Characteristics of the disease
The course of cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by slow and irreversible destruction of the intervertebral disc. Lacking shock-absorbing cartilage padding, the bony vertebrae also begin to deform.
- external agent with local anesthetic, regeneration, warming effect;
- drugs that provide adequate nutrition to the brain;
- chondroprotectors that trigger the disc recovery process;
- local and systemic analgesics.
Pathology is still not fully cured. The doctor's efforts are aimed at eliminating painful symptoms and preventing the spread of the disease to other parts of the spine. For this purpose, a complex treatment regimen is prepared using drugs from various groups.
Signs of cervical chondrosis
In the early stages of the disease, there are almost no symptoms in women and men. Sometimes a person experiences mild discomfort in the evening. He made them tired after a long day of work, so he didn't see a doctor. Meanwhile, his intervertebral disc is gradually destroyed. The spine changes shape with the formation of bone growth, squeezing the vertebral arteries.
After about a year, the discomfort is replaced by pain, which increases when turning or tilting the head.
- click, crackle in the neck;
- limited range of motion;
- surge in blood pressure;
- fast heartbeat;
- unilateral migraine-like throbbing headache;
- visual and hearing impairment;
- dizziness, unsteadiness of walking, sensation of imaginary rotation of objects;
- attacks of nausea, rarely ending in vomiting.
Due to brain oxygen starvation, disturbed sleep, weakness, apathy, fatigue, and ringing in the ears occur. A person's psycho-emotional state worsens - he becomes nervous and worries about little things.
Principles of drug treatment
Chiropractors, professional massage therapists, physiotherapists, and physical therapists are involved in the treatment of cervical chondrosis. At the final stage, the use of folk remedies is allowed. But the main role in complex therapy is given to pharmacological drugs.
- injection solution is used for exacerbation of chondrosis to quickly eliminate painful symptoms;
- tablets, capsules, dragees are prescribed during remission to prevent disc destruction, relieve mild or moderate pain, and restore blood circulation;
- ointments, gels, balms, creams are the safest, quickly overcoming unpleasant stiffness and dryness.
It is rarely possible to treat osteochondrosis with any one drug. The therapeutic regimen usually includes at least 5 drugs with different pharmacological properties. They are compatible and easy to use at home.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
NSAIDs are more often used than other drugs in the treatment of cervical chondrosis. They are indicated for acute, piercing or distant, dull pain. The mechanism of action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is based on the ability to inhibit enzymes responsible for the production of neurotransmitters.
- eliminate painful sensations;
- eliminates the pulsing and clicking sound that occurs when turning the neck;
- stopping the course of acute, subacute, chronic inflammatory processes that affect soft tissues;
- stimulate the reduction of swelling affecting the sensory nerve endings;
- increase range of motion in damaged cervical vertebrae.
In the treatment of chondrosis, drugs in the form of solutions for parenteral administration and tablets have proven themselves well.
Long-term use of NSAIDs leads to damage to the gastric mucosa. Concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors will help prevent this. Medicines reduce the production of aggressive gastric juice by parietal cells, which increases under the influence of NSAIDs.
Synthetic hormones
Glucocorticosteroids are synthetic analogs of hormones produced by the adrenal cortex. This is the "heavy artillery" of drug treatment for cervical osteochondrosis. Like natural hormones, glucocorticosteroids quickly relieve inflammation, swelling, and almost immediately relieve pain. They are used in the form of a solution for intramuscular administration. But in the case of acute pain, it is possible to insert it directly into the area of the intervertebral disc that is destroyed.
It is forbidden to use hormonal drugs during pregnancy, breastfeeding, teenagers and children.
All glucocorticosteroids have many contraindications. In clinical practice, withdrawal cases include severe damage to the liver, kidneys, and stomach after long-term hormone therapy. They are not used in the presence of liver cirrhosis, peptic ulcer, kidney failure, or osteoporosis.
Drug with chondroprotective effect
All the means used in the complex treatment of chondrosis only eliminate its symptoms, while improving a person's well-being. The only exception is chondroprotectors. These drugs contain substances that can trigger the recovery of the damaged cartilaginous intervertebral disc. Neck pain stops hurting after using it and disappears not for a few hours, but forever.
In pharmacies, chondroprotectors are presented in various types. These are capsules, ingredients for the preparation of injection solutions, powders packed in bags.
- Glucosamine. Stimulates the synthesis of bioactive substances necessary for tissue construction, improves the composition of synovial fluid. Increases joint capsule permeability, restores enzymatic processes, and prevents disc destruction.
- Chondroitin. Participates in the construction of cartilage and bone tissue, accelerates metabolic processes. Prevents the destruction of intervertebral discs, blocking enzymes that cause damage to cartilage tissue.
Products that improve microcirculation
The substance needed to improve blood circulation in cervical osteochondrosis is Xanthinol nicotinate. This drug is used in the treatment of pathologies of high severity, when not only the disc, but also the vertebrae are deformed. Vertebral artery compression is indicated by cervicocranialgia. This is the name for the entire complex of symptoms of violation of the vertebral artery: headache, "floating" in front of the eyes, temporary blurred vision, sweating, rapid heartbeat.
Thioctic acid helps improve microcirculation and eliminate "vertebral artery syndrome. "The weakness 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 peptic ulcers.
Preparations with B vitamins
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis in the acute stage cannot be done without the use of drugs, a composition formed from vitamin B. The fact is that the acute bone growth of the vertebrae violates not only the vertebral arteries. They also put pressure on sensitive nerve roots, disrupting the innervation. Nerve impulses enter the central nervous system with a delay, and the response is inhibited.
Disruption of innervation leads to paresthesia - loss of sensitivity in certain areas of the body.
In the drug treatment of cervical chondrosis, drugs whose activity is determined by pyridoxine, thiamine, and B12 have proven themselves well.
Many of them are available in the form of solutions for intramuscular administration. It contains B vitamins and anesthetics. 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, functioning of the nervous, muscular and cardiovascular systems, relieves inflammation and nerve degeneration. There are contraindications to its use. This is the period of pregnancy and breastfeeding, hypersensitivity to ingredients.
Best muscle relaxer
Eliminating mild symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis and treating its exacerbation at home is often complicated by muscle spasms. The nerve root is compressed by a displaced intervertebral disc and inflammatory edema. A severe pain syndrome occurs, which the body tries to eliminate with muscle spasms. Thanks to this strange protective reaction, a person's mobility is limited and discomfort disappears.
But often an increase in skeletal muscle tone causes greater pressure on nerve endings.
Muscle relaxants are combined with all means for the treatment of chondrosis drugs, including glucocorticosteroids. They can be 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 increase the psycho-emotional state
Of all chondrosis, it is the cervix that primarily worsens a person's psycho-emotional condition. It's all about the violation of the vertebral artery by bone growth, which leads to hypoxia of the brain.
- panic attacks;
- depression, neurosis;
- visual and hearing impairment;
- non-productive dry cough;
- breathing difficulties;
- anxiety, apathy, fatigue;
- various sleep disorders.
What you should not do when it appears is to use cough suppressants, eye drops or ear drops. Symptoms can often be eliminated by taking a course of drugs with a mild sedative effect: Tenoten, Novo-Passit, motherwort tincture, valerian, peony. Only for severe neurosis and depression, sedatives, antipsychotics and antidepressants are prescribed.
A balanced complex of vitamins
Most important vitamins, micro and macro elements enter the human body with food. But food products cannot always meet physiological needs, or they are not absorbed and distributed properly. For example, with circulatory disorders characteristic of cervical osteochondrosis. There is a lack of bioactive substances, which negatively affects the functioning of all important systems.
To quickly replenish the body's daily needs for vitamins, micro and macro elements, its balanced complex must be included in the treatment regimen.
Magnesium forms 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 the inflammatory process. This mineral is found in all the above complexes.
The correct intake of the drug is to use 1 tablet per day - this amount is enough to increase the blood supply to the brain with useful substances.
A week later, the signs of anemia that occurred at stage 3 of the development of cervical chondrosis disappeared. The person no longer feels drowsy and does not suffer from movement coordination disorders. Double vision of objects before the eye disappears.
Ointment, gel, balm
External drugs are always used for the exacerbation of chondrosis at home. They cannot cope with severe pain; injections or analgesics are required. Ointments, creams, gels, balms are used to relieve pain that occurs during hypothermia and climate zone changes.
- Anti-inflammatory. The drug has a milder effect on the human body than other NSAIDs.
- Vasodilators. The agent exhibits local irritant activity and dilates the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain.
- Painkillers. Medicines help relieve pain immediately after application. It is well absorbed and does not leave greasy marks on clothes and bedding.
- Heating. Products with pepper extract are used only using the applicator. The medicine has an analgesic effect a few minutes after it is applied to the back of the neck.
Products for external use are effective and very rarely provoke the development of local allergic reactions. But caution is necessary during treatment. If the ointment comes into contact with mucous membranes, rinse quickly with water. Especially those containing essential oils, natural poisons, and turpentine.
Therapeutic plaster
A time-tested remedy for the exacerbation of osteochondrosis is the Pepper patch. Its composition is represented by phytoextracts of red capsicum, belladonna, and dimexide. The active ingredient of the patch gradually penetrates the damaged disc area and has an analgesic effect for 3-5 hours. If your neck hurts, then the external medicine is used as a whole or cut into small pieces.
Pepper paste is easy to use for treatment at home, at work or while traveling. But it also has contraindications - individual intolerance to one of the components. And in women with sensitive skin, it can cause chemical burns.
Patches exhibit anti-inflammatory, decongestant, and chondroprotective activity. They are intended for the treatment of all pathologies of the cervical spine. Its use helps to reduce the pharmacological burden on the human body by reducing the dose of systemic drugs.
How to treat cervical chondrosis correctly?
Stopping the destruction of the intervertebral disc is possible only with an integrated approach to therapy. It is practiced to wear an orthopedic device (Schanz collar) that fixes the vertebra in the anatomical position. The applicator is needed to improve the blood supply to the damaged tissue with nutrients and bioactive substances. Daily physical therapy classes, yoga, swimming, and walking in the fresh air are indicated.
Most drugs are advised to be used to relieve symptoms during exacerbations. They have many side effects, including damage to liver tissue. Chondroprotectors, means to improve blood circulation, and a balanced complex of vitamins and minerals suitable for regular use.