Spondylarthrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic disease of the facet intervertebral joints.
The basis of spondylarthrosis is the damage of all joint structures: articular cartilage, subchondral bone parts, joint ligaments and capsules, and short muscles surrounding the joint.
Very often, spondylarthrosis is combined with another degenerative disease affecting the vertebrae itself, spondylosis. Spondylosis and spondylarthrosis accompany each other and together with osteochondrosis constitute the orthopedic triad “SOS” - a combination of these three processes simultaneously: C - spondylarthrosis, O - osteochondrosis, C - spondylosis.
Spine spondylarthrosis is not the elderly disease only; it affects young people in 25-30% of cases.
The most common causes of spondylarthrosis are: spinal injuries, metabolic disorders, static and dynamic spinal loads, which occur not only during heavy physical work, but also during prolonged stay in a forced, non-physiological posture, resulting in uneven load on individual parts of the spinal motor segment. The disease formation also depends on the overall physical development of the person and the body mass.
Following anomalies of spinal development contribute to an early occurrence of spondylarthrosis:
- lumbalization (the existence of 6 lumbar vertebrae instead of 5);
- sacralization (fusion of the fifth lumbar vertebrae with the first sacral);
- asymmetrically located zygapophysial joints (violation of articular tropism);
- cleft lumbar vertebrae arcs (Spina bifida occulta).
In addition, spondylarthrosis often develops on the background of spondylolisthesis (displacement of the vertebrae relative to each other).
Osteochondrosis can also cause spondylarthrosis. With a degenerative intervertebral disc lesion, static and motility changes in the clinically significant vertebral motor segment and a tonic imbalance of the deep spine muscles (spinal myofixation) appears.
Cervical spine Spondylarthrosis
Pain syndromes of cervical spondylarthrosis can appear in the neck, back of the neck, shoulders, shoulder blades or hands. Pain can be both temporary and permanent.
As a rule, the patient notices that the pain nature depends on the head position, the speed of neck rotation, but in the final stages the pain remains in peace.
Problems gradually begin to manifest themselves at night, when finding a comfortable position for the head and neck becomes more and more problematic. Sometimes a person does not sleep well or is constantly awakened from pronounced pain.
Moreover, quite often there is neck and shoulder girdle numbness, cervical spine and shoulders limited mobility (especially after awakening). Dysfunction of the organs of vision, tinnitus, imbalance, dizziness, and pressure problems accede.
Gradually, the general well-being of a person with constant lack of sleep or pain from spondylarthrosis begins to deteriorate.
Neck sspondylarthrosis (cervico-arthrosis), depending on the type of affected joint is divided into:
- spondylarthrosis of the 1st cervical vertebra;
- spondylarthrosis of the 2nd (axial) cervical vertebra;
- uncovertebral spondylarthrosis.
Thoracic spine spondylarthrosis
Thoracic spine spondylarthrosis is less common than any other spinal spondylarthrosis. Pain syndrome in this case occurs while moving or changing body position (bending or turning) and decreases at rest.
Often there is interscapular sympatalgia - dull, aching or burning, excruciating pain resulting from the defeat of the sympathetic nervous system.
As the disease progresses, “morning stiffness” is added to the pain syndrome.
Lumbar spine spondylarthrosis
For patients with arthritic changes of the lumbar spine, morning stiffness is characteristic, which decreases after warming up and rubbing the lumbar spine. Pain syndrome may increase with weather changing. At the same time, the aggravation of the pain syndrome can be “mechanical” and can be caused by the load - in such cases the symptoms increase during the day. The pain disappears when the patient lays on a flat surface, slightly bending his/her legs at the knee and hip joints. The pain can worsen with prolonged standing, after walking long distances, especially when a person wears high-heeled shoes, as well as after going down the slope. Increased pain can occur during activities associated with posterior deflection (for example, hanging clothes, viewing pictures, or performing actions on objects located above the head).
The pain originates in the lumbar intervertebral joints and is felt in the lower back, radiating to the buttocks, groin, lower abdomen, and sometimes to the scrotum. Patients describe it as diffuse and diffuse and indicate its localization, putting the palm to the sore spot, unlike patients with radicular syndromes who are able to delineate the boundaries of the affected dermatomes with one finger.
How to treat spinal spondylarthrosis?
Treatment of spondylarthrosis provides a pronounced positive result only in the early stages of the disease. If the disease has passed into the final stage with the appearance of deformities and ossification, then recovery is very difficult. In such cases, the only way out is to count on long-term remission, reduction of pain and slowing down the processes of further degeneration. In this regard, the thoracic spine spondylarthrosis can be especially insidious, the treatment of which often begins in the late stages due to asymptomatic, often hidden, course of disease in the initial stages. Treatment of spinal spondylarthrosis should be carried out necessarily and timely, and the sooner you contact specialists, the more likely you get rid of back pain.
Like any chronic degenerative spinal disease, spondylarthrosis requires a comprehensive and individual therapeutic approach. The doctors of the Bersenev's Medical Centre follow exactly this treatment tactic, combining metameric injections with additional physiotherapy methods, metameric massage, and therapeutic gymnastics. And with such a disease as lumbar spine spondylarthrosis, the treatment can also include orthopaedic correction methods.
The usage of metameric technologies allows to significantly improving the condition of vertebrae joints and intervertebral discs, to establish the metabolic processes in the affected vertebral-motor segments, to prevent the occurrence of unfavourable consequences and complications of spondylarthrosis. In addition, with such pathology as cervical spondylarthrosis the treatment will be directed also at the normalization of the vertebral arteries functioning and cerebral circulation improvement in general.
To make an appointment for the consultation, diagnostics and treatment session, please call (044) 238-22-31. The booking is carried out by previous appointment.
We are located at: Kiev, Bul’varno-Kudriavs’ka Str., 10-B.
Remember that the sooner you begin to treat spondylarthrosis and entrust your health to professionals, the greater the chances of a successful result.
