If you are worried about neck pain and have not yet gone to the doctor, you need to find out what the danger of cervical osteochondrosis is, to what fatal consequences it can lead. Awareness of the danger must motivate you to act.
Cervical osteochondrosis is considered to be one of the most dangerous injuries of the spine, as a huge number of vital vessels and arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area. That is why among the unpleasant consequences of this disease are vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypertension, oxygen starvation, etc.
Cervical osteochondrosis cannot go unnoticed, because in most cases it is accompanied by severe pain, vivid symptoms. Pain syndrome is an indicator that the work of the whole organism is disrupted. If you ignore these signs, the result can be disastrous, ranging from irreversible spinal damage to death.
After reviewing the information below, you will see that the consequences of cervical osteochondrosis are really serious, which means that in no case should you postpone a full-fledged complex treatment.
General clinical picture
Violations of the cervical spine mainly affect its lower segments, which are associated with physiological features and lifestyle. If you feel aching pain in the neck, shoulders, head, this indicates degenerative changes in this area, pinched nerve, muscle spasms or compression of the vertebral artery.
Cervical osteochondrosis affects the segments of the spine responsible for the functioning of the shoulder and elbow joints, thyroid, hands, esophagus and trachea. Common symptoms include pain in these areas of the body, hypothyroidism, seizures, numbness of the face and hands, cough, and difficulty swallowing.
At the very beginning of the disease, there are complaints of constant headache, fatigue, impaired hearing and vision, dizziness, fainting. Of course, parallel to this, there is always a sharp or pulling pain in the neck and shoulders. It is important at this stage of the disease to visit a doctor, establish a diagnosis and start a course of treatment, which includes both taking special medications and physiotherapy, manual therapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Otherwise, the disease will move to the next level, complications of cervical osteochondrosis will begin, which are very difficult, if not impossible, to defeat.
Spinal injuries
If a nerve is pinched by vertebral discs in the spine at any site, hernias and protrusions occur. These pathologies are chronic, sometimes exacerbated, then subside.If the acute pain attacks pass and do not bother even for several weeks, this does not mean that the disease has receded and everything goes away by itself. "Alone" cannot pass, the treatment of protrusions and therefore of hernias requires complex treatment for several months or even years.
A herniated disc instantly involves bone growth of the vertebral bodies, salt deposition, and sclerotic plaques in the vessels. In addition, the danger comes from the transmitted vertebral arteries, which cannot fully carry oxygen and nutrients to the brain, inner ear and upper spinal cord. Oxygen starvation occurs, leading to dizziness, loss of consciousness, and constant fatigue. The pituitary gland suffers, there are disturbances in the work of the hypothalamus, the process of breathing and swallowing becomes difficult.
The work of the heart becomes difficult, it begins to work faster, increasing the pace, blood pressure automatically increases, and this, in turn, affects the vessels.
Violations of the vegeto-vascular system
Medicines: analgesics, antispasmodics, pain relieving ointments, etc. - without parallel physical activity, therapeutic massage relieves pain and other symptoms, but only for a short period of time. The body will quickly get used to the active substances, stop responding to them, the disease will return, and the symptoms will sometimes intensify.
This threatens vegetative-vascular dystonia - what is most dangerous for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Due to the compression of the vertebral artery, which provides a third of the nutrition of the brain and other vital organs, the entire body suffers.
By the way, many doctors do not consider vegetative-vascular dystonia to be an independent disease. Experts are sure that this is only a consequence of breaches of other systems. And osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is often the main "provocateur" of cardiovascular disorders.
First of all, the vasomotor center suffers, which is responsible for regulating vital functions, heart function and normal blood pressure. Due to the lack of normal blood circulation in the upper parts of the body, a person experiences numbness in the hands, notices difficulty in breathing and swallowing. Deterioration of motor skills, possible disorientation in space, frequent fainting, "cottony" in the head.
Due to the poor blood flow, the heart is trying to compensate for the "deficiency" and therefore starts working faster and faster.Because of this, blood pressure rises, heart rate increases, and tachycardia begins.After some accelerated work, the heart muscle is stretched.
Compression of blood vessels and the spread of complications to the spine adjacent to the neck cause dysfunction of many internal organs. In particular, the adrenal glands work excessively and release the cortisol hormone in excess of normal.
Over time, the disease will progress. Tachycardia, nervous disorders, as well as hypertension and hypotension will bother a person who has launched cervical osteochondrosis.
Hypertension and hypotension
Another dangerous thing about cervical osteochondrosis is the provocation of hypertension, one of the most terrible diseases. Initially, it goes completely unnoticed by a person, with no visible symptoms. Unfortunately, neck pain is rarely associated with hypertension. Without proper treatment, it can turn into coronary heart disease, cause myocardial infarction, and result in a stroke. As you know, mortality from cardiovascular disease ranks first in the world.
As for hypotension, it is not able to directly deprive the patient of her life, but it carries extremely unpleasant symptoms.
Hypotension is oxygen deficiency caused by inadequate nutrition of the brain, cerebellum, and inner ear. Due to the fact that the brain receives little oxygen and other nutrients, it cannot guarantee the full functioning of the body.A person lacks vital energy, feels weak, chronic fatigue, bouts of nausea, drowsiness.Of course, he is constantly in a bad mood, his performance decreases. In the long term, there is a deterioration of memory, vision and hearing, loss of concentration.
One of the most striking consequences of cervical osteochondrosis and the hypotension caused by it is the so-called fall syndrome - unexpected fainting and one of the most common - headaches and disorders of the nervous system.
Headache and nervous system disorders
What if you don't have the flu, acute respiratory infections, blood pressure is normal, but still suffer from constant headaches? It is quite possible that these are the consequences of cervical osteochondrosis. Nerves are pinched, blood vessels are pinched, blood is not supplied to the brain in the required volumes, the result is pain and dizziness, throbbing in the temples, pressure in the occipital region.
In such a state, it is difficult to continue to do your job with high quality, be in a good mood, concentrate and play sports. If you prefer to swallow pills from the head, painkillers and not go to the doctor and conduct a full examination, you run the risk of contracting the disease and causing serious disorders of all systems of the body, including the nervous system.
Depression, panic, apathy, irritability, aggression - these are all indicators of a violation of the functioning of the human nervous system.
If the disease has passed into later stages, restricts your movements, limits the activity of life, causes constant incessant pain and you have endured all this time, then the appearance of neuroses is a completely natural symptom. Also, if cervical osteochondrosis is not treated, some syndromes associated with the dysfunction of certain organs can develop.
syndromes
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can lead to the following unpleasant syndromes:
- Vestibular Stem Syndrome - Ruins a person's life and causes a huge amount of inconvenience. The main symptoms include disorientation in space, loss of hearing and vision, and fainting. Hands may open involuntarily, weakness will appear in the legs.
- Due to the fact that the vestibular apparatus cannot function normally, cochlear syndrome can occur: it will make noise in the ears, darken in the eyes.
- Sometimes laryngeal syndrome occurs. So it is difficult for the patient to swallow, there seems to be a lump in the throat, the voice becomes calmer and coarser.
The list of consequences of cervical osteochondrosis does not end there. The above is the main thing this insidious disease leads to. Remember that at the first complaints and suspicions that you have a spinal disease, contact a specialist.
He will conduct an examination, draw up an individual course of treatment.This is the only way to avoid the terrible consequences of cervical osteochondrosis, described in the article.And if you are healthy and this ailment has not affected you, do not forget about preventive measures to stay healthy in the future.