diseases;
- hematopoietic problems;
- hormonal disorders;
- metabolic diseases;
- Scoliosis, curved posture;
- overweight.
reason
There are many factors, prolonged exposure, that will inevitably lead to disease. Given the characteristics of the organism, very specific causes of the development of osteochondrosis in women can be distinguished individually. They are based on three stages of disease development, in ascending order.
- The first stage. It is caused by frequent overwork of neck muscle fibers due to being in an uncomfortable position.
- second stage. It is caused by the degeneration of tissue in the intervertebral discs as well as the vertebrae themselves. There is numbness, decreased sensitivity in the extremities, and limited mobility of the spine.
- The third phase. Associated with the development of intervertebral hernia. Motor activity is blocked and the annulus fibrosus is torn. Pain throughout the neck, head, and chest develops into vertebral artery syndrome.
major factor
The main causes of osteochondrosis in women include:
- intense emotional and physical stress;
- Being forced to regularly and for prolonged periods of time maintain a position where the neck is squeezed or the head needs to be tilted forward;
- Spinal cord injury;
- increased spinal pressure (eg, during pregnancy, being overweight);
- Abnormal changes in bone structure;
- Scoliosis.
secondary factors
This is a general group of causes that contribute to the development of the disease, but without the first group of factors, they cannot cause the disease.
- hormone imbalance;
- age-related degenerative changes;
- Autoimmunity, vegetative problems;
- menopause;
- inability to exercise;
- The body is often hypothermic;
- excess weight;
- diabetes.
symptoms of disease
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis appear in women in the same way as men. The following are the main ones.
- The main alarm is pain. Cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by frequent pain in the neck or paroxysmal acute pain (less common - the back of the head as well as the face). This feeling intensifies if you try to move your head.
- Often there is limited movement, spasms in the neck, chest area.
- After age 50, many patients develop tinnitus, impaired vision, hearing, and heavy snoring.
- Sometimes the disorder causes intense tightening when turning the neck.
- Another common symptom is dizziness and a gradual loss of coordinated movement.
The first signs of illness should make women aware of the need for urgent action. A set of diagnoses and treatments can only be chosen by a doctor, so the symptoms listed are reasons for urgent medical attention.
The condition is considered particularly dangerous if added to these manifestations a persistent state of air deficiency, a feeling of coma in the throat, stuffy ears, and cloudy eyes.
treat
Elimination of the disease or its main symptoms must begin with a full diagnosis. For this, computed tomography, ultrasound, Doppler, and sometimes X-ray machines are used. The prerequisite is a preventive diagnosis of osteochondrosis in older women, and the remaining measures should be taken if the disease is suspected.
Effective treatment measures are based on a comprehensive approach and take into account the individual characteristics of a specific clinical case. Depending on the stage of osteochondrosis, certain approaches may be effective.
The following points must be considered when treating women:
- age;
- the presence of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- Quality of the endocrine system.
drug
Classical drug therapy is the standard, simplest, but at the same time very effective method. However, medical treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is only offered to women when more benign options have shown no effect.
Ask a woman to turn to herbal infusions (chamomile, dandelion root, celandine), natural dressings (from wax, burdock or horseradish leaves, garlic cloves, cottage cheese with vinegar, honey) before turning to medical preparation. They also turn to aromatherapy baths, lifestyle and nutritional corrections, and stress relief.
They cover the lack of effectiveness of these drugs versus classical medicine. These are pain relievers, as well as non-steroidal drugs. The intake of both groups of drugs always takes into account the phase of the menstrual cycle.
At the end of the cycle, the dose of analgesic is increased as pain sensitivity increases and the body's defenses decrease. For menopausal women, higher doses of analgesics have been recommended. At the same time, the use of analgesics should be minimized for pregnant women and at the beginning of the menstrual cycle.
The peculiarity of the treatment of osteochondrosis in women lies in the regular administration of sedatives. If we're talking about weaker areas, mood swings, irritability, and stress can greatly interfere with the progress of any treatment or prevention technique.
The most difficult cases include additional intake of chondroprotective agents and corticosteroids.
exercise therapy
A properly chosen gymnastics complex is an integral part of balance therapy. Treatment of the consequences of cervical osteochondrosis in women focuses, among other things, on restoring mobility to this part of the body, and the main help here is the exercise therapy complex.
The specific exercise is always chosen by the doctor. In this case, both classic movements (head tilts and turns, shoulder rotations) and specific movements can be involved. Often, yoga poses are used to relieve pain. This treatment can also be carried out at home if it is regularly and clearly prescribed by a doctor.
In addition to exercise therapy, cervical massage, manual therapy, and special diets are also good against osteochondrosis. These exercises can have additional effects. The choice of female massage mode should take into account the cycle. Also, pay special attention to determining massage techniques for menopausal women.
After recovery, it is very important to take precautions very clearly. This will help avoid recurrences, which are common in osteochondrosis, mainly due to the repeated influence of causative factors.