Signs of severe cervical osteochondrosis usually take the patient by surprise, although the preconditions for the disease are observed long before the onset of the main symptoms and result from degenerative changes in the structure of the vertebrae. Most often, the nerve roots of the C5, C6, C7 levels (cervical spine) are affected.
Clinical manifestations
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are divided into root and reflex.
Reflex syndrome
Lumbago is characteristic of reflex symptoms. Their main feature is the sudden appearance of awkward movement, shaking or prolonged presence of the head in one position. Lumbago of the cervical spine literally hits a person from a rut, movement becomes limited, the patient assumes a forced position due to severe pain.
Frequent patient complaints:
- constricting headaches that radiate to the temples or eyeballs;
- decreased visual acuity, in front of the eyes as if "everything was floating";
- possible pressure increase.
Vertebral artery syndrome occurs when the nerve plexus is irritated, which is often misdiagnosed as a stroke. Manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis with a similar syndrome are frequent dizziness that occurs with a sharp turn of the head, almost always accompanied by an unpleasant feeling of nausea and even vomiting.
It is important to exclude stroke when diagnosing, because the treatment of osteochondrosis is fundamentally different from the treatment of diseases of the vascular system.
With a cardialgic symptom in the clinic of reflex syndromes in cervical osteochondrosis, the patient is characterized by sensations reminiscent of an attack of angina pectoris, but difficulties in accurately diagnosing the disease are usually not observed, because the cardialgic symptom is accompanied by a number of symptoms characteristic of osteochondrosis of the spine.
Radicular syndrome
Signs of cervical osteochondrosis in radicular syndrome appear in direct proportion to the "number" of the compressed nerve.
Symptoms, sensory and motor changes depend on the affected nerve root:
- C1- there is a violation of sensitivity in the occipital region;
- C2- the patient feels pain in the parietal and occipital regions;
- C3- pain appears in the half of the neck where the offense took place. Symptoms: decreased sensitivity, disturbance of the work and touch of the tongue, speech disturbances;
- C4- there is pain in the shoulder-scapular region, altered tenderness, it can hurt the heart and liver;
- C5- the patient does not feel the shoulder well on its external surface, worries about pain in this area;
- C6- pain in osteochondrosis at the level of the 6th vertebra extends to the forearm, scapula, radial surface and "descends" tothumb of the hand;
- C7- the pain "spreads" from the neck to the scapula, passes along the back of the shoulder and forearm, goes to 2-4 fingersof the hand, the tenderness in this area worsens;
- C8- the pain is localized from the neck to the shoulder and further to the little finger.
Inseparable pathological link
VSD and cervical osteochondrosis are closely related, and vegetative-vascular dystonia can occur as a result of damage to the cartilage of the cervical joint, which relaxes the human nervous system. Dystonia and osteochondrosis, detected at the same time, can be a common disease or VSD occurs for common reasons.
Osteochondrosis is one of the factors that causes VSD, but the second need not be the result of the first.
Vegeto-vascular dystonia is often manifested by different types of osteochondrosis, especially in disorders of the cervical spine. But it can also occur as a result of injury, compression of nerves in the cervical spine, worsening blood flow, and increased pressure inside the skull.
Diagnostic errors
VSD, osteochondrosis, and pain in the chest region are treated fundamentally differently. Expensive (and often unnecessary) tests show nothing, except for problems in the cervicothoracic region, disturbances in the work of blood vessels. In this case, the treatment often remains the same - heart complexes, vitamins, antidepressants. Chiropractors take the pain away, put the patient in an optimistic mood, but panic attacks, stress and fatigue are not going anywhere.
As more and more people fall victim to inappropriate therapy, panic attacks (or an attack of VSD) are becoming almost the norm for them, but still, many patients prefer self-medication or a visit from "doctors ”whose activities are not aimed at getting rid of the disease, but solely for self-enrichment.
Groups of characteristic manifestations
The main clinical signs of cervical osteochondrosis can be divided into several groups:
- first.Neurological symptoms occur as a result of complications of cervical osteochondrosis and direct pressure on the nerve roots, nerve plexuses;
- second.Symptoms appear when they directly affect the spinal cord;
- third.Symptoms occur in the brain, affecting its vessels, structures, membranes and trunk.
Each of the listed groups has its own clinical signs and pattern of manifestations, but there is a community of symptoms, thanks to which it is possible to make a correct diagnosis.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae often appear as a neurological complication, a hallmark of which is pain in the shoulder joint. This condition is called "periarthritis of the shoulder blade".
Distinctive features of compression of the spinal cord in the cervical region are volumetric lesions in the tissues and a sharp decrease in important functions. Skin and muscle sensitivity is impaired, paresis develops, and in complex pathological cases, paralysis.
Therefore, even at the first suspicion of cervical osteochondrosis, it is important to consult a specialist, perform the necessary diagnostic measures and undergo treatment. Remember that the pathology detected in time is eliminated quickly and without consequences.