We are sure that you have read and heard that bank and office workers, programmers and hard physical laborers are often affected by osteochondrosis of the lower back. This is true, but the whole truth is that today it is hardly possible to find at least one type of activity that is not associated with the risk of developing this disease.
Why so? Osteochondrosis of the lower back is a kind of "walking tax", a tribute that each of us must pay to nature. The reason for the degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc lies not so much in the increased stress on the nucleus pulposus, but in the particularities of the blood supply to these structures.
By around the age of twenties, the arteries that supply the fibrocartilaginous tissue of the IVD in adolescence are obliterated, and for all the remaining years the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus receive nutrients solely by diffusion, and this is clearly not enough! Trace elements, polysaccharides, amino acids and other structural components end up in extremely limited quantities in chondrocytes (cells that synthesize the interstitial substance of the disc), creating a fertile soil for the development of dystrophic processes.
As part of our professional activity, we regularly throw seeds into this fertile soil. We sit in the wrong position, lift weights incorrectly, move a little, and spend a lot of time behind the wheel or behind a computer monitor. If all other things are the same, then such form of physical activity would "get away with us", but in conditions of a limited supply of cartilage structures in IVD, degenerative processes inevitably develop.
How is osteochondrosis manifested in the lower back?
The first manifestation of lumbar osteochondrosis is pain syndrome. As a rule, a "lucky guy" is struck for the first time by a sharp pain in the back that pierces his body with a dagger. The pain occurs after accidental torsion of the torso, tilting, or hypothermia. There is no way of itEnduring pain - it literally knits a person by the hands of his legs and cuffs him to bed.
What changes occur in the spine against the background of pain syndrome? To relieve pain, the nervous system sends stimulating signals to the deep muscles of the back. Strengthening muscle tone helps reduce range of motion in the affected segment of the spine, reducing the severity of pain for some time. In the future, myofixation will no longer have a compensatory function, and such a muscle-strengthening imbalance will only increase the pain.
When examining such a patient, the neuropathologist recognizes signs of fixation syndrome or objective symptoms of the disease - changes in statics and dynamics. Static changes in osteochondrosis in the lower back area mean a flattening or intensification of the physiological curvature (lordosis) and the occurrence of a pathological curvature in the direction of pain (scoliosis). The dynamic symptoms of the disease are a severe limitation of mobility (up to complete immobilization) in the affected segment.
All of these changes can be confirmed by spondylography (x-ray of the spine) and more modern research methods such as computed tomography and MRI. The images also show a decrease in disc height in the area of clinically significant PDS, hernia protrusion, osteophytes.
Osteochondrosis of the lower back, treatment
The fixation and pain syndrome, combined with morphological signs on diagnostic images, gives a complete picture of the vertebral syndrome caused by osteochondrosis of the lower back. The next question we ask the doctor after completing the diagnostic phase is how to treat the disease.
Of course, it is not always the disease that has to be cured, but the patient, but we will not break away from philosophical discussions. And we will solve more pressing problems - first we have to overcome pain syndrome. To do this, we need drugs with systemic and local effects such as NSAIDs, corticosteroid hormones, muscle relaxants and possibly even antidepressants. After the pain syndrome has been relieved, it is the turn of conservative treatment methods.
If you have been diagnosed with lower back osteochondrosis, treatment is long and you should be prepared for it both morally and financially. De facto and de jure, it is impossible to completely overcome the disease, so you need to see a doctor with a certain frequency until the end of your days.
The treatment algorithm is always individual and is developed by the attending physician who knows the history of the disease. We will only list the possible directions of therapy. Reflexology has a positive effect, among the methods where acupuncture comes first. Some specialists advocate traction therapy, although other vertebrology schools oppose the technique. Massage therapy is worth trying. It is imperative that you include back exercises (LFK) in your rehabilitation program. You can also draw on the help of qualified chiropractors.
In 90 cases out of 100 conservative therapy methods are sufficient to bring the disease under control. The remaining ten patients are indicated for surgical treatment. In the absence of absolute indications for an operation (severe spondylolisthesis, stenosis of the spine), treatment with a minimally invasive operation is possible. When the degree of morphological changes in the spine has reached a critical level, modern methods of disc reconstruction using implants are used.