Clinical picture of cervical osteochondrosis

Cervical osteochondrosis means degenerative disc disease. The disease is accompanied by many different symptoms. The clinical situation develops as the disease progresses-each stage corresponds to certain signs and the intensity of their manifestations.

The degree (stage) symptoms of cervical chondropathy

Osteochondrosis is a progressive disease, so the clinical situation is gradually developing. This refers to the number of disease symptoms and the intensity of their manifestations. There are 4 stages of disease in total.

The first stageCervical osteochondrosis is the initial stage. The changes mainly occurred at the biochemical level. This stage of the disease is accompanied by mild or asymptomatic, so it is called preclinical. It has the following functions:

• The discomfort appears on the neck and can spread to the arms and shoulders, sometimes painful;
• Headache;
• The movement of the cervical spine is slightly restricted;
• The visual impairment disappeared quickly.
• Reduced sensitivity of the skin in the territorial area;
• Symptoms increase with head tilt.

The initial stage of osteochondrosis is ignored by many patients. The symptoms of the disease are usually attributed to age, fatigue, and stress.

The second stage of cervical osteochondrosisis ​​characterized by the development of protrusions. This stage involves dehydration of the intervertebral disc, reduced elasticity and height, and the appearance of fibrous annulus cracks. In this case, the disc herniated into the intervertebral canal.

This stage of the disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Severe neck pain, may creak;
• The painful sensation spread in nature, radiating under the shoulder bones.
• The pain will increase when the head is held in one position for a long time;
• The sensitivity of the shoulder and arm skin is significantly reduced;
• Frequent and persistent headaches;
Visual impairment, eyes flying;
• Tinnitus, ringing;
• Muscle weakness of the upper limbs;
• The sharpness of tendon reflex is reduced;
• The development of insomnia, other sleep disorders rarely occur;
• Lump in the throat, difficulty swallowing.

The second stage of cervical osteochondrosis is clearly manifested, so many patients consult a doctor at this stage. In this case, conservative treatment is sufficient.

The third stage of the diseaseis ​​characterized by the destruction of the annulus fibrosus and the formation of intervertebral hernias. At this stage, the spine is deformed and the vertebrae are displaced, with its weak fixation, subluxation and dislocation as the background.

This stage of the disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Severe sharp pain, which can spread to the heart;
• Partly or completely violates the skin sensitivity of the head, shoulders and arms;
• Paresis, paralysis of the upper limbs;
• There is almost no tendon reflex.

Finally,fourth stageosteochondrosis means replacing the disc tissue with scar tissue. At this stage, the remission of the disease usually occurs, but the pathological changes will spread to other structures of the spine. Therefore, the clinical signs of different stages of osteochondrosis can be observed at the same time.

General signs of cervical osteochondrosis

The clinical manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis are very diverse. This is due to impaired blood flow, involvement of the peripheral nervous system in pathological processes, possible compression and destruction of the integrity of the spinal cord. In this context, various symptoms will appear, but several common symptoms of the disease can be distinguished.

Pain

The symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are the main symptoms. The main part of the pain is the neck. Head and face pain was also observed. The painful sensation spreads to all parts of the body.

This function of pathology depends on the affected area:

• If the C4-C5 intervertebral disc is affected, the pain will radiate to the outer surface of the shoulder and the inner part of the shoulder bone;
• With C5-C6 intervertebral disc disease, the pain spreads to the side of the forearm, hand, thumb and index finger;
C6-C7 pathology is accompanied by pain in the back of the shoulder and forearm, and extends to the index and middle fingers.
• If the C7-Th1 disc is affected, the pain will radiate to the ring finger and little finger along the inner surface of the forearm and hand.

Decreased sensitivity and reflectivity

These symptoms occur in the context of a violation of nerve root innervation. There may be no pain. The characteristics of reduced sensitivity and reflex depend on the location of pathological changes:

• When a C4-C5 disc is affected, the sensitivity of the upper part of the outer shoulder will decrease. The biceps reflex is weakened.
C5-C6 intervertebral disc chondrosis is accompanied by reduced sensitivity on the side of the forearm, hand, thumb and index finger. The reflexes of the biceps muscle are also reduced.
• C6-C7 disc disease can reduce the sensitivity of index and middle fingers, back of hands and forearms. The triceps reflex is weakened.
• C7-Th1 disc failure is accompanied by decreased sensitivity of the ring finger, little finger, inner surface of the hand and forearm. The reflection is not affected.

Dizziness

This symptom usually develops in the initial stage of cervical osteochondrosis and is one of the first manifestations of the disease. Dizziness is caused by a decrease in the amount of oxygen supplied to the semicircular tube of the inner ear. They are located in the brain and provide balance. While dizzy, the pupils may fluctuate horizontally or vertically.

Disgusting

Due to osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, the blood flowing through the cerebral vessels is disturbed. This can cause nausea and airiness. These symptoms usually occur when turning and tilting the head, and sometimes also occur during normal walking. Symptoms may worsen and even vomiting may occur.

In the context of such signs, the following consequences may result:

• Loss of appetite;
• lose weight;
• Undernutrition, malnutrition.

Insufficient air

Due to cervical osteochondrosis, the nerve may be stimulated, thereby regulating the depth and frequency of breathing. With the exhaustion of this nerve, it is difficult for a person to breathe, unable to breathe fully. In this context, insufficient oxygen can cause shortness of breath and even suffocation.

During night sleep, especially when the head is uncomfortable, there is a risk that breathing will stop. Usually, these attacks are accompanied by s. In the absence of fresh air, hypoxia will occur, in which case the following symptoms will occur:

• Feel tired even after sleeping time;
• Discomfort;
• Weaknesses;
• Reduces concentration and memory.

Hearing impairment, noise and tinnitus

In the context of circulatory diseases of cervical osteochondrosis, the vestibular organs are damaged. This leads to inner ear dysfunction and causes cochlear syndrome, also known as cochlear syndrome. It has the following symptoms:

• tinnitus;
• ring;
• General hearing loss.

indicates that a unique feature of cervical osteochondrosis is the occurrence of tinnitus in the background of a forced position for a long time.

Syncope

This symptom occurs due to abnormal blood flow caused by cervical osteochondrosis. Under normal circumstances, blood flows continuously through the cerebral arteries. In osteochondrosis, the skeletal process of the vertebrae deforms and stimulates nerve endings. This resulted in significant arterial spasm, and in this context, blood flow stopped temporarily and the person suddenly lost consciousness. Fainting usually lasts no more than 2-3 minutes.

Pharyngeal symptoms

This manifestation of cervical osteochondrosis means a series of pathological signs:

• Itching;
• Foreign body sensation;
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dry throat;
• Itching.

Pharyngeal symptoms develop in the context of neurovascular stem diseases, the cause of neural stem cells is the spinal cord. When they appear, a differential diagnosis must be made because similar clinical conditions are characteristic of inflammatory processes and tumors.

Visual impairment

This type of cervical osteochondrosis usually occurs in the context of hypotension or cerebral atherosclerosis. Visual impairment can manifest as the following:

• The veil in front of you, visible objects, as if in the fog;
• Decreased eyesight;
• The dot flashes before your eyes;
• lost focus on certain topics.

In the context of cervical osteochondrosis, a notable feature of visual impairment is the lack of special eyes or glasses to use gymnastics.

Temperature change

For cervical osteochondrosis, this deviation occurs at the local level. This means hyperemia in the pathological area, that is, a local increase in skin temperature.

Cervical osteochondrosis syndrome

Symptoms that accompany cervical osteochondrosis are very common, and are accompanied by many other diseases of various organs and systems of the human body. In order to facilitate diagnosis, the clinical signs are divided into syndromes:

• Cervical pain. The syndrome is reflexive and involves neck pain. This may indicate damage to the spine or muscles in the area.
• Cervical pain. The syndrome is also reflexive. This means that a painful sensation is produced in the cervical and occipital area and occurs in the context of trauma, inflammation or degeneration.
• Pain in neck, arm and arm. This reflex syndrome involves neck pain that radiates to the arm. It occurs in the context of compression of the cervical nerve roots. When suffering from osteochondrosis, the syndrome is accompanied by muscle tone, vegetative vascular or neurodystrophy.
• Root nerve syndrome. It is also called another way-cervical radiculitis. This means that there is a creepy sensation in the affected area, a tingling sensation in the fingers and forearms, slight swelling and spreading to some fingers (depending on the location of the lesion).
• Irritant reflex syndrome. It implies neck pain. The pain is intense and burning, which can radiate to the shoulders and chest. Symptoms increase with changes in head position, sharp turns, and sneezing.
• Vertebral artery syndrome. Such complex symptoms include headaches, discomfort in certain movements, imbalances, hearing and vision loss, weakness, nausea, and loss of consciousness. Headaches continue to occur and may be continuous or paroxysmal.
• Heart syndrome. The clinical manifestations are similar to angina pectoris. Sudden onset of long-term pain, intensified against the background of strenuous neck exercise, coughing, and sneezing. It will not disappear with the heart medication, and the ECG will not show abnormal blood flow to the heart muscle. Clinical manifestations can be supplemented by tachycardia and pre-systole.
• Vegetative dystonia syndrome. Subluxation occurred with displacement of the C1 vertebra. The syndrome usually implies neurological symptoms of impaired cerebral blood flow-muscle cramps, decreased intracranial pressure, dizziness, decreased vision, fainting, headache, nausea.

Cervical chondropathy is accompanied by various symptoms. The characteristics of clinical manifestations and their intensity largely depend on the stage of the disease, which means certain pathological changes. Certain signs of the disease are combined into syndromes-these symptom groups help diagnosis.