If you are concerned about pain in the neck and have not yet gone to the doctor, you need to find out what the danger of cervical osteochondrosis is, what fatal consequences it can have. Awareness of the danger should prompt you to take action.
Cervical osteochondrosis is considered one of the most dangerous injuries of the spine, as a large number of vital vessels and arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area. That is why among the unpleasant consequences of this disease is vegetative-vascular dystonia, hypertension, lack of oxygen, etc.
Cervical osteochondrosis cannot go unnoticed, because in most cases it is accompanied by severe pain and vivid symptoms. Pain syndrome is an indicator that the work of the whole organism is interrupted. If you ignore these signs, the result can be disastrous, 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 in the cervical spine mainly affect its lower segments, which are associated with physiological characteristics and lifestyle. If you feel 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 function of the shoulder and elbow joints, the thyroid gland, the hands, the esophagus, and the trachea. The most common symptoms include pain in these areas of the body, hypothyroidism, seizures, numbness in the face and hands, coughing, and difficulty swallowing.
At the beginning of the disease, there are complaints of constant headaches, fatigue, hearing and vision problems, dizziness and fainting. Naturally, in parallel with this, there is always a sharp or pulling pain in the neck and shoulders. At this stage of the disease, it is important to visit a doctor, establish a diagnosis and start treatment, which includes both taking special drugs and physical therapy, manual therapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Otherwise, the disease will go to the next level, the 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 anywhere, hernias and bulges occur. These pathologies are chronic, sometimes they get worse and then disappear.If the attacks of acute pain pass and do not bother even for several weeks, this does not mean that the disease has receded and that everything disappears on its own. "By itself" can not happen, the treatment of bulges and then hernias requires complex treatment for several months or even years.
A herniated disc instantly involves bone growth of the vertebral bodies, the deposition of salt and sclerotic plaques in the vessels. Also, 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 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, the rhythm increases, the blood pressure rises automatically, and this, in turn, affects the vessels.
Violations of the vegetative-vascular system.
Medications: analgesics, antispasmodics, pain relieving ointments, etc. - without parallel physical activity, therapeutic massage, it 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 return, and the symptoms will sometimes intensify.
This threatens vegetative-vascular dystonia, which is more dangerous for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. As a result of the compression of the vertebral artery, which provides a third of the nutrition of the brain and other vital organs, the whole body suffers.
By the way, many doctors do not consider vegetative-vascular dystonia as 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 ailments.
First of all, the vasomotor center suffers, responsible for the regulation of vital functions, heart function and normal blood pressure. As a result of the lack of normal blood circulation in the upper parts of the body, a person feels numbness in the hands, notices breathing and swallowing difficulties. Impaired motor skills, possible disorientation in space, frequent fainting, "milkweed" on the head.
Due to poor blood flow, the heart is trying to make up for the "shortage" and therefore begins to work faster and faster.Due to this, blood pressure rises, heart rate increases, and tachycardia begins.After such an accelerated time of work, the heart muscle stretches.
Compression of blood vessels and the spread of complications to the spine adjacent to the neck causes dysfunction of many internal organs. In particular, the adrenal glands overwork and release the hormone cortisol above the norm.
Over time, the disease will progress. Tachycardia, nervous disorders, as well as hypertension and hypotension will bother a person who has started cervical osteochondrosis.
Hypertension and hypotension
Another dangerous thing of 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 develop into coronary heart disease, cause a heart attack, and lead to a stroke. As you know, mortality caused by cardiovascular diseases ranks first in the world.
As for hypotension, it cannot directly deprive the patient of his life, but it carries extremely unpleasant symptoms.
Hypotension is the 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, feels weak, chronic fatigue, bouts 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, throbbing in the temples, pressing in the occipital region.
In such a state, it is difficult to continue to do your work 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 have a complete examination, you run the risk of running the disease and suffering from serious disorders of all systems of the body, including the nervous.
Depression, panic, apathy, irritability, aggression - all these are indicators of a violation of the functioning of the human nervous system.
If the disease has passed to later stages, restricts your movements, restricts life activity, causes constant and incessant pain and endured all this time, then the appearance of neurosis is a completely natural symptom. Also, if cervical osteochondrosis is not treated, certain syndromes associated with dysfunction of certain organs can develop.
Syndromes
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can lead to the following unpleasant syndromes:
- Vestibular stem syndrome - it ruins a person's life and causes a great deal of inconvenience. The main symptoms include disorientation in space, loss of hearing and vision, and fainting. Hands may unintentionally loosen, weakness in the legs will appear.
- Due to the fact that the vestibular apparatus cannot function normally, cochlear syndrome can occur: it will make noise in the ears and darken in the eyes.
- Sometimes laryngeal syndrome occurs. Then it is difficult for the patient to swallow, it seems that there is a lump in the throat, the voice becomes calmer and hoarse.
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.
You 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.