If you are worried about neck pain and have not yet seen a doctor, you need to find out what the danger of cervical osteochondrosis is and what the fatal consequences it can have. Awareness of the danger must lead you to act.
Cervical osteochondrosis is considered to be one of the most dangerous lesions of the spine, as a large number of vessels and vital arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area. Because of this, the unpleasant consequences of this disease include vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypertension, lack of oxygen, etc.
Cervical osteochondrosis cannot go unnoticed, since in most cases it is accompanied by severe pain and vivid symptoms. The pain syndrome is an indicator that the work of the entire organism is disturbed. If you ignore these signs, the result can be catastrophic, from irreversible damage to the spine to death.
After reviewing the information below, you will find that the consequences of cervical osteochondrosis are really serious, which means that under no circumstances should you postpone a full-fledged complex treatment.
General clinical picture
Injuries to the cervical spine mainly affect the lower segments, which is related to physiological characteristics and lifestyle. If you experience aching pain in the neck, shoulders, head, it indicates degenerative changes in that area, pinched nerves, muscle spasms or compression of the vertebral artery.
Cervical osteochondrosis affects the segments of the spine that are responsible for the functioning of the shoulder and elbow joints, thyroid, hands, esophagus, and trachea. The most 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 headaches, fatigue, hearing and vision disorders, dizziness, fainting. At the same time, of course, there is always a stabbing or pulling pain in the neck and shoulder area. At this stage of the disease, it is important to see a doctor, make a diagnosis and begin treatment, which includes both the use of special drugs and physical therapy and manual therapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Otherwise, the disease will be raised to the next level, complications of cervical osteochondrosis will appear, which will be very difficult, if not impossible, to defeat.
Spinal lesions
If a nerve is pinched at any point by intervertebral discs in the spine, hernias and bulges occur.These pathologies are chronic, sometimes exacerbated, and then go away.If the severe attacks of pain pass and do not bother for several weeks, this does not mean that the disease has receded and everything will go away on its own. It cannot exist "alone"; the treatment of protrusions and then hernias requires complex treatment for several months or even years.
A herniated disc immediately leads to bone growth in the vertebral bodies, salt deposits and sclerotic plaques in the vessels. In addition, the danger comes from the transferred vertebral arteries, which cannot fully transport oxygen and nutrients to the brain, inner ear, and upper spinal cord. There is a lack of oxygen, which leads to dizziness, unconsciousness and constant fatigue. The pituitary gland suffers, there are disturbances in the work of the hypothalamus, breathing and swallowing become difficult.
The work of the heart becomes difficult, it begins to work faster, the rhythm increases, blood pressure automatically increases, and this, in turn, affects the vessels.
Injuries to the vegetative-vascular system
Medicines - analgesics, antispasmodics, pain reliever ointments, etc. - without parallel physical activity, therapeutic massage, relieves pain and other symptoms, but only for a short time. The body quickly gets used to the active ingredients, no longer reacts to them, the disease returns and the symptoms worsen at times.
This threatens vegetative-vascular dystonia - which is the most dangerous for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. The entire body suffers from the compression of the vertebral artery, which provides one-third of the nutrition of the brain and other vital organs.
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 violations of other systems. And osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is often the most important "provocateur" of cardiovascular diseases.
First of all, the vasomotor center, which is responsible for regulating vital functions, heart function and normal blood pressure, suffers. Due to the lack of normal blood circulation in the upper parts of the body, a person feels numbness in the hands, notices difficulty breathing and swallowing. Deterioration of motor skills, possible disorientation in space, frequent fainting, "cottoniness" in the head.
Due to the poor circulation, the heart tries to compensate for the "deficiency" and therefore begins to work faster and faster.Because of this, blood pressure rises, heart rate rises, and tachycardia begins.After a while of this accelerated work, the heart muscle will stretch.
The compression of blood vessels and the spread of complications to the spine adjacent to the neck leads to the dysfunction of many internal organs. In particular, the adrenal glands overload and release the hormone cortisol above the norm.
Over time, the disease will progress. Tachycardia, nervous disorders, and high blood pressure and hypotension will bother a person who has initiated cervical osteochondrosis.
Hypertension and hypotension
Another dangerous thing about cervical osteochondrosis is provocation of high blood pressure, one of the most terrible diseases. At first, it goes completely unnoticed by a person with no visible symptoms. Unfortunately, neck pain is rarely associated with high blood pressure. Without proper treatment, it can develop into coronary artery disease, cause myocardial infarction, and provoke stroke. As you know, mortality from cardiovascular disease is number one in the world.
Hypotension cannot directly deprive the patient of her life, but it does bring extremely unpleasant symptoms.
Hypotension is a lack of oxygen 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, he feels weak, chronic fatigue, nausea, drowsiness.Of course, he is always in a bad mood, his performance deteriorates. In the long term, there is a deterioration in memory, vision and hearing as well as poor concentration.
One of the most noticeable consequences of cervical osteochondrosis and the hypotension it causes is the so-called drop syndrome - unexpected fainting and one of the most common - headaches and disorders of the nervous system.
Headache and nervous system disorders
What if you have no flu, acute respiratory infections, blood pressure is normal, but still have constant headaches? It is quite possible that these are the consequences of cervical osteochondrosis. Nerves are pinched, blood vessels pinched, the brain is not supplied with blood in the required quantities, the result is pain and dizziness, pulsing in the temples, and pressure in the back of the head.
In such a state, it is difficult to keep doing your job with high quality, being in a good mood, concentrating, and doing sports. If you prefer to swallow pills from the head and pain relievers, rather than going to the doctor and doing a full examination, there is a risk that you will suffer from the disease and cause serious disorders in all body systems, including the nervous system.
Depression, panic, apathy, irritability, aggression - all these are signs of a violation of the functioning of the human nervous system.
If the disease has progressed to later stages, restricting your movements, restricting vital activity, causing constant pain, and having persevered all along, then the appearance of neuroses is a natural symptom. In addition, if cervical osteochondrosis is not treated, certain syndromes associated with the dysfunction of certain organs may develop.
Syndromes
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can lead to the following unpleasant syndromes:
- Vestibular trunk syndrome - spoils a person's life and causes a lot of inconvenience. The main symptoms are disorientation in space, loss of hearing and vision, and fainting. Hands can involuntarily loosen, weakness in the legs occurs.
- Due to the fact that the vestibular apparatus cannot function normally, cochlear syndrome may appear - it makes noise in the ears, darkens in the eyes.
- Sometimes larynx syndrome occurs. Then the patient finds it difficult to swallow, there seems to be a lump in the throat, the voice becomes softer and coarser.
The list of consequences of cervical osteochondrosis does not end here. The above is the main thing that leads to this insidious disease. Remember that at the first discomfort and suspicion of a spinal disease, you should contact a specialist.
He conducts an examination, creates an individual course of treatment.Only in this way can the terrible consequences of cervical osteochondrosis described in the article be avoided.And if you are healthy and you are not affected by this disease, do not forget to take preventive measures to stay healthy in the future.