Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs after remission. Pathology develops in chronic form. It is impossible to completely overcome osteochondrosis.
This disease develops due to an inactive lifestyle, alcohol abuse, and nutritional problems.
Intervertebral discs reduce pressure on the spine, but over the years the cartilage tissue becomes damaged due to poor lifestyle choices. Renewing cartilage tissue is not easy.
Reason
Let's find out what triggers the symptoms of osteochondrosis:
- Some signs arise due to deformation of the spine, osteophytes appear.
- The position of the vertebrae in relation to each other changes, the arteries are squeezed, and the blood supply to the nervous system worsens.
- The emergence of complications due to displacement of the intervertebral discs also triggers pain in the nerve endings.
- When nerves in the cervical spine are pinched, radicular syndrome appears.
- Continuous excessive tension of the neck muscle tissue in front of the computer or while driving a car.
How does cervical osteochondrosis worsen?
In the neck area the size of the bones is small. Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis occurs with specific symptoms. Therefore, when the first symptoms occur, you need to contact a specialist.The main problem is that patients are not aware of the symptoms of the disease.
First degree
Initially, small cracks appear on the disc. The elasticity of cartilage tissue decreases, and aching pain appears in the neck if you do not change position for a long time.
Level two
Severe neck pain signals the start of the second stage. The pain is exacerbated due to deformation of the intervertebral discs, dislocations appear.In rare situations, numbness of the hands and face occurs.
Ultimately, the patient experiences pain in the neck, which radiates to the spine.
Exacerbations are manifested by falling head syndrome, in which unbearable pain occurs, the head cannot be lifted, it must be fixed with a pillow or hands so that the symptoms decrease.
Third degree
The third stage of the disease manifests itself clearly, the causes of unpleasant symptoms cannot be attributed to overwork after physical exertion. In the third stage, patients begin to feel nauseous, dizzy, tinnitus, and often faint. Acute osteochondrosis is characterized by numbness of the neck and tinnitus.
Sometimes the signs of the disease disappear, but recur with exacerbation after some time. New signs appear and the pain becomes stronger.
How to behave during an exacerbation?
During an exacerbation, you should not rub warming ointments into the neck or massage large areas. If you feel signs of cervical osteochondrosis, you need to try to relax and take the most comfortable position possible.
You should lie on your back so that the muscle tissue stops being tense. The attack does not go away on its own. You need to contact your doctor to prescribe pain medication, then make an appointment with a specialist. Many people have pain relievers in their home medicine cabinet. You can take this medicine so you don't have to call an ambulance.
First aid and treatment
Treatment is carried out by specialists:
- Before the doctor arrives, you need to move as little as possible.
- Sit comfortably in bed, do not overload your body.
- Take pain medication.
- Wait for the doctor.
Specialists prescribe antibiotics and drugs to eliminate the inflammatory process. They are needed during exacerbations.
Patients are prescribed chondroprotectors that alter the destructive processes in the discs and worsen speed indicators if they occur.
The course of treatment with this drug 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 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 a blockade is prescribed. Novocaine injections are made into the deformed vertebral area. The symptoms can disappear quickly. We list non-drug treatment methods: exercise therapy, physiotherapy, massage.
It is possible to reduce the intensity of symptoms and relieve exacerbations with the help of therapeutic exercises. You need to do exercises every day to strengthen the muscles of the neck and spine. A weakened spine will be better supported thanks to developed back muscles.
Massage is mandatory, thanks to a full course, muscle tone improves, spasms disappear, swelling decreases, cerebrospinal fluid circulates better, and blood supply becomes stable. Intervertebral discs stop changing shape.
Other treatments
Thanks to the Shants collar, you can reduce the load on the cervical spine during exacerbations. Such a device will keep the neck in a normal position, and the load on the muscle tissue and spine will be reduced. You need to arrange your bed well, you need a hard mattress with an orthopedic effect, as well as a pillow that does not bend the neck during rest.
If therapy is carried out when the attack begins, and everything is done correctly, the peak of the disease will subside after some time. If the disease is not treated in time, the attacks will subside, but will not disappear completely. In the future, you will experience several exacerbations, among which the pain will subside. Pain symptoms worsen during attacks.
What drugs are used?
When the patient's condition worsens, medications must be used. Exacerbations are eliminated with the help of such drugs. Anti-inflammatory or pain reliever in the form of tablets, ointments for local or external use. Muscle relaxants help relieve muscle spasms, which often occur along with pain.
B vitamins improve the conduction of nerve impulses through neurons. Initially used as an intramuscular injection, then the patient was transferred to tablets.If the disease increases blood pressure, calcium channels are blocked, inhibitors, ACE or combination agents.
As cervical osteochondrosis worsens, the symptoms cause cerebral circulation. Therapeutic procedures involve the use of medications for recovery. To do this, it is recommended to contact a specialist to receive accurate drug recommendations.
If the patient experiences emotional disturbances, the doctor will prescribe sedatives, which can be in the form of herbal concoctions or sedatives. When choosing, specialists are often guided by the severity of these symptoms. Spinal blocks using novocaine are used for severe pain symptoms.
Surgical intervention
What to do in case of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis if the above methods are ineffective? Examinations need to be carried out, if complications are identified, the specialist may recommend surgical procedures aimed at reducing compression and stabilizing the position of the spine. 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 an exacerbation without prior consultation. You can take painkillers, put a scarf around your neck, and wait for the doctor to come. Depending on the severity of the process, therapy is continued at home or in the hospital.
Symptoms of acute osteochondrosis worsen the quality of life, so immediate action needs to be taken. Therapy should be carried out after diagnosis, doctor's conclusion and exclusion of other pathological options.
Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis does not occur in a short time, this disorder does not disappear by itself. Destructive processes in the cervical spine can progress and lead to complex consequences.
Exacerbations during pregnancy
The body of a pregnant woman experiences physiological changes, the level of hormone production changes, the body's center of gravity 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 other patients. The difficulty lies in the choice of treatment regimen, because when prescribing drugs, their possible effect on the child must be taken into account. When fighting exacerbations, ointments are used that do not harm the child.
During pregnancy, recurrence 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 with unconventional methods. Traditional medicine recipes are less harmful to the fetus.
Another way to get rid of exacerbations
If it is not possible to visit a doctor, you can use some recipes to alleviate the general condition of sufferers of osteochondrosis of the cervical region. For example, taking a warm bath helps you relax. You can wrap a wool scarf or other clothing made from this material around your neck. Or apply a herbal compress to the affected area.
Onions, mint, and sage are also used for this purpose. Try making an ointment from mumiyo and butter. You can also secure the neck still so that the roots of the spinal cord are not pinched.
Worsens gradually
If the recurrence of pain symptoms is moderate, you need to go to a specialist. The patient can take painkillers and secure the neck with a collar, but only a specialist can choose the appropriate therapeutic procedure.
During an exacerbationcervical osteochondrosisforbidden:
- Apply a heating pad to your neck. Blood will rush to the problem area, the swelling will get worse, and the pain will become stronger.
- The cervical area should not be massaged so as not to worsen the situation.
Manual therapy will be useful in such situations. A qualified professional can realign the spine so that there is no pressure on the nerves.
Therapeutic action
The main condition for the success of this disease is complex therapy. Treatment measures include the use of injections, tablets, ointments, special patches and physiotherapy procedures.
Drug
Drug treatment is aimed at eliminating pain, which is especially pronounced in the acute period. Prescribed medications such as:
- Analgesic. They try to give an anesthetic injection before the ambulance arrives, because it will be very difficult for the patient to endure the pain. If a person suffers from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, then he always has a supply of painkillers.
- Muscle relaxants. Their action is to reduce skeletal muscle spasm in 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 exacerbations of osteochondrosis, injectable preparations based on vitamin B are used. They help to restore nerve tissue damaged as a result of pathological changes in the intervertebral regions of the cervical spine.
- Means for local therapy. To alleviate the patient's condition, ointments and gels with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects are prescribed. They are complementary therapies and are prescribed to enhance the effects of injectable medications. In addition, special patches impregnated with medications are also used. For example, patches containing diclofenac and lidocaine.
Manual therapy
Manual therapy is a proven method of treating osteochondrosis only from the positive side and has been used for decades. During this time, new techniques have been developed, the use of which helps to relieve the symptoms of exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis more quickly.
If manual therapy techniques are performed at a highly professional level, it has a beneficial effect on the condition of muscle tissue, spine and articular apparatus of the cervical spine.
The following manual therapy techniques are used:
- Kneading muscles in individual segments. This technique helps relieve muscle tension.
- Mobilization techniques. The doctor performs a series of measures that restore the function of the articular apparatus only in certain areas of the cervical spine.
- Manipulation techniques. The procedure is a set of measures aimed at restoring the entire articular system that has suffered as a result of pathological changes. This method is used for cervical osteochondrosis and for the treatment of a disease called generalized osteochondrosis.
If a patient is prescribed manual therapy, he should carefully choose the doctor who will treat him. However, even small errors can have serious consequences, including patient disability.
Massage
Massage is another method to alleviate the patient's condition during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis. Its application helps relieve tension in the neck muscles, reduces the amount of lactic acid whose buildup causes muscle spasms, and normalizes blood circulation in the inflamed area. The combination of these effects leads to decreased pain.
Surgical intervention
If the doctor sees that conservative treatment will not give the desired results, he will prescribe surgical intervention to the patient. There are several indications that make surgery unavoidable.
- Narrowing of the spinal canal due to intervertebral hernia, which causes compression of the plexus of blood vessels and nerves.
- 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, after several courses of conservative therapy, it was not possible to achieve positive results, then they resort to surgery.
Sports therapy
Therapeutic exercise is a method used in the follow-up stage. In the acute period, any exercise performed will bring nothing to the patient except additional suffering. However, when the attack has been stopped, the inflammatory process is at a decreasing stage, then the appointment of physical therapy becomes an assistant.
Thanks to exercise therapy, blood circulation returns to normal and muscles are strengthened. Spinal mobility improves and stiffness disappears, nerve tissue is restored, and pain is reduced.
When prescribing physical therapy, the doctor takes into account the factors that are 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 carried out in two stages, but in one operation. At the first stage, the neurosurgeon eliminates the cause of the pain syndrome. This is a decompression method.
After that, the spine stabilizes. Doctors take into account that after removal of part of the intervertebral disc, dysfunction of the articular apparatus of the spine occurs.
Therefore, the spine is fixed using a special technique.
In modern orthopedic practice, artificial intervertebral discs are used, which make it possible to prevent fusion of the vertebrae when the damaged disc is completely removed.
What can you do at home?
Every patient suffering from cervical osteochondrosis should know what to do if the condition worsens at home. First of all, it is strictly forbidden to move during an attack. The patient should lie on a flat surface and assume a position with minimal muscle tension.
Give the patient an anesthetic injection. If this is not possible, give the patient analgesics in tablet form. Additionally, 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 experienced doctors. But there are situations when the pain appears suddenly and takes a heavy toll on the patient's body. Acute exacerbations may occur, for example if there is a suspicion of an intervertebral hernia. In this case, the patient cannot tolerate it and measures must be taken to improve the condition.
To do this, you must take the following steps:
- if possible, lay the patient on a bed or floor to immobilize the spine;
- wrap the sore spot with a woolen scarf (it is strictly forbidden to use heating pads);
- If the patient is bending over because he is experiencing severe pain, it is best not to try to straighten him. It is better to put them in the same position on a flat surface;
- give him painkillers to drink. This can be Analgin, Diclofenac or Ibuprofen;
- call an ambulance.
The emergency doctor will determine how to relieve pain symptoms, whether hospitalization is necessary or whether treatment can be continued at home.
First aid to patients
Acute osteochondrosis causes a lot of pain and discomfort, even limiting the mobility of the spine. If it is possible to contact a doctor at home, it is better to do so, as self-medication can lead to greater complications. However, it's best not to endure the pain until he comes. First aid can be provided to the patient:
- To begin with, you should limit the mobility of the cervical spine as much as possible, it is better to sleep.
- If the pain of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine causes very severe pain, then it can be relieved 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 goes away 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 a special orthopedic collar that will help to overcome it faster.
Many people are interested in the question of how long an exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis lasts. This phase is passed differently for each person. If treatment of attacks is started on time and the drugs are effective, then their duration does not exceed several days. Otherwise, discomfort will accompany the patient for several weeks.
How long the exacerbation period lasts depends on the characteristics of the human body, as well as the speed of development of the disease. If treatment of pathology is started too late, then this situation will repeat itself.
Exacerbations during pregnancy
Exacerbation of the disease during pregnancy is always undesirable. This brings suffering to the pregnant mother and her baby, but besides this, it is difficult to apply therapeutic measures due to contraindications for taking medication. Physiotherapy methods should not be prescribed to pregnant women.
Of the drugs used during pregnancy, Traumeel in the form of tablets, ointments and injections, as well as Paracetamol are allowed. Additionally, physical therapy is also prescribed, but under the strict supervision of a doctor. Exercises are selected that require minimal physical activity. Preference is given to yoga techniques.
Folk remedies for severe pain in the spine: effective recipes
The use of traditional methods has a positive effect only when combined with drug treatment. You can relieve pain and discomfort in cervical osteochondrosis by using horseradish leaves.
They need to be applied to the sore spot, tied with a bandage and adhesive 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 is applied to the affected area, secured firmly and left for several hours or overnight. Pepper oil tincture is excellent for rubbing.
How to reduce the recurrence rate
If the disease can get worse, it means that the person has had a lot of medicine beforehand that can relieve the pain. However, without eliminating the cause, treatment will be ineffective.
In addition, unpleasant sensations may return again, and with a vengeance. With exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, the symptoms and treatment of the disease were discussed earlier, it is necessary to understand how to prevent exacerbation.
To do this, the following precautionary measures must be observed:
- Visit to the massage room. Naturally, the specialist must be experienced and skilled, so as not to aggravate the exacerbation of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Massage sessions allow you to develop the cervical spine, improving its function and mobility. At the same time, hard and soft tissues receive better nutrition, as blood circulation normalizes.
- Do physical exercise. It is necessary to strengthen the muscle corset of the upper back.
- It is recommended to take a walk every day before going to bed. This will allow you to get a good night's rest. It's best to avoid strenuous exercise, jumping, and other sports that involve high 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 in a sitting position, it is best to change body position every quarter of an hour.
- Swimming is an excellent preventive measure for spinal problems. It not only relaxes the muscles, allowing you to relieve spasm, but also strengthens them.
- For a night's sleep, it is best to choose an orthopedic mattress that keeps the person's body in the correct position throughout the night, no matter how he turns over.
- For prevention, you can also use non-traditional methods, for example acupuncture. Of course, you can't do this alone, and you also shouldn't entrust your health to the first "expert" you meet. The procedure must be carried out by an experienced specialist.
Prevention
To prevent exacerbation of the disease, it is recommended to follow a number of rules:
- Watch your posture.
- Avoid muscle tension when 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, take a break to warm up.
- You need to sleep on a flat surface, loose armored beds are contraindicated for patients with osteochondrosis.