Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is much less common than cervical or lumbar. This is due to the fact that the vertebrae in the thoracic region are much more tightly connected to each other, and the movement of the joints is minimal. In addition, this part of the spine has muscular protection and is fixed more rigidly by the ribs.
However, osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is one such disease, the treatment of which should not be postponed until later, as this can lead to rather undesirable consequences.
Causes of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The main reason is the dystrophic-degenerative changes that occur in the intervertebral discs. This may be due to the presence of scoliosis or the following factors:
- Inheritance
- Eating and metabolic disorders
- Overweight
- Increased physical activity
- Physical inactivity, prolonged stay in one position
- Spine injury
- Nervous effort
- Old age
- to smoke
- Hypothermia
All these factors affect the nutrition of the intervertebral discs, which leads to metabolic disorders and the onset of degenerative transformations in them.
Symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
A similar pathology makes itself felt by painful sensations.
They are of two types:
- Dorsago or low back pain in the chest. This is a sudden, sharp and severe pain that occurs in the spine when trying to stand up after being in the same position for a long time, usually long work on a table in an inclined position of the body. Pain is also felt when breathing, the muscles are in a state of tension, movements in the thoracic and adjacent spine are limited.
- Back pain (back pain). In this case, the pain is not so pronounced, at rest it causes only slight discomfort. But when you try to bend over or take a deep breath, it gets stronger. In this state, the mobility of the spine decreases, the back muscles are tense.
- With the defeat of the first root, a decrease in sensitivity occurs, and pain occurs in the upper thoracic vertebra, spreading in the suprascapular region to the elbow joint.
- If there is a compression of 2-6 roots, the pain is concentrated in the ribs and spreads from the spine to the interscapular and axillary regions.
- Compression of the seventh and eighth roots leads to tension in the muscles of this area and to the occurrence of painful sensations of a cintural nature from the costal-vertebral joints to the epigastric region.
- The defeat of the roots 9 and 10 causes pain in the lower thoracic vertebrae, spreading to the navel, 11 and 12 - below the navel.
Signs of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine may manifest with pain between the ribs. This is due to compression of the nerve roots, which results in decreased sensitivity and limited mobility.
Visceral manifestations of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Radicular syndromes are quite often accompanied by complaints about internal organs:
- The defeat of the upper thoracic roots can be accompanied by pain in the esophagus and pharynx, there is a feeling of the appearance of a foreign body there. These symptoms can occur periodically or be constant, and when you press on the area of the spine affected by osteochondrosis, it becomes stronger.
- If the middle thoracic roots are affected, there is discomfort and pain in the stomach, aggravated by prolonged standing face up on a hard surface and movement in the corresponding part of the spine.
- If the pathological changes occurred later, there is discomfort in the duodenum, which intensifies during coughing or sneezing, torso rotation or prolonged sitting.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic region can cause the stomach to rupture. In this case we have:
- Nausea
- Stomach ache
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- pain in the left hypochondrium
- Flatulence
- Possible vomiting
In connection with the disruption of the normal functioning of the duodenum, the following may occur:
- Pain in the epigastric region and in the back
- burp
- Nausea
- Heaviness in the right hypochondrium
- Sometimes bloating and vomiting
Quite often, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine can cause the onset of symptoms characteristic of heart disease:
- Chest on fire to the left
- Sharp, burning, pressing pain of the heart
- Feeling of constriction in the throat
Osteochondrosis can cause spasm of the larynx (laryngospasm), during which breathing becomes difficult and becomes wheezing, coughing can occur. In this case, it is very important to determine whether these symptoms are not lung disease.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Due to the fact that a variety of pathologies can be masked by this disease, it is necessary to be examined by a neurologist, who, after the examination, will provide indications for the following studies:
- X-ray
- CT (computed tomography)
- magnetic resonance
As a rule, this is enough to identify the pathology and make a diagnosis.
In the treatment of osteochondrosis, the main objectives are:
- Relieve pain
- Restores the functions of the spinal roots
- Slows down the dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs
For this, the following procedures are quite effective:
- Vacuum and laser therapy
- Acupuncture
- Whirlpools
- electrophoresis
- Inductometry
- Massage
- Traction (traction)
- Magneto and pharmacopuncture
- Physical therapy
Drug therapy for osteochondrosis:
- NSAIDs
- Chondroprotector
- ointments
- Muscle relaxants, whose action is aimed at relieving muscle spasms
If the listed methods have not led to a positive result, then the treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is performed surgically.
The operation consists of two phases:
- Removal of the cause of pain (decompression).
- Discectomy: removal of an intervertebral disc or only part of it.
- Foraminotomy: widening of the root canal to prevent compression of the nerve by a disc or bone spur.
- Facetectomy - removal of the joint facets located between the processes of the vertebrae of the joints to eliminate the entrapment of nerve fibers.
- Laminectomy: The back of the vertebra is removed, which compresses the spinal cord during deformation.
- Laminotomy - the difference from the previous operation is the removal of a fragment of the back of the vertebra.
- Corpectomy - removal of one vertebra and adjacent discs with the insertion of a bone implant.
- Stabilization of the spine. When a vertebra or disc is removed, the supporting structure of the human body is disturbed, which can lead to the appearance of serious neurological conditions. To avoid negative consequences, the vertebrae must be repaired. Most often, the method of vertebral fusion (spinal fusion) is used, in which conditions are created for the fusion of the bones of the spine. The resulting voids are filled with grafts from the patient's or donor's bone, as well as special biological substances that stimulate the restoration of bone tissue.
Treatment of osteochondrosis with alternative methods
In this case, it should be about pain relief, which can only be used in conjunction with a comprehensive treatment. For this, various herbs are used that have anti-inflammatory, local anesthetic and sedative properties.
To consolidate the positive result of the treatment, it is necessary to eat well, try to avoid stressful situations and reasonable physical activity. In this case, osteochondrosis will bother you much less often.