Osteochondrosis rarely occurs in the thoracic spine-the discs in it are smaller and thinner than those in the cervical or lumbar spine. The thoracic spine has low mobility, and the main load falls on the ribs and sternum.
Unlike cervical and lumbar osteochondrosis, chest symptoms differ only in the painful area. The nature and duration of pain are similar. The thoracic cage is prolapsed and the spinal cord is not affected. Keep reading about this and more.
Pathological stage
Over time, osteochondrosis usually progresses. According to the severity of the manifestations, the pathology is divided into 4 stages.
Pre-clinical
There is a mild disease of the spine. There may be mild pain syndrome, back muscle tension. Chest pain may occur-chest pain, but this is rare.
Discogenic sciatica
The structure of the intervertebral disc has changed. There may be moderate pain in the affected area of the spine. The patient is efficient. But his muscle endurance index is declining.
Vascular root
At this stage, the annulus fiber is completely destroyed. A herniated disc is formed, and the deformation process of the annulus fibrosus continues, causing it to rupture. Then the nucleus pulposus falls into the space below the ligament. The formation of herniated intervertebral discs. This process will affect the tissues located in the intervertebral discs, and the work of blood vessels, muscles, nerves, and ligaments will be destroyed. The disease becomes chronic.
Changes in the shape of the bone structure
The vertebrae become thicker, and the surface becomes ribbed and uneven. The muscles begin to contract spontaneously, resulting in restricted movement of the entire spine or specific vertebrae. The nerves extending from the spinal cord are squeezed. This leads to deterioration of impulses from the brain to body tissues and organs.
The mobility of the entire spine is preserved, but individual vertebrae become fragile and easily collapse. If the disease is not treated, it enters the fourth stage.
Intervertebral disc tissue regeneration and scar tissue replacement
Damaged intervertebral discs cannot perform their functions well, leading to fusion of adjacent vertebral bodies. This can cause abnormalities in the intervertebral joints called spondyloarthropathy. In this case, distortion or displacement of the vertebrae relative to the adjacent vertebrae may occur.
The body activates its own compensation mechanism. In order to reduce the load on the damaged disc, the vertebrae flatten and widen. So its area has increased. And the collapsed annulus tissue can be replaced by bone.
Sometimes this reduces the pain, but as the vertebrae grow, the vertebrae narrow the foramen-the nerves are compressed.
Symptoms of the disease
The symptoms of breast osteochondrosis are usually caused by the following factors:
- The age of the patient;
- Spine affection;
- The stage of development of the disease;
- The patient's condition is the remission or deterioration of the disease.
Symptoms also include:
- Nerve radiculopathy-painful damage to the nerve endings of the spinal cord;
- Abdominal syndrome;
- Heart syndrome, changes in the heart muscle-it is characterized by severe pain and no response to nitroglycerin;
- Pulmonary syndrome: congestion and hypoxia in the lungs;
- Paresthesia-the sensation of "goose bumps" in the body;
- Pain in the compressed nerve area;
- Reduced sensitivity to temperature fluctuations and touch;
- Violation of the motor function of the spine.
The patient's body temperature does not rise. This is a sign that allows you to distinguish pathology.
The extent of the disease
Back pain
This is a severe pain that penetrates the body. It is manifested during heavy lifting and other physical activities-the pain is similar to an electric shock.
In terms of morphology, when the load is too high, accidental rupture of the intervertebral disc capsule will occur. This traumatic injury causes nerve irritation-the appearance of pain.
The muscles are very tight, which shows up well. Lumbar lordosis is relieved. As a result, the load is redistributed and the intervertebral discs are compressed more severely, leading to edema and aggravating pain.
When the pathology is concentrated in the neck, neck pain occurs-it is manifested as pain when turning the head and palpation of the neck muscles. As it worsens, cervical pain is often observed, which is manifested in the fact that a person has a severe headache in the occipital region. There may be tinnitus, dizziness, flies in the eyes, and tooth pain.
Dizziness
They appear due to the narrowing of the spinal canal. The disc herniated and squeezed the blood vessels. The brain cannot get the amount of blood it needs. You may experience severe headaches, numbness in your hands, and sore shoulders.
Difficulty breathing, resulting in insufficient oxygen entering the brain. This can cause tingling in the heart area.
Intervertebral hernia
At this stage of development, the picture looks quite serious-the spinal canal and intervertebral cavity are greatly reduced. Therefore, a hernia may form-a dangerous defect. Usually, at this stage of the disease, surgical intervention is necessary.
The treatment of third degree osteochondrosis depends on root compression. The same technique as the second level can be used. However, when the pain persists for 15 days and symptoms of prolapse (vertebral prolapse) appear, surgery is required.
Hyperplasia on the vertebrae
Usually, at this stage of the disease, the hernia will disappear, the symptoms of the disease are not so obvious, but it can be seen that the spine is unstable and the vertebrae can slide or twist each other.
At this time, the vertebral body will grow-this is the so-called osteophyte. The hyperplasia causes compression of the spinal nerves and overlaps of the spinal canal, which is called secondary spinal stenosis. Therefore, it may compress the spinal cord and cause ischemia.
The extent of this disease also includes the consequences of previous surgery to remove the hernia. They can manifest as innervation disorders, paralysis, and inflammation.
Backache and backache
The symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis directly depend on the area of the spinal disease. In most cases, there is a difference between back pain and vertebral syndrome.
Dorsago presented with sudden severe pain in the chest. This usually happens if a person sits for a long time without changing posture. From a physiological point of view, pain occurs when a person’s position is uncomfortable. In addition, it is possible to perform monotonous work for a long time.
Dorsago is also called "chest and back pain". When this happens, the muscles in the back and chest will become tense and difficult to breathe.
Sometimes the pain travels along the ribs to the sternum, radiating to the scapula area. Sometimes patients may feel that it is a myocardial infarction. However, when performing an electrocardiogram, no deviation from the specification was detected. If you take nitroglycerin or other heart medicines, 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 a mild pain that persists for a long time, sometimes as long as several weeks. The inflamed part of the spine produces "dull pain". This is very uncomfortable, so this person usually sees a doctor.
Back pain can manifest as:
- When a person breathes in deeply or coughs, the soreness becomes worse;
- Muscle tension;
- Reduced movement of the neck or waist;
- Have muscle cramps;
- The pain is more severe at night and during physical activity.
There are advantages and disadvantages to back pain. First of all, the main pain manifestations are concentrated in the upper chest and neck. In the second case, it is mainly injured in the sacrum and lower back area.
The symptoms of back pain are very similar to the initial manifestations of pneumonia. It is important to remember this in order to diagnose the disease in time. If the diagnosis is incorrect and treated, the patient's condition will only get worse.
When a woman breastfeeds a baby, she may have this manifestation of osteochondrosis. In this case, just contact the doctor to treat the disease, taking all the nuances into consideration.
It is important to weigh all the risks of using certain medications so as not to harm the health of the baby and yourself.
Atypical symptoms
In some cases, the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are completely atypical. A person may not even be aware of the disease, because the symptoms are usually similar to other pathologies. They should be considered in more detail and the situation analyzed as a whole:
- It is possible to have pain that mimics the heart during angina pectoris and heart attack; coronary vasodilators, such as nitroglycerin, have no effect; there is no abnormality in the electrocardiogram;
- There may be pain, similar to the pain that occurs in women with breast disease; this pain can last a long time; no breast problems were found during the examination;
- The iliac area and abdomen may be painful, and the symptoms are different from gastritis and colitis; there may be pain under the right ribs, similar to the characteristics of hepatitis or cholecystitis; digestion is usually disturbed-this is also a characteristic symptom of osteochondrosis, which is caused by internal organs. Innervation disorders are caused; it is necessary to find out what caused the interruption of the process of digesting food, and whether the cause is really breast osteochondrosis;
- The urination process and sexual function may be interrupted because the innervation of the genitourinary system is distorted;
- When sternal osteochondrosis worsens, the sternum may have long-term pain for several weeks, which is very similar to the pain that exists in breast disease; a visit to a mammologist can allow you to determine the cause of the pain.
These symptoms are related to back pain and intercostal neuralgia. The onset of atypical symptoms is usually observed at night. In the morning, as a rule, there is nothing whiter. If the proper conditions are created for this, soreness will increase throughout the day, causing pain.