Spondyloarthrosis: causes and treatment. Spondylarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine

Spondylarthrosis of the lumbar spine is a fairly complex and unpleasant disease that can severely limit your movements and complicate life. Therefore, you need to understand what features the disease has, what symptoms it is characterized, and how to treat and what to do so that the problem does not appear.

What is the disease?

Spondylarthrosis of the lumbar spine is a kind of osteoarthritis. This problem is complex, as the pathology affects the entire joint: cartilage, ligaments, and bones.

It should be noted that the disease is very insidious. The fact is that gradually your joints lose their elasticity, and the cartilaginous tissue becomes thinner. In addition, on the bones can be formed outgrowths in the form of thorns. And they appear on the intervertebral cartilage, so the whole body suffers.

As for the age range of this disease, they can be different. For example, people of middle age are most often affected. However, this pathology is also found in young people.

Why there is a disease

Lumbar spondylarthrosis develops due to certain factors. Naturally, the reasons for the development of pathology should be considered. Among them we can distinguish such:

• Congenital malformations of the osseous system.
• Serious or minor injuries of the spine.
• A sedentary lifestyle and lack of activity.
• Hormonal failures.
• Problems with metabolic processes in the body.
• Flat feet.
• Too high mobility of the vertebrae.
• Professional activity.
• Too much body weight.
• Excessive physical activity (most often this reason occurs in those people who are involved in sports).

Symptomatics

Osteochondrosis, spondylarthrosis and other pathologies of the spine have certain characteristics, which are often very similar. Naturally, they must be distinguished so that the correct diagnosis can be made. Among the symptoms of this disease can be identified as follows:

1. Restriction of mobility of joints.
2. Pain syndrome. And it can be noisy.
3. A stupor, which can last from a few minutes to several hours.

In principle, there are no specific symptoms, therefore spondylosis (spondyloarthrosis) can be confused with other pathologies. In order to determine an accurate and correct diagnosis, a thorough examination of the doctor is necessary.

Classification of the disease

Treatment (spondylarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine is a complex pathology) begins with the definition of the type of disease. There are such types of disease:

• Degenerative . It is characterized by a flattening of the vertebral cartilages, which contributes to the loss of its elasticity.
• Deforming . It involves changing the size and shape of the vertebrae. As a consequence, bone growths may appear that contribute to the displacement of the cartilage. It should be noted that this type of pathology is irreversible. In order to diagnose it, you need X-rays.
• Ankylosing . This type of disease is very difficult and requires compulsory treatment. It is characterized by deformation of the spine, loss of its elasticity. A feature of the pathology is that it manifests itself at a young age and affects mainly men.
• Polysegmentary . This form of the disease is characterized by the fact that it can occur in several places. This pathology is very severe and requires careful and prolonged treatment.

Stages of the disease

Before starting treatment, the spondyloarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine should be accurately diagnosed. In addition, it is necessary to consider the path of its development. So, there are only 4 degrees of progression of pathology:

• The first . It is characterized by loss of elasticity of ligaments and a significant difficulty in the mobility of the spinal column.
• The second . In this case, the fibrous rings can not perform their functions in full.
• The third . At this stage, bone growths appear, which can be identified by X-ray examination. Bunches cease to be elastic.
• Fourth . The movements of the spine are substantially limited, the growths become very large, the nerves and blood vessels are squeezed. It should be noted that dystrophic changes in ligaments, cartilage and bone tissue are already visible here.

These degrees of spondylarthrosis are standard. If the disease is already started, then it is very difficult to correct the situation. In some cases, even the operation does not help.

Features of pathology detection

Before starting treatment, spondyloarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine should be correctly diagnosed. Otherwise, the therapy will not only help, but will also cause harm. That is, self-medication can not be dealt with here.

So, in order to obtain reliable data on the patient's condition, the doctor must collect his anamnesis and take into account complaints. Naturally, we will have to perform an X-ray and MRI. An important in diagnosis is computed tomography. It is also desirable to conduct a neurological examination of the patient. That is, checking the reflexes makes it possible to understand if the spinal cord is damaged, and if so, how much.

If the doctor suspects that there is damage to the nerve endings, he can prescribe electromyography. To determine the degree of destruction of hard tissues, a bone scan is performed. After diagnosis, appropriate treatment is prescribed. Spondylarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine is a difficult disease that requires prolonged therapy and a combination of different methods of eliminating pathology.

Features of treatment of pathology

Treatment of spinal fossa of the lumbar spine involves the use of a set of conservative and physiotherapeutic procedures that are aimed primarily at eliminating the symptoms of the disease. In order to correct physiological defects, surgical intervention is necessary. Although it does not always help.

So, to eliminate the pain syndrome used drugs: "Diclofenac", "Ketonal." And the drugs are used in the form of tablets, and in the form of ointments. If the disease is not in an acute form, the patient has the opportunity to undergo a course of manual therapy. Naturally, all massage methods should be very light and gentle. In addition, at this time it is recommended to undergo physiotherapy. Gymnastics will help strengthen the muscles, contribute to improving the flexibility of the spinal column.

With regard to physiotherapeutic procedures, the treatment of spinal fossa in this case involves the use of magnetic therapy, phonophoresis, ion-galvanization (with anesthetics).

Features of folk treatment

Among the non-traditional recipes, the most effective are:

1. Therapeutic compress of infusions of calendula flowers. For its preparation take 100 g of grass and a half-liter of vodka. Insist means preferably in a dark place for about 14 days. Further, the mixture can be used for grinding the spine, and also as a compress.
2. Very effective is fir oil, which can be purchased at every pharmacy. This inexpensive and very good tool should be used for rubbing and massage.
3. You can prepare for yourself a therapeutic ointment from the roots of a dandelion, mint leaves, birch buds and coriander. All ingredients should be taken in equal parts. 6 large spoons of the mixture should be filled with a glass of boiling water and left on low heat for 5 minutes. Further, the product should be mixed with 100 g of vegetable oil or fat (preferably nutria). Use the ointment for the night.

How to eat properly for this disease

If you have spondyloarthrosis of the lumbar spine, the treatment provides not only medical therapy, but also a certain diet. Note that you will have to eat small portions of 5 or even more times a day. There are products that can not be eaten in any case:

• Sorrel, peas and beans.
• Grapes.
• Fatty meat and fish.
• Sugar and salt.
• Spice.

A very important part of the diet are vegetables and fruits, juices, dark bread, dairy products. Food should not contain too high-calorie foods. Once a week, it is advisable to arrange a discharge day to clear the body of harmful substances.

Exercise stress

If you have spondyloarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine, gymnastics will greatly facilitate your life. Naturally, it should be sparing. You must definitely do exercises to strengthen and develop the flexibility of the back muscles. Try to follow the posture and body weight. If the weight is too large, it should be disposed of.

Be sure to do the feasible work. Do not always be in the same static position. Sharp movements do not necessarily. To eliminate the disease it is necessary to do such exercises:

1. Lying on his back lay his hands behind his head, legs bend. Next, the elbows are connected to each other and return to their original position.
2. Lying in the previous position, the bent legs should be pulled to the stomach and wrapped around their hands.
3. Do the exercise to establish the correct posture.

Preventive measures

In order to prevent the development of pathology, try to eat right, walk more in the fresh air, actively move. Do not stress yourself with too much hard work. It is necessary to follow the posture, and it is desirable not to injure the spine.

Do not forget about the correct body weight, which will be safe for your musculoskeletal system. Consider also the correctness of sleep. That is, do not buy too soft and uncomfortable mattresses. They should keep the shape of the body well in a horizontal position.

In order not to limit the ability to move, try to monitor the health of your spine.