Cervical osteochondrosis often goes undiagnosed for long periods of time.Headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms have been attributed to general malaise or vitamin deficiencies.But taking vitamins and taking long breaks didn't help - over time, the headaches would come back in the morning, after proper sleep and rest.What's wrong?“Common” cervical osteochondrosis progression is easily recognized at home and can be accurately diagnosed with a thorough examination.Prompt detection of pathology ensures rapid and effective treatment.Otherwise, the disease can cause severe pain in the neck and partial paralysis or numbness of the limbs.
What is cervical osteochondrosis?
Before discussing how to diagnose cervical osteochondrosis, it is necessary to first study its pathogenesis.Cervical osteochondrosis is a destructive disease of the intervertebral discs.Failure may be persistent or rapidly progressive.The same goes for the stages of the disease, depending on external and internal factors, the pathology can reach advanced stages in a short time, or a sore neck can be felt for years after long periods of inactivity.
Cervical osteochondrosis is the destruction of intervertebral disc cartilage due to various reasons.Chief among these is chondrodystrophy - a thinning of the disc cartilage caused by a lack of useful trace elements, impaired blood circulation and compression of the vertebrae.Thinning at the base of the spinal cord can cause compression at the base of the spinal cord—which is where severe pain begins in the neck and back of the head—and can cause increases in blood pressure and even intracranial pressure.
To the horror of those who are not yet aware of the development of the pathology presented, it should be noted that long hours of sitting in front of the computer or a mediocre unhealthy diet can influence this destruction.Therefore, it is very important to diagnose the disease promptly and start treatment.
Important!Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease that cannot be completely cured.Therefore, it is important to prevent it rather than "fix areas that are already broken."
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
Doctors recommend contacting the clinic at the first symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis.Of course, they are easily recognized at home, and not only here - even in harmless activities, dangerous manifestations may await the patient.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis include:
- Head pain, dizziness, periodic loss of balance for no apparent reason, fainting, blurred vision - the symptoms that occur indicate vertebral artery syndrome (squeezing), which deprives the brain and organs of the necessary beneficial trace elements and oxygen.
- Increased intracranial pressure, nausea and vomiting - Hypertensive syndrome occurs against the background of insufficient oxygen supply and other disorders of blood supply to the brain.
- Pain in the neck, shoulders, arms, characteristic tingling or numbness, partial or complete paralysis of the arms, pain in the throat and ears, hearing impairment - the development of a radicular syndrome, characterized by the already mentioned compression of the roots of the spinal cord.
- Hypertension and tachycardia, development of cervical migraine - impaired blood flow in the vertebral arteries.
It is clear from the above that future unexpressed manifestations may bring noticeable signs, leading to disruption of a person's activities of daily living and loss of some motor activities.
Important!You should consult your doctor when you experience neck pain after staying in a static position for a long period of time or after sleeping.If you feel warmth in the affected area after turning your head, it is likely that the intervertebral disc has been damaged, and warmth means blood is surging and blood circulation is fully restored.
Diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis
Once you find neck pain or discomfort, you should immediately seek medical examination. The examination is carried out in three stages:
- examine;
- X-ray;
- Differential diagnosis.
Visual inspection by an expert
If pain occurs, it is best to contact a chiropractor immediately, who can provide a more accurate picture of the progression of the lesion with just one examination.Therefore, during your appointment the doctor will check:
- Muscle condition of collar area, shoulder girdle, and arms;
- Symmetry of the neck, chin, supraclavicular area;
- shoulder position;
- Presence of spinal curvature.
The therapist checks by palpating the back and sides of the neck—people with osteochondrosis often experience pain or discomfort that they shouldn't have.If osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is suspected, doctors will perform tests using special instruments to determine the intervertebral spaces.
An important criterion during the visual examination is determining normal neck mobility—often, patients cannot easily fully turn or tilt their head.This criterion allows a preliminary determination of the location of the affected area and the accompanying compression of the spinal cord roots.
X-ray and other instrument diagnostics
After identifying osteochondrosis, it is important to understand at which stage the disease is and what the possible further consequences are.Here, they turn to instrument diagnostics, including methods such as:
- X-rays are the simplest and most informative method of determining the development of pathology.It is the radioactive radiation of X-rays, on the basis of which images are taken - highlighting the musculoskeletal system.From the images you can determine the affected disc, possible extrusion and other pathological features.
- MRI and CT are the most modern instrumental diagnostic methods by which the doctor can determine the nature of the existing pinch and its stage.Based on the data received, doctors recommended that the patient's condition worsened further.
- A Doppler ultrasound allows you to determine the condition and blood supply of the brain and neck.This makes it possible to explain the presence of dizziness or headache.
A comprehensive study of the data obtained will not only diagnose the disease and determine its stage, but also prevent further damage to the spine.Based on the diagnosis, appropriate treatment is taken.
Differential diagnosis
The differential diagnosis is usually based on excluding possible conditions with similar signs and symptoms to cervical osteochondrosis.If a person develops headaches during the pathological process under consideration, it is necessary to exclude possible head injuries and other causes of this symptom.
It is also important, when neck pain is detected, to rule out diseases of the spine itself - for example, the same injury, congenital or acquired dystrophic changes, inflammatory processes or cancer.Cervical osteochondrosis is often confused with diseases such as heart disease, gastric ulcer, and vegetative vascular dystonia.
Therefore, the doctor may additionally prescribe the following tests to the patient:
- General blood tests to exclude the development of neoplastic processes;
- General urinalysis - to rule out inflammatory processes;
- Ultrasound examination of abdominal organs - to rule out gastritis, ulcers and other organ lesions;
- Fluoroscopy - to rule out tuberculosis;
- Other ways to check a patient's health.
Based on the data obtained, the doctor prescribes an appropriate treatment plan, which consists of several stages: elimination of exacerbations, maximum recovery by treating the consequences of the disease, and preventive measures to avoid new exacerbations.You should not put off seeing a specialist because treatment and recovery from a terminal condition can last years.