Characteristic features of the disease
The course of cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by slow, irreversible destruction of the intervertebral discs. Bone vertebrae, deprived of shock-absorbing cartilage cushions, also begin to deform.
- external agents with local anesthetic, restorative, warming effect;
- drugs that ensure adequate nutrition of the brain;
- chondroprotectors that trigger disc regeneration processes;
- local and systemic analgesics.
The pathology cannot be completely cured yet. Doctors' efforts are aimed at eliminating painful symptoms and preventing the disease from spreading to other parts of the spine. For this purpose, complex treatment regimens are drawn up using drugs from different groups.
Symptoms of cervical chondrosis
In the initial stages of the disease, there are practically no symptoms in women and men. Sometimes a person feels slight discomfort in the evening. He takes them to exhaustion after a day's work, so he doesn't see a doctor. Meanwhile, his intervertebral discs are gradually destroyed. The vertebrae are deformed by the formation of bony growths, compressing the vertebral artery.
After about a year, the discomfort is replaced by pain, which intensifies when turning or bending the head.
- clicking, cracking in the neck;
- limitation of range of motion;
- increases in blood pressure;
- rapid heartbeat;
- unilateral migraine-like throbbing headaches;
- visual and hearing disorders;
- dizziness, unsteadiness of gait, sensations of imaginary rotation of objects;
- rarely attacks of nausea ending in vomiting.
Due to oxygen starvation of the brain, sleep is disturbed, weakness, apathy, fatigue, and ringing in the ears appear. A person's psycho-emotional condition worsens - he becomes irritable and worried about small things.
Principles of drug treatment
Chiropractors, professional massage therapists, physiotherapists and physical therapy doctors are involved in the treatment of cervical chondrosis. At the final stage, the use of folk remedies is allowed. However, the main role in complex therapy is given to pharmacological drugs.
- injection solutions for exacerbation of chondrosis are used to quickly relieve painful symptoms;
- tablets, capsules, dragees are prescribed during remissions to prevent disc destruction, relieve mild or moderate pain and restore blood circulation;
- ointments, gels, balms, creams are the safest, they quickly cope with hardness and unpleasant crusting.
It is rarely possible to treat osteochondrosis with any medication. Therapeutic regimens usually include at least 5 drugs with different pharmacological properties. They are suitable and convenient for home use.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
NSAIDs are used more often than other drugs in the treatment of cervical chondrosis. They are indicated for sharp, piercing or distant, dull pain. The mechanism of action of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is based on the ability to inhibit enzymes responsible for the production of neurotransmitters.
- remove painful sensations;
- eliminate creaking and clicking noises when turning the neck;
- stop the progression of acute, subacute, chronic inflammatory processes affecting soft tissues;
- stimulate the reduction of swelling affecting sensitive nerve endings;
- increasing range of motion in injured cervical vertebrae.
Drugs in the form of solutions for parenteral administration and tablets have proven themselves well in the treatment of chondrosis.
Long-term use of NSAIDs causes damage to the gastric mucosa. Concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors will help prevent this. Drugs reduce the production of aggressive gastric juice by parietal cells, which increases under the influence of NSAIDs.
Synthetic hormones
Glucocorticosteroids are synthetic analogues of hormones produced by the adrenal cortex. This is the "heavy artillery" of drug treatment for cervical osteochondrosis. Like natural hormones, glucocorticosteroids quickly eliminate inflammation, swelling, and relieve pain almost immediately. They are used in the form of solutions for intramuscular administration. However, in case of acute pain, it is possible to insert them directly into the destroyed intervertebral disc area.
It is forbidden to use hormonal drugs during pregnancy, lactation, adolescence and childhood.
All glucocorticosteroids have many contraindications. Cases of withdrawal in clinical practice include severe damage to the liver, kidneys, and stomach after long-term hormone therapy. They are not used in the presence of liver cirrhosis, gastric ulcer, renal failure or osteoporosis.
Drugs with chondroprotective effect
All the means used in the complex treatment of chondrosis only eliminate its symptoms and temporarily improve a person's well-being. The only exception is chondroprotectors. These drugs contain substances that can stimulate the regeneration of damaged cartilaginous intervertebral discs. After using them, the pain in the neck stops and disappears not for a few hours, but forever.
A wide variety of chondroprotectors are available in pharmacies. These are capsules, substances for the preparation of injection solutions, powders packed in bags.
- Glucosamine. Stimulates the synthesis of bioactive substances necessary for building tissues, improves the composition of synovial fluid. It increases the permeability of the joint capsule, restores enzymatic processes and prevents the destruction of discs.
- Chondroitin. It participates in the construction of cartilage and bone tissue, accelerates metabolic processes. Prevents destruction of intervertebral discs, blocks enzymes that damage cartilage tissue.
Products that improve microcirculation
A substance required to improve blood circulation in cervical osteochondrosis is Xanthinol nicotinate. This drug is used in the treatment of high severity pathology, when not only discs, but also bone vertebrae are deformed. Compression of the vertebral artery is manifested by cervicocranialgia. This is the name of the whole complex of symptoms of a violation of the spinal artery: headache, "floaters" in front of the eyes, temporary blurred vision, sweating, rapid heartbeat.
Thioctic acid helps to improve microcirculation and eliminate "vertebral artery syndrome". The disadvantage of such drugs is their indiscriminate effect, because they accelerate the movement of blood throughout the body, which is not always recommended. Therefore, their list of contraindications includes epilepsy, hyperthyroidism and gastric ulcer.
Preparations with B vitamins
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in the acute stage cannot be done without the use of drugs, the composition of which is formed from B vitamins. The fact is that sharp bone growths of the vertebra not only disrupt the vertebral artery. They also disrupt innervation by putting pressure on sensitive nerve roots. Nerve impulses enter the central nervous system with delay and its responses are inhibited.
Disturbance of innervation leads to paresthesia - loss of sensitivity in certain areas of the body.
Medicines whose activity is determined by pyridoxine, thiamine and B12 in the drug treatment of cervical chondrosis have proven themselves well.
Many of them are available in the form of solutions for intramuscular administration. Contains B vitamins and an anesthetic. Therefore, after the injection, the pain disappears immediately and the range of motion in the area of the cervical vertebrae is restored.
At the same time, the product improves blood flow, nervous, muscular and cardiovascular systems, eliminates inflammation and nerve degeneration. There are contraindications to its use. These are pregnancy and breastfeeding periods, sensitivity to components.
The best muscle relaxants
Eliminating mild symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis and treating its exacerbations at home is often complicated by muscle spasms. The nerve root is compressed by displaced intervertebral discs and inflammatory edema. A severe pain syndrome occurs, which the body tries to eliminate with muscle spasms. Thanks to this peculiar protective reaction, the person's mobility is limited and anxiety disappears.
But often, the increase in skeletal muscle tone causes even greater pressure on the nerve endings.
Muscle relaxants are combined with all means for drug treatment of chondrosis, including glucocorticosteroids. They are well tolerated by the body, but some can cause addiction and "withdrawal syndrome". Therefore, they are not intended for long-term therapy. The duration of the treatment course does not exceed one week.
Drugs that improve the psycho-emotional state
Of all chondrosis, it is the cervical one that especially worsens the psycho-emotional state of a person. We are talking about the disruption of the vertebral artery with bone growth, which causes hypoxia of the brain.
- panic attack;
- depression, neurosis;
- visual and hearing disorders;
- dry non-productive cough;
- shortness of breath;
- anxiety, apathy, fatigue;
- various sleep disorders.
What not to do when it appears is to use cough, eye or ear drops. Symptoms can often be eliminated by taking a course of drugs with a mild sedative effect: Tenoten, Novo-Passit, motherwort tinctures, valerian, peony. Tranquilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants are prescribed only for severe neuroses and depressions.
Vitamin balanced complexes
Most vitamins, necessary micro- and macroelements enter the human body with food. But food products do not always satisfy physiological needs, or they are not properly received and distributed. For example, with circulatory disorders characteristic of cervical osteochondrosis. There is a lack of bioactive substances that negatively affect the work of all vital systems.
In order to quickly meet the daily needs of the body for vitamins, micro and macro elements, their balanced complexes should be included in treatment regimens.
Magnesium builds muscle and bone tissue, and iodine regulates metabolism. Manganese, molybdenum, chromium, potassium, chlorine, selenium, zinc stimulate the strengthening of the tendon-ligament apparatus, and copper stops inflammatory processes. These minerals are present in all of the above complexes.
The correct intake of drugs is to use 1 tablet per day - this amount is enough to improve the blood supply to the brain with useful substances.
A week later, the symptoms of anemia that occur in the 3rd stage of the development of cervical chondrosis disappear. A person no longer feels sleepy and does not suffer from impaired coordination of movements. Double vision of objects in front of the eyes disappears.
Ointments, gels, balms
External remedies are always used at home for exacerbation of chondrosis. They cannot cope with severe pain, injections or analgesics are required. Ointments, creams, gels, balms are used to relieve pain during hypothermia and changing climate zones.
- Anti-inflammatory. Medicines have a milder effect on the human body than other NSAIDs.
- Vasodilators. Agents act as local irritants and dilate the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood.
- Pain relievers. Medicines help relieve pain immediately after administration. They absorb well and do not leave greasy marks on clothes and bedding.
- Warming up. Products with pepper extract are applied only using the applicator. Medicines have an analgesic effect a few minutes after being applied to the back of the neck.
Products for external use are effective and very rarely cause the development of local allergic reactions. But you need to be careful during treatment. If ointments come into contact with mucous membranes, wash them off quickly with water. Especially those containing essential oils, natural poisons and turpentine.
Therapeutic plasters
A time-tested remedy for exacerbation of osteochondrosis is Pepper patch. Its composition is represented by phytoextracts of red pepper, belladonna and dimexidine. The active ingredients of the patch gradually penetrate the damaged disc area and have an analgesic effect within 3-5 hours. If your neck hurts, the external remedy is used whole or cut into small pieces.
A pepper patch is convenient to use as a treatment at home, at work, or while traveling. But it also has a contraindication - individual intolerance to one of the components. It can cause chemical burns in women with sensitive skin.
Patches have anti-inflammatory, decongestant and chondroprotective activity. They are intended for the treatment of all pathologies of the cervical spine. Their use helps to reduce the pharmacological burden on the human body by reducing the dose of systemic drugs.
How to properly treat cervical chondrosis?
Stopping the destruction of intervertebral discs is possible only with an integrated approach to therapy. It is applied to wear orthopedic devices (Schanz collars) that fix the spine in an anatomical position. Applicators are required to improve the blood supply of damaged tissues with nutrients and bioactive substances. Daily physical therapy classes, yoga, swimming, walks in the fresh air are shown.
Most drugs are recommended to relieve symptoms during exacerbations. They have many side effects, including damage to liver tissue. Chondroprotectors, means to improve blood circulation and balanced vitamin and mineral complexes are suitable for regular use.