Osteochondrosis rarely develops in the thoracic spine: the intervertebral discs within it are smaller and thinner in size than the cervical or lumbar spine. The thoracic region is less mobile, the main load falls on the ribs and sternum.
Unlike cervical and lumbar osteochondrosis, thoracic symptoms differ only in the location of the pain. The nature of the pain and its duration are similar. With prolapse in the thoracic region, the spinal cord is not affected. Read on about this and more.
Stages of the pathology
Over time, osteochondrosis usually progresses. According to the severity of the manifestation, the pathology is divided into 4 stages.
preclinical
There are minimal disturbances in the spine. There may be a slight pain syndrome, the back muscles are tense. It is possible to develop thoracalgia - chest pains, but this is a rare event.
discogenic sciatica
There is a change in the structure of the intervertebral discs. Pain of moderate intensity can appear in the affected part of the spine. The patient is efficient. But his muscle endurance indicators are dropping.
Vascular-radicular
At this stage, the fibrous ring is completely destroyed. A herniated disc is formed, the process of deformation of the fibrous ring continues, which leads to its rupture. Then the nucleus pulposus falls into the space under the ligaments. A herniated disc forms. The process affects the tissues located on the disc, the work of blood vessels, muscles, nerves, ligaments is disrupted. The disease becomes chronic.
Change in the shape of the bone structure
The vertebra becomes enlarged, its surface becomes ribbed, irregular. Muscles begin to contract spontaneously, which leads to limited mobility of the entire spine or a specific vertebra. Pinching of the nerves extending from the spinal cord occurs. This leads to a deterioration of impulses from the brain to the tissues and organs of the body.
The mobility of the spine as a whole is preserved, but individual vertebrae become fragile and can easily collapse. If the disease is not treated, it moves on to the fourth stage.
Regeneration of intervertebral disc tissue and replacement of scar tissue
The damaged intervertebral disc is unable to perform its functions well, which leads to the convergence of the bodies of neighboring vertebrae. This leads to abnormalities in the intervertebral joints called spondyloarthrosis. In this case, twisting or displacement of the vertebrae relative to neighboring ones may occur.
The body activates its own compensation mechanisms. To relieve the load in the damaged disc, the vertebra flattens and grows in width. So its area increases. And the fibrous ring tissue, which has collapsed, can be replaced by bone.
Sometimes this reduces pain, however, as the vertebrae grow, they make the spinal holes even tighter - the nerve is pinched.
Symptoms of the disease
Symptoms of breast osteochondrosis are often caused by the following factors:
- the patient's age;
- affection of the spine;
- stage of development of the disease;
- the patient's condition is remission or exacerbation of the disease.
Symptoms also include:
- radiculopathy - painful damage to the nerve endings of the spinal cord;
- abdominal syndrome;
- heart syndrome, heart muscle changes - is characterized by severe pain and unresponsive to nitroglycerin;
- pulmonary syndrome: congestion, hypoxia occurs in the lungs;
- paresthesia - a feeling of "goosebumps" on the body;
- pain in the area of the compressed nerve;
- reduced sensitivity to changes in temperature and touch;
- violations of the motor function of the spine.
The patient's body temperature does not rise. This serves as a sign that allows you to differentiate the pathology.
The degree of the disease
Lumbago
It is a sharp pain that penetrates the body. It occurs when lifting heavy objects and other physical activities: the pain is similar to an electric shock.
In terms of morphology, an unexpected rupture of the intervertebral disc capsule occurs when the load is too high. This traumatic injury leads to irritation of the nerves - pain arises.
The muscles are tense and this is well expressed. Lumbar lordosis is smoothed out. Then the load is redistributed and the intervertebral disc is compressed even more, which leads to edema, which increases pain.
When the pathology is concentrated in the neck region, neck pain appears - it manifests itself with pain when turning the head and palpating the cervical muscles. With an exacerbation, cervicocranialgia is often observed, which is manifested in the fact that a person has a severe headache in the occipital region. There can be tinnitus, dizziness, a feeling of flies in the eyes and the teeth can hurt.
Dizziness
They appear as a result of the narrowing of the cavity of the spinal canal. The intervertebral disc protrudes and compresses the vessels. The brain is unable to get the volume of blood it needs. You may experience a severe headache, numb hands, and sore shoulders.
Difficulty breathing, which causes insufficient oxygen to enter the brain. This leads to excruciating pain in the heart region.
Intervertebral hernia
At this stage of development, the picture looks quite serious: the spinal canal and intervertebral cavities are noticeably narrowed. As a result, a hernia can form, a dangerous defect. Surgery is often required at this stage of the disease.
Treatment of third-degree osteochondrosis depends on compression of the root. You can use the same techniques as in the second degree. However, when pain persists within fifteen days and symptoms of prolapse (prolapse of the vertebra) are present, surgery is required.
Growth on the vertebrae
As a rule, at this stage of the disease, the manifestations of the hernia disappear, the symptoms of the disease are less pronounced, however, it is noticeable that the spine is unstable, the vertebrae can slip or twist relative to each other.
At this time, the growth of the vertebral bodies can occur - this is called osteophytes. Growths lead to compression of the spinal nerves, an overlap of the spinal canal occurs, called secondary stenosis of the spinal canal. As a result, compression of the spinal cord is possible, which leads to ischemia.
This degree of the disease also includes the consequences of previous operations to remove the hernia. They can manifest themselves as disturbed innervation, paresis, inflammation.
Dorsago and back pain
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis directly depend on the area of the spinal injury. Very often the vertebral syndromes of dorsago and dorsalgia are distinguished.
Dorsago manifests itself in the form of sudden acute pain that occurs in the chest area. This often happens if a person remains in a sitting position for a long time without changing posture. Pain can occur when a person's position is physiologically uncomfortable. In addition, it is possible when doing monotonous work for a long time.
Dorsago is also called "back pain in the chest". When this happens, the back and chest muscles tighten so much that it becomes difficult to breathe.
Sometimes the pain passes along the ribs to the sternum, radiates to the shoulder blade area. Sometimes the patient may feel that it is a myocardial infarction. However, when conducting an electrocardiogram, no deviations from the norms are detected. If you take nitroglycerin or another heart remedy, there will be no results.
Avoid staying in one position for a long time. Sedentary work is one of the main causes of osteochondrosis.
Back pain is mild pain that has been present for a long time, sometimes up to those weeks. The inflamed part of the spine gives "underused" pain. This is uncomfortable, so the person usually comes to the doctor.
Back pain can be expressed in the fact that:
- the pain worsens when the person inhales deeply or coughs;
- the muscles are overloaded;
- motor activity in the neck or lumbar region decreases;
- there is muscle spasm;
- the pain worsens at night and when the person is engaged in physical activity.
The dorsal is upper and lower. At the first, the main painful manifestations are concentrated in the upper chest, in the neck. In the second case, it hurts mainly in the sacrum and lower back.
The symptoms of back pain are very similar to the first manifestations of pneumonia. This is important to remember in order to diagnose the disease in time. If the diagnosis is incorrect and treatment is prescribed, the patient's condition will only worsen.
When a woman is breastfeeding her baby, she can experience such manifestations of osteochondrosis. It is only necessary to treat the disease in this situation by contacting a doctor, taking into account all the nuances.
It is important to weigh all the risks of using certain medications so as not to harm your baby's health and yours.
Atypical symptoms
In some cases, the symptoms of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine are completely atypical. A person may not even be aware of the disease, as symptoms are often similar to those of other conditions. They should be considered in more detail and analyze the situation as a whole:
- the appearance of pain mimicking the heart, which develops during angina pectoris and heart attack, is possible; coronary dilatation drugs, such as nitroglycerin, have no effect; and the ECG shows no abnormalities;
- pains may occur, similar to those that occur in women with the development of diseases of the mammary glands; this pain can last a long time; during the examination, no problems in the mammary glands are detected;
- the iliac region and abdomen may be painful, the symptoms are not similar to those of gastritis and colitis; pain may be observed under the right rib, similar to those that characterize hepatitis or cholecystitis; digestion is usually disturbed - this is also a characteristic symptom of osteochondrosis, which occurs due to disturbances in the innervation of internal organs; it is necessary to understand what caused the disruption of the food digestion process, is it really the cause of thoracic osteochondrosis;
- the process of urination and sexual function can be disrupted, because the innervation in the genitourinary system is distorted;
- when thoracic osteochondrosis worsens, there may be long-term pains, weeks, in the sternum, very similar to those that are present in diseases of the mammary gland; a visit to the mammologist allows you to identify the cause of the pain.
These symptoms are associated with manifestations of back pain and intercostal neuralgia. The onset of atypical symptoms is usually observed in the evening. In the morning, as a rule, there is no more white. The pain increases throughout the day if the appropriate conditions are created for it, causing pain.