Due to its relative immobility and anatomical features, osteochondrosis rarely affects the breast area, but it is not uncommon. Therefore, if you feel stiffness and pain in the shoulder blades, it is worth learning what osteochondrosis of the sternum is, what are the symptoms and treatment methods.
Indeed, the disease is rarely localized in this part of the spine, but the unpleasant consequences and feelings are no less than the damage to the neck and back. In particular, the safety of symptoms that an experienced physician may interfere with at the onset of such a disease can be called "fogging. "
What is thoracic osteochondrosis?
Osteochondrosis - degenerative-dystrophic lesions of the discs between the vertebrae and vertebrae.
As already mentioned, the disease manifests itself less often in the thoracic region than in the lumbar or cervical region due to such features:
- the chest area is immobile;
- well straightened by ribs and whole chest;
- Due to kyphosis in the thoracic region (ie, physiological bending of the spine), the spine exerts maximum stress on the anterior, more durable part.
But, unfortunately, anyone can develop a disease, especially if there are preconditions for it.
What does an MRI of the thoracic spine show?
The diagnosis of a disease in the breast should be made comprehensively, and MRI provides a better picture than most studies.
How is an MRI performed?
Everything is simple and painless - you have to lie down on a bench, which is included in a special spherical chamber, and wait for the time until the equipment "lights up" the body. All metal items should be removed in advance and workers should be notified if pacemakers, prostheses or other foreign objects are present.
In general, osteochondrosis was previously diagnosed only by palpation - the vertebrae were examined, there is pain, that is, there is osteochondrosis. Now doctors are supplementing their knowledge with special studies, the most informative of which is MRI, which allows to determine the occurrence of degenerative events in the cartilage and vertebrae, the presence of hernias, the characteristics of development.
You are not afraid of closed spaces, you can fall asleep again.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The symptoms of insidious osteochondrosis in the chest can be successfully hidden for a long time without manifesting themselves and without causing pain or even discomfort. And then, when the damage is already causing obvious manifestations, it is sometimes difficult to determine the source of painful sensations - they can affect the heart, internal organs, legs. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze this issue in detail.
Thus, doctors distinguish several types of symptoms.
Reflex is directly related to the negative effects of the disease on various receptors.
As a result, the patient feels:
- pain in or near the shoulder blades, often "ring-like" covering and squeezing;
- The focus of pain can be localized in different parts of the body - in the sternum, simulating a heart attack, on the right side, masked by the liver, and even in the lumbar region, such as renal colic, so when diagnosed it is often necessary to undergo a thorough examination of internal organs. .
Symptoms of compression are caused by compression or elongation of the nerve roots,
The result may be:
- weakness in the legs, they seem to have given up;
- loss of sensitivity in the limbs;
- numbness in the compressed area, feeling of "gas lumps";
- feeling of coma in the chest;
- tension of the surrounding muscles, which can be found during massage;
- Deterioration in the functioning of the organs, fortunately, such negligence is rare.
Given the characteristics of women's physiology, the symptoms of osteochondrosis in the breast area are sometimes confused with other diseases.
Often, the pain spreads to the breasts, which automatically makes a woman think about the problems in her breasts.
The picture shows that regular pain is similar to glandular fibrosis, tumors and other problems, which forces you to run to a mammologist for advice. And if the doctor does not find any abnormalities in the structure and function of the mammary glands after tests, examinations and mammography, the presence of osteochondrosis can be safely assumed.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the chest
The causes of osteochondrosis are the same for the thoracic and other regions, but clear conditions are required to localize the problem here:
- curvature of the spine, especially the thoracic region;
- having bad habits;
- wear high heels;
- to be in an unnatural condition for a long time, for example, to graze on a computer, on a sewing machine, in a garden;
- huge physical activity;
- hereditary predisposition to back diseases;
- pregnancy, which causes a change in the center of gravity;
- refusing to wear straight legs and special orthopedic insoles;
- spinal cord injury.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the chest
Symptoms of osteochondrosis in the thoracic region are pain, stiffness and muscle tension in this region. As we have already established, reflex and compression syndromes are separated, the first of which should be discussed in more detail.
Dorsago and dorsalgia
The most obvious reflex syndromes of the disease are dorsago and dorsalgia. What is this?
Dorsago - a sharp, sharp pain in the lower back, as if someone had stabbed him in the back. Sometimes the pain spreads to the heart or sternum.
Feelings are so "rainbow" that the patient is afraid to move or even take deep breaths. On palpation, you can see muscle tension near the spine. Often, an attack occurs after sitting for a long time in a restless position and after a sudden change. Due to the severity of the pain and its location in the chest, the dorsago is often mistaken for a heart attack, but a raised cardiogram clarifies the picture.
Dorsalgia is a painful pain that gradually manifests itself and covers the chest and chest area, intensifying with movement, especially when the body bends, sneezes or even climbs on the balls.
Sometimes it is unpleasant that the most painful area is difficult to identify - these are superficial or deep tissues, the back or chest, which makes it difficult to make a correct diagnosis.
What is intercostal neuralgia called?
Sometimes there is pain in the intercostal spaces, then the symptom is called intercostal neuralgia, this symptom is characterized by:
- severe pain covering the intercostal space, sometimes spreading to the back, arm, or shoulder blade, and lasting for hours, even days;
- pain when examining the ribs;
- redness or pallor of the skin at the site of inflammation, burning sensation or numbness;
- inability to breathe evenly and deeply - every breath brings pain;
- some muscles in the chest or back twitch spontaneously.
How to treat intercostal neuralgia at home
Before treating intercostal neuralgia, you need to make a correct diagnosis, because the symptoms are similar to heart disease, and if you are struggling with a real myocardial problem at home, you can get big problems.
If this is not the first attack and the doctor confirms the diagnosis, you can resort to home remedies, the most important of which are:
- 2-3 days of bed rest;
- to take a sedative to relieve pain and relieve spasms;
- use of local analgesics in gels and ointments;
- use of heating agents - mustard plasters and pepper plasters;
- Regeneration of nerve tissue by taking B vitamins;
- Fixation of the spine, a corset is used for this purpose, which keeps the body in the correct position and reduces the compression of the vertebrae.
Low back pain can actually go away in a few days, but you will have to deal with the cause itself for a few months to prevent recurrences.
Atypical symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis
In addition to the clinical manifestations, thoracic osteochondrosis may have atypical symptoms that are easy to confuse with other typical diseases. Among them:
- imitation of heart or chest pain in women, the discomfort can last for weeks, but additional examinations do not reveal problems with the heart and chest;
- localization in the area of pain on the right side, as in the case of hepatic dysfunction, gastritis or colitis, the diagnosis is complicated by deterioration of digestion due to failure to conduct impulses along the nerves, and it is difficult to determine the priority here;
- urinary and erectile dysfunction, which occurs due to a failure in the conduction of nerve endings.
But there is a hint - the exacerbation manifests itself close to night, after waking up it grows every hour due to constriction of the nerves in the back and passes after rest, there are disturbances in the work of the heart or other internal organs. noticeable throughout the day.
How to treat thoracic osteochondrosis?
Treatment of osteochondrosis in the thoracic breast is a long process, and it is impossible to restore the tissue, only to slow down the process and prevent its deterioration. However, this does not mean that you can calm down, reconcile and do nothing, realizing that the effort is meaningless, because treatment will allow you to live and work fully, and indifferent forms will significantly ruin your life, even if it does not end fatally.
Drug treatment
Drug treatment at the first symptoms of osteochondrosis involves the use of painkillers, for which it is better to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
They are prescribed for 1-2 weeks, during which time the pain usually subsides.
You can combine pills, capsules or suppositories with local analgesics or compresses (although they can cause allergies, you should drip them on a small area of skin and wait half an hour before use), similar ointments are also suitable.
Sometimes anti-inflammatory drugs become weak with special strength pains, and then analgesics in the form of drops are saved.
In some cases, you have to inject painkillers along the spine, the procedure is called paravertebral block and is performed by a doctor in a hospital.
It is then used to relax muscle relaxants, prescribe anti-edema diuretics around nerve endings, and restore blood circulation and tissue regeneration cups. You should take chondroprotectors for several months to prevent future recurrences.
Home treatment
At home, you can use many non-drug methods to treat osteochondrosis:
- massage;
- Sports therapy;
- stretching exercises;
- compresses and infusions to normalize metabolism in the spine.
As for the last point, here you can advise such folk remedies:
- rub with calendula tincture, take 200 grams of vodka, triple alcohol and camphor alcohol per 100 grams of flowers, insist 14 days and wrap the affected area with a warm scarf before going to bed;
- mix equal amounts of orange peel and lemon balm and pour a glass of boiling water, leave for an hour, strain, add 1 teaspoon each. Drink a glass of valerian and honey tincture, twice a day for a month.
Exercises for the thoracic region
Perhaps the most effective way to prevent further complications are exercises for osteochondrosis in the thoracic region.
Gymnastics eliminates stiffness, relaxes and strengthens muscles and increases physical activity. Regular and regular exercise accelerates blood circulation, eliminates inflammation of the nerve roots, reduces stress on the spine, and this exercise therapy is suitable not only in the thoracic region, but also in any part of the spine.
However, doctors do not recommend using such exercises during a period of severe exacerbation, with general ill health, coordination problems, high blood pressure and arrhythmias.
It is better to take a shower before training, massage and warm up your muscles.
So, the best exercises:
- raise your shoulders 10 times in a row;
- freeze at extreme points for a few seconds and turn your head to the side;
- put your hands behind your shoulder blades, bend over and freeze for 10 seconds;
- in a standing position, bend to the side by touching the knee with your shoulder, repeat in the other direction;
- while lying on the floor, we placed a roll under the thoracic region, put our hands behind our heads and raised our shoulders, then raised the roll slightly upwards, this movement is intended to extend this part of the spine;
- we lie on our stomachs and raise our mattress above the floor, first extending our arms forward, then extending our arms to the sides, and finally locking what we have tied behind us.
Such a charge helps to forget about back problems for months.
Massage
In osteochondrosis of the chest, massage helps to reduce pain, improve blood circulation and lymph flow, relieve muscle spasms, improve tone and strengthen trophism in the intervertebral cartilage.
As a rule, the course does not start immediately on the first day, but after 3-4 days, when the main unpleasant sensations are already gone, rarely a masseur can help during the flare-up.
The first sessions should be performed gently, without excessive pressure on the tissues; Both skilled hands and special massage devices are suitable as tools. Massage is not worth it without proper experience and education - you can only aggravate the problem, so do not spare a course from a specialist.
Manual therapy
At first glance, manual therapy is similar to massage - the same rubbing with your hands, but in fact a therapist, unlike a massage therapist, affects the vertebrae themselves, which require more strength and skill, not the muscles and skin. .
Uses percussion techniques, variable muscle tension and relaxation, spinal flexion to eliminate spinal disorders and instrumental methods in the treatment of elderly patients.
The hand therapist has the ability to improve the tone of the back muscles, restore the mobility of the spine, correct the curvature and elongation of the vertebrae, and improve blood circulation.
Prevention is the best treatment
You need to make an effort to prevent this unpleasant disease, but it's worth it. Recommendation:
- control the weight, as extra pounds are an additional burden for the spine;
- eat well and varied;
- avoid spinal hypothermia;
- playing sports, especially swimming in sedentary work is perfect;
- take a break from work and warm up (some exercises will be done from the above complex);
- change poses when you're on the computer for a long time, a table;
- Avoid excessive stress on the spine.
Nutrition regulation
The condition of joints, blood vessels and bones depends directly on nutrition, and if signs of osteochondrosis appear, it is worth correcting. Thus, it is worth excluding the following:
- smoked meats that bind the body;
- fried, causing the appearance of extra pounds;
- sweet;
- soda, especially sweet.
Instead:
- boiled meat and broths from pork, chicken and rabbit;
- vegetables;
- greens;
- dairy products, especially kefir, cheese and cottage cheese;
- boiled fish at least once a week;
- fruits, apples are better.
Correct postures in a dream
Chest osteochondrosis dictates its own rules, even in sleep, and requires you to choose the most appropriate postures. You will have to give up your favorite rest on your stomach - in this case, the head is thrown back and the blood vessels constrict and disrupt blood circulation in the brain.
The best poses for the disease are:
- on the side, when all organs and limbs are at rest and not compressed;
- in the back;
- In the fetal position with the chest raised with bent legs, the back muscles relax well inside.
I note that no less attention will be paid to the bed, it should have a firm base, a firm orthopedic mattress and a small pillow on which only the shoulderless head is placed, supported at body level. We have to say goodbye to our favorite soft mattress and a big pillow.
Sitting posture
Sitting with chronic osteochondrosis should be so proper! Recommendations to be strictly followed:
- avoid upholstered furniture;
- choose a chair where the legs will reach the ground and the depth will reach 2/3 of the thigh;
- there should be plenty of space under the table when sitting so that you do not have to bend your legs;
- change your position, warm up, walk with a long sitting every 10-15 minutes;
- make sure the back is facing backwards;
- do not bend forward to avoid muscle tension;
- while driving, place a roller under the lower back to maintain physiological flexion;
- Change your position every hour while relaxing on the couch or bed, relax your back muscles and stretch.
Osteochondrosis is not fatal, but a very unpleasant disease that needs to be controlled from the first manifestations. Now you know what to look for, how to recognize multiple symptoms, what exercises to do with osteochondrosis, and how to beat it. Be courageous and be healthy!