We are sure you have read and heard that osteochondrosis of the lower back often affects bank and office workers, programmers and representatives of heavy physical labor. This is true, but the whole truth is that today it is hardly possible to find at least one type of activity that is not associated with the risk of developing this disease.
Why is that? Osteochondrosis of the lower back is a kind of "tax on standing walking", a tribute that each of us must pay to nature. The reason for degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc lies not so much in the increased loads on its nucleus pulposus, but in the peculiarities of the blood supply to these structures.
Around the twentieth year of life, the arteries that supply the fibrocartilaginous tissues of the IVD in adolescence are obliterated, and for all the remaining years, the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus receive nutrients exclusively by diffusion, and thisis clearly not enough! Trace elements, polysaccharides, amino acids and other structural components enter the chondrocytes (cells that synthesize the interstitial substance of the disc) in extremely limited quantities, which creates a fertile ground for the development of dystrophic processes.
As part of our professional activities, we regularly sow seeds in this fertile soil. We sit in the wrong position, lift weights incorrectly, move around a bit, and spend a lot of time behind the wheel or behind a computer screen. All other things being equal, such a form of physical activity would "escape us", but under conditions of limited supply of cartilage structures in IVD degenerative processes inevitably develop.
How does osteochondrosis of the lower back manifest itself?
The first manifestation of osteochondrosis of the lumbar region is pain syndrome. Usually, for the first time, a "lucky man" is struck by a sharp pain in his back, which stabs his body with a dagger. Pain occurs after an involuntary torsion of the trunk, tilting or hypothermia. There is no way to endure such pain - she literally knits a person by the hands of his legs and chains him to bed.
What changes occur in the spine against the background of pain syndrome? To reduce pain, the nervous system sends stimulating signals to the deep muscles of the back. Strengthening muscle tone helps reduce mobility in the affected segment of the spine, which for a while reduces the severity of pain. In the future, myofixation ceases to exert a compensatory function, and such a muscle-tonic imbalance only intensifies the pain.
When examining such a patient, the neuropathologist will detect signs of fixation syndrome or objective symptoms of the disease - changes in statics and dynamics. By changes in the statics of osteochondrosis of the lower back is meant a flattening or intensification of the physiological curvature (lordosis) and the appearance of a pathological curvature towards pain (scoliosis). Dynamic symptoms of the disease are a strong limitation of mobility (up to complete immobilization) in the affected segment.
All of these changes can be confirmed using spondylography (x-ray of the spine) and more modern research methods such as CT scans and MRI scans. The images also show a decrease in disc height in the area of clinically significant PDS, hernial protrusion, osteophytes.
Osteochondrosis of the lower back, treatment
Fixation and pain syndrome associated with morphological signs on diagnostic images form a complete picture of vertebral syndrome, which is caused by osteochondrosis of the lower back. The next question we ask the doctor after completing the diagnostic phase is how to treat the disease?
Of course, it is not always the disease that needs to be cured, but the patient, but we will not escape philosophical discussions. And we will solve more urgent problems - first we will have to overcome the pain syndrome. To do this, we need drugs with systemic and topical action, such as NSAIDs, corticosteroid hormones, muscle relaxants, and maybe even antidepressants. After relief from the pain syndrome comes the turn of conservative treatment methods.
If you have been diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the lower back, the treatment will take a long time and you must prepare yourself morally and financially for it. De facto and de jure, it is impossible to completely defeat the disease, so with some frequency you will have to see a doctor for the rest of your life.
The treatment algorithm is always individual, and it is developed by the attending physician who knows the history of the disease, we will only list the possible directions of treatment. Reflexology has a positive effect, among the methods of which acupuncture is in the first place. Some specialists advocate traction therapy, although other schools of vertebrology deny this technique. It is worth trying massage therapy, you should definitely include back exercises (LFK) in your rehabilitation program, you can also resort to the help of qualified chiropractors.
In 90 cases out of 100 methods of conservative treatment are sufficient to bring the disease under control, the remaining ten patients are indicated for surgical treatment. In the absence of absolute indications for surgery (severe spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis), treatment by minimally invasive surgery is possible. If the degree of morphological change in the spine has reached a critical level, modern methods of disc reconstruction using implants are used.