If you are worried about neck pain, and still did not go to the doctor, you need to know what the danger of cervical osteochondrosis is, what fatal consequences it can bring. Awareness of the danger should prompt you to act.
Cervical osteochondrosis is considered one of the most dangerous injuries of the spine, since a large number of vessels, vital arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area. That is why among the unpleasant consequences of this disease are vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypertension, lack of oxygen, etc.
Cervical osteochondrosis cannot go unnoticed, because in most cases it is accompanied by severe pain and sharp symptoms. Pain syndrome is an indicator that the work of the whole organism is disturbed. If you ignore these signs, the result can be disastrous, ranging from irreversible damage to the spine and even 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 is associated with physiological characteristics and lifestyle. If you experience painful pain in the neck, shoulders, head, this indicates degenerative changes in that area, a 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, the thyroid gland, the hands, the esophagus, and the trachea. The most common symptoms are 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 visual impairment, dizziness, fainting. Naturally, along with this, there is always a sharp or pulling pain in the neck and shoulders. It is important at this stage of the disease to see a doctor, make a diagnosis and start treatment, which includes both taking special drugs and physiotherapy, manual therapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Otherwise, the disease will rise to the next level, complications of cervical osteochondrosis will begin, which are very difficult, if not impossible, to overcome.
Spinal injuries
If a nerve is pinched by vertebral discs in the spine at any site, hernias and protuberances 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 on its own. "On its own", he cannot pass, the treatment of protuberances, then hernias, requires complex treatment for several months or even years.
A herniated disc instantly leads to bone growth in the vertebral bodies, salt deposits and sclerotic plaques in the vessels. In addition, the danger comes from the transmitted vertebral arteries, which cannot fully transport oxygen and nutrients to the brain, inner ear and upper spinal cord. Oxygen deprivation occurs, resulting in 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 rate, blood pressure automatically rises, which, in turn, affects the vessels.
Violations of the vegetative-vascular system
Medicines - analgesics, antispasmodics, analgesic ointments, etc. - without parallel physical activity, therapeutic massage will relieve 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 reappear, and sometimes the symptoms will intensify.
This threatens with vegetative-vascular dystonia - which is most dangerous for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Due to compression of the vertebral artery, which provides a third of the nutrition for the brain and other vital organs, the whole 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 violations of other systems. And osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is often the main "provocateur" of cardiovascular disease.
First of all, the vasomotor center, responsible for the regulation of 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 his hands, notices difficulty in breathing and swallowing. Deterioration of motor skills, possible disorientation in space, frequent fainting, "cottoniness" in the head.
Due to poor blood circulation, the heart tries to compensate for the "shortage" and therefore begins to work faster and faster.Due to this, blood pressure rises, heart rate rises, and tachycardia begins.After some time of accelerated work, the heart muscle is stretched.
Compression of blood vessels and the spread of complications to the spine adjacent to the neck cause many internal organs to malfunction. In particular, the adrenal glands are overworked and release the hormone cortisol beyond the norm.
Over time, the disease will progress. Tachycardia, nervous disorders, as well as hypertension and hypotension will bother a person who has initiated 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 progress to coronary artery disease, cause a myocardial infarction and cause 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 causes extremely unpleasant symptoms.
Hypotension is oxygen deprivation 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 ensure the full functioning of the body.A person lacks vital energy, he feels weak, chronic fatigue, fits of nausea, drowsiness.Naturally, 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 gout syndrome - unexpected fainting, and one of the most common - headaches and disorders of the nervous system.
Headaches and nervous system disorders
What if you don't have the flu, acute respiratory infections, blood pressure is normal, but you still have 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, pulsation in the temples, pressure in the occipital region.
In such a state, it is difficult to continue to do your job with quality, to be in a good mood, to concentrate and to play sports. If you prefer to swallow pills by the head, pain relievers and not go to the doctor and have a full examination, you run the risk of contracting the disease and causing serious disorders in all systems of the body, includingthe nervous system.
Depression, panic, apathy, irritability, aggressiveness - these are all indicators of a violation of the functioning of the human nervous system.
If the disease has passed to later stages, restricts your movements, restricts the activity of life, causes constant and incessant pain, and you have endured all this time, then the appearance of neuroses is a completely natural symptom. . In addition, if cervical osteochondrosis is left untreated, certain syndromes associated with 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 include disorientation in space, loss of hearing and vision, and fainting. The hands can involuntarily loosen, weakness in the legs will appear.
- Due to the fact that the vestibular apparatus cannot function normally, cochlear syndrome may occur - it will make noise in the ears, darken in the eyes.
- Sometimes laryngeal syndrome occurs. Then 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 that this insidious disease leads to. Remember that at the first complaints and suspicions of a disease of the spine, contact a specialist.
He will conduct an examination, establish individual treatment.This is the only way to avoid the terrible consequences of cervical osteochondrosis, described in the article.And if you are in good health, and this disease did not affect you, then do not forget about preventive measures in order to stay healthy in the future.