What is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine?

The article explains in simple words what osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is.This information will help you understand what happens when discs are destroyed and how to provide effective and safe treatment.

According to medical statistics, more than 70% of the modern population knows what osteochondrosis is.A sedentary lifestyle, lack of regular physical activity, excessive calorie intake in food with a lack of essential microelements and vitamins - all this and much more leads to the fact that intervertebral discs begin to deteriorate at an early age.At first there is a dull, inconspicuous pain, then a stabbing, persistent pain in the lumbar region.A person cannot move independently;Any movement causes severe pain and discomfort.The innervation of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis is disrupted.

To understand what spinal osteochondrosis is, you need to have an idea of its structure and functions.Let's start with the second question.The spine is the supporting part of the human skeleton.The upper shoulder girdle, lower limbs and chest, as well as the skull are attached to it.The most important function of the spine is to ensure the safety of the spinal cord - the central part of the autonomic nervous system, which ensures the performance of the entire human body.

Anatomically speaking, the spine consists of two structural parts: the vertebral bodies with the arch and spinous processes and the intervertebral discs.The vertebral bodies make up 70-75% of the height of the spine, the intervertebral discs (depending on the patient's age) 25-30%.The shape of the intervertebral disc follows the shape of the vertebral body and the arcuate processes.The disc ensures an even distribution of the shock-absorbing load transmitted from the lower extremities and other parts of the body.It also protects the radicular nerves that exit the spinal cord.

What is lumbar osteochondrosis?It is a degenerative dystrophic destruction of the cartilage tissue of the fibrous ring of the intervertebral discs L5-L4, L4-L3, L3-L2, L2-L1.In total, the lumbar spine contains five vertebral bodies and four intervertebral discs that separate them from each other.The root nerves, which are responsible for the innervation of the following body parts, pass through the foramen openings in the vertebral bodies:

• L1 and L2 – abdominal organs and thighs;
• L3 – genitals, knees and bladder;
• L4 – legs, feet and prostate;
• L5 – toes, legs, feet.

The branches of these radicular nerves form the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the gluteal region to the back of the knee.There it divides into the tibialis and fibula branches and continues to innervate the lower leg and foot.In addition, individual branches of the radicular nerves in the lumbar spine are part of a network of nerves called the cauda equina.

With the development of osteochondrosis, a gradual disruption of innervation occurs.Diseases of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis may occur.In severe cases, there is atrophy of the muscle fibers of the lower extremities, partial paresis of the legs, etc.

In this article you will learn more about what osteochondrosis is, what its symptoms are and how it is treated.Here are some tips on what to do if you have such a diagnosis and which doctor you should contact to receive effective treatment.

What is osteochondrosis and what are its causes?

Modern science knows the answers to the questions of what osteochondrosis is and what causes it.Unfortunately, it is difficult to apply this knowledge in practice for effective prevention and treatment, since the patient must make every effort to fight the disease.

Anatomically and physiologically, the intervertebral disc body consists of almost 80% fluid.This circumstance makes it possible to effectively distribute the shock-absorbing load over the surface of the separated vertebral bodies.However, neither the annulus fibrosus nor the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc have their own capillary network.Therefore there is no blood supply here.All absorption of liquid and the necessary components dissolved in it occurs through diffuse exchange.It is only carried out if the surrounding muscles are subjected to sufficient physical strain.If the muscles of the back and lower back do not work, diffuse nutrition stops.

Pathology begins to develop:

• First, the fibrous ring simply becomes dehydrated and loses its elasticity;
• then the primary destruction of its surface begins, leading to inflammation (exacerbation of osteochondrosis) and the deposition of calcium salts to restore the integrity of the damaged tissue;
• the calcification film prevents further diffuse nutrition, therefore, even with active work of the surrounding muscles, spontaneous restoration of the tissue of the fibrous ring does not occur;
• The next stage is the collection of fluid from the nucleus pulposus, which is located within the fibrous ring.
• At this stage, the nucleus pulposus loses mass, no longer distributes the shock-absorbing load evenly, and the height of the intervertebral disc decreases.
• In the protrusion stage, the disc protrudes beyond the vertebral bodies and begins to exert pressure on the surrounding soft tissues and radicular nerves.This leads to constant pain and stiffness of movement.
• The third stage is the rupture of the fibrous ring (extrusion) and the release of part of the nucleus pulposus to the outside (herniated disc).

What reasons can provoke the development of this pathology of the spine:

1. Lack of sufficient and regular physical activity of the back muscles and lower back;
2. improper organization of sleeping and working rooms, if the microcirculation of blood and lymph fluid in the spine area is disturbed;
3. Disruption of metabolic processes in the body, the first sign of which is excess weight;
4. poor posture and curvature of the spine, leading to a change in the distribution of shock-absorbing load along the spine;
5. maintaining a sedentary lifestyle and sedentary work;
6. endocrine diseases, for example diabetes mellitus with accompanying angiopathy;
7. Back injuries (sprains of ligaments and tendons, muscle tears, displacements and subluxations of vertebral bodies, compression fractures and tears).

There are other reasons, but they are less common and do not pose such a pronounced danger as those listed above.

What is lumbar osteochondrosis?

What the disease osteochondrosis is is generally explained above.Now let's dwell a little on the question of what lumbar osteochondrosis is and why it is so common.In recent decades the disease has become increasingly younger.Previously, it was diagnosed in people who had exceeded the threshold of 40 years, but today the first signs of degenerative dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs can be found not only in 20-year-olds, but also in adolescents aged 14-16.

Of course, expanding the possibilities for early detection also plays a certain role.With the advent of MRI scans, early cases of the disease were detected more frequently.Therefore, patients learned about intervertebral osteochondrosis earlier due to the occurrence of severe pain.And now, when conducting examinations, it is possible to detect pathologies at an early stage of development.

The lower back is the most vulnerable part of the spine.This is where the maximum shock-absorbing load occurs when performing any body movements.Significant changes occur during pregnancy with displacements of the vertebral bodies, changes in posture and expansion of the intervertebral spaces.Therefore, for a woman, pregnancy is almost always the time when the spine begins to deteriorate.

What is grade 2 spinal osteochondrosis?This is a condition in which persistent clinical manifestations already appear and the patient is forced to seek medical help.In the second stage of development of degenerative dystrophic pathology, as a rule, there is a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and thinning of the tissue of the fibrous ring.

What is osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region? 

What is osteochondrosis of the sacral region can only be felt by patients under 25 years old.At this age, the vertebral bodies in the sacral spine completely fuse.Atrophy of the intervertebral discs.Therefore, clinical signs of inflammation can indicate completely different pathologies.

Much more often the question is asked about what lumbosacral osteochondrosis is, since it affects the intervertebral disc located between the sacral and lumbar regions.This is L5-S1 - it takes into account the conditional center of gravity of the human body and the maximum physical and shock-absorbing load.

It is important to understand what osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region is and how it can be effectively treated.First of all, all possible causes of pathology should be excluded.Then it is necessary to strengthen the tone of the muscles around the lower back.Treatment is best done with manual therapy and therapeutic exercises.

Signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis

Now you understand what osteochondrosis of the spine is, and when its symptoms appear, you can identify and eliminate the possible cause of pathological changes.

Many patients wonder what the signs of osteochondrosis are on x-rays and in the results of an MRI scan.In the images, the doctor can see cracks on the surface of the fibrous ring, a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and a change in its shape.These are the primary signs of osteochondrosis.

Clinical symptoms include: 

• pain in the lumbar region;
• Spread of pain along the surface of the thigh, leg and foot;
• decreased muscle strength in the lower extremities;
• Change in posture with straightening of the physiological curvature of the spine in the lumbar region;
• Stiffness of movements and limitation of their amplitude;
• Muscle tension in the lumbar area.

In advanced cases, numbness of the lower extremities, cramps, lumbago, etc. may occur.

What is polysegmental or common osteochondrosis?

The question of what polysegmental osteochondrosis is can be answered briefly.These are degenerative dystrophic changes that affect not one but several intervertebral discs.The same applies to common osteochondrosis of the spine.This is a condition in which pathological changes are detected not in one, but in several parts of the spine.For example, if a person only has two discs affected in the lumbar region, this is a polysegmental form of the disease.If a disc in the lumbar and lumbosacral area is affected, it is a common form.

What is radicular osteochondrosis (in simple language)

And now a few words about what radicular osteochondrosis is and why this condition is dangerous for human health.So, if you talk in simple words about what it is - osteochondrosis - you can determine that it is, in the truest sense of the word, a flattening of the lining between the vertebral bodies.

When moving or in a static posture, enormous pressure is observed on the spine due to the effect of gravity.Each vertebra above it exerts pressure on the one below.The intervertebral discs that separate them are in a compressed state.If they don't have enough fluids, they lose their resistance and tend to flatten.At the same time, they lose the ability to provide sufficient height of the intervertebral space so that the root nerves originating from the spinal cord are not subject to compression.

If the disc has lost its height and shape, the root nerve becomes pinched.Osteochondrosis with radicular syndrome occurs.It is accompanied by pronounced neurological manifestations in the form of numbness, paresis, paralysis, reduced muscle strength, the appearance of paresthesias, etc.

Effective treatment of osteochondrosis

We found out what osteochondrosis is, now we can talk about effective treatment of the disease.As has already become clear, for complete restoration of the intervertebral discs, it is necessary to restore the impaired diffuse nutrition of the cartilage tissue of the fibrous ring.This can only be achieved with the help of manual therapy and therapeutic exercises.There are no pharmacological drugs that could restore the diffuse nutrition of the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral discs.And injection of chondroprotectors without diffuse metabolism is useless.They do not penetrate the cartilage tissue.

For effective treatment it is necessary:

• Change your lifestyle, make it more active through sufficient physical activity and proper nutrition;
• Avoid extreme physical strain on the back muscles.
• Perform several spinal traction procedures to restore the physiological height of the intervertebral spaces.
• Visit an osteopath to restore the elasticity of cartilage tissue and its ability to diffusely exchange with muscle tissue.
• Conduct several massage sessions to improve tissue permeability and elasticity and restore microcirculation of blood and lymphatic fluid.
• Develop an individual course of therapeutic exercises with a vertebrologist.

Physiotherapy, exercise therapy, laser therapy and much more are also indicated.Treatment of osteochondrosis should be carried out under the supervision of a vertebral doctor or neurologist.