Сervical spine osteochondrosis

Cervical spine is the most vulnerable part of the spinal column, due to the anatomical features of the cervical vertebrae.

The cervical spine vertebrae are characterized by increased mobility; they are easily displaced as a result of loads or injuries, and also quickly undergo degenerative-dystrophic changes. Most often, cervical spine osteochondrosis affects the most mobile segments of the lower cervical spine.

Cervical spine osteochondrosis brings a lot of unpleasant sensations, and this is due to the involvement of nearby vessels and nerve trunks in the pathological process. The most important blood vessels of the neck are vertebral arteries (aa. vertebrales), which pass directly through the channels formed by cervical vertebrae holes, so their function directly depends on the cervical spine condition.

Cervical spine osteochondrosis is diagnosed at a fairly young and working age (between 20 and 40) and differs in clinical variety and severity of symptoms.

Depending on the anatomical structures involved in the process, there distinguished several groups of syndromes accompanying cervical spine osteochondrosis.

Syndrome is a certain combination of closely related symptoms characteristic of a particular disease. Since the symptoms of cervical spine osteochondrosis are united by a common pathogenesis, they can be clearly classified into 5 main groups:

1. Reflectory
2. Radicular
3. Radicular-vascular
4. Compression-spinal (cervical myelopathy)
5. Cerebral

The most common reflex syndrome is cervicalgia – a severe aching pain in the cervical spine, accompanied by a forced head fixation and neck muscles tension. Palpation shows tenderness of the spinous processes, paravertebral points and intervertebral discs. If the pain occurs acutely, it is a case cervical lumbago (cervicago). If the pain shoots up the arm, this refers to cervicobrachialgia, if it moves to the nape or temporal region, then cervicocranialgia is being diagnosed.

Radicular syndromes of cervical spine osteochondrosis result from spinal nerves compression; they are characterized by sharp acute pain, aggravated by head movements (while bending or turning). At rest, the pain is slightly reduced. Localization of the affected root can only be determined by a neurologist, given the patient’s complaints and data from a neurological examination.

Doctors of the “Bersenev’s Medical Centre” have decades of experience with such cervical spine osteochondrosis diseases, successfully applying the metameric approach in diagnostics and treatment.

Very often, vegetative-trophic disorders occur on the background of the radicular syndrome, which manifest themselves in the form of scapulohumeral periarthritis syndrome (“frozen” shoulder). In this situation, the patient complains of severe pain in the affected shoulder joint area, movement restriction, the impossibility of placing the arm backwards. Chronic humeroscapular periarthritis, which is combined with edema and other vegetative and trophic changes in the wrist and wrist joint area, is called Steinbroker’s syndrome. The nature of pain changes with the involvement of vegetative formations in the process – it acquires a burning character, accompanied by paresthesia, a feeling of “heat” or increased chilliness.
Compression-spinal syndromes in cervical osteochondrosis develop with the spinal cord compression and its vessels. Most often this is due to herniated disc, posterior osteophytes, and hypertrophied yellow ligament. The clinical picture is characterized by neck and shoulder area pain, flaccid paresis of the arms and spastic paresis of the legs, and sensitivity disorder. Cerebral syndromes in cervical spine osteochondrosis are caused by impaired blood circulation in the system of vertebral arteries supplying the brain stem with blood. Among cervical osteochondrosis cerebral complications the following main syndromes are distinguished:

•  Hypothalamic (diencephalic) syndrome

It is accompanied by increased irritability, sometimes even neurasthenia, fatigue, insomnia, superficial sleep, absent-mindedness. In more complex stages the anxiety, hands and feet numbness, sweating, irregular heartbeat, increased arterial pressure, chest tightness, and chills appear at more difficult stages.

 More information about the hypothalamic syndrome you can found in the section “What We Treat” (Diseases of the Autonomic Nervous System).

• “Cervical migraine” (posterior cervical sympathetic syndrome (Barre Syndrome)

It is characterized by severe headache in one half of the head, which is accompanied by dizziness, visual and hearing impairment, and head numbness.

• Syncope syndrome (drops syndrome)

It is characterized by the sudden fallings with loss of consciousness. After an attack, patients have a feeling of weakness and sharp weakness in the legs, headache, tinnitus, and seeing spots.

• Vestibular-stem and cochlear-stem syndromes

In this pathology, patients complain of dizziness, instability when walking, nausea, and even vomiting. There is noise and tinnitus, loss of hearing, feeling of congestion in the ear.

• Visual disorders

Patients notice a decrease in vision, the appearance of mist or veil, the flickering of “points”, “flies” before the eyes, a violation of focus, a feeling of tension arises, and sometimes pain in the eyes.

Unfortunately, many doctors are accustomed to underestimate osteochondrosis, so in most cases it becomes chronic. When the cervical spine is involved in the degenerative process, the brain blood circulation suffers, and the function of the upper limbs, hearing and vision are impaired, not to mention the permanent head, neck, hands pain in the. It must be remembered that a healthy neck is the key to normal brain function, so the cervical region needs special protection, prevention and timely treatment.

Treatment of cervical spine osteochondrosis should be complex and include both medicated (pathogenetic) therapy and physiotherapeutic intervention.

At “Bersenev’s Medical Centre” we apply the unique method of metameric treatment of cervical spine osteochondrosis and all associated complications accompanying this disease.

To make an appointment for the consultation, diagnostics and treatment session, please call (044) 238-22-31.