If you are worried about neck pain and still haven’t gone to the doctor, you need to know what the risk of cervical osteochondrosis is and what the fatal consequences might be. Aware of the danger, you should encourage action.
Cervical osteochondrosis is considered to be one of the most dangerous lesions of the spine as a huge number of blood vessels, vital arteries and capillaries are concentrated in the neck area. Therefore, unpleasant consequences of the disease include autonomic vascular dystonia, hypertension, lack of oxygen, and so on.
Cervical osteochondrosis should not go unnoticed because in most cases it is accompanied by severe pain and vivid symptoms. Pain syndrome indicates that the work of the whole body is interrupted. If you ignore these signs, the result can be catastrophic, ranging from irreversible damage to the spine to death.
After reviewing the information below, you will see that the consequences of osteochondrosis of the cervix are indeed severe, which means that in no case should the full complex treatment be postponed.
General clinical picture
Violation of the cervical spine primarily affects the lower segments, which is related to physiological characteristics and lifestyle. If you feel aching pain in your neck, shoulders, head, it indicates degenerative changes in this area, nerve pinches, muscle cramps, or compression of the vertebral artery.
Cervical osteochondrosis affects segments of the spine that are responsible for the function of the shoulder and elbow joints, thyroid, hands, esophagus, and trachea. The most common symptoms include pain in these parts of the body, hypothyroidism, cramps, numbness of the face and hands, coughing and difficulty swallowing.
At the very beginning of the disease, there are complaints of constant headache, fatigue, hearing and vision loss, dizziness, and fainting. Of course, there is always sharp or pulling pain in the neck and shoulders in parallel. It is important at this stage of the disease to see a doctor, diagnose, and begin treatment, which includes both taking special medications and physiotherapy, as well as manual therapy for cervical spine osteochondrosis.
Otherwise, the disease will go to the next level, with complications of cervical osteochondrosis that are very difficult, if not impossible, to overcome.
Spinal lesions
If a nerve with vertebral discs pinches anywhere in the spine, hernias and protrusions occur. These pathologies are chronic, sometimes worsening and then disappearing.If the attacks of sharp pain go away and don’t bother you for even more weeks, that doesn’t mean the disease has receded and everything goes away on its own. "On its own" can't go away, treating bumps and then hernias requires complex treatment for months or even years.
Disc herniation immediately leads to vertebral growth, salt deposition, and sclerotic plaques. In addition, the danger comes from the transmitted vertebral arteries, which are unable to fully transport oxygen and nutrients to the brain, inner ear, and upper spinal cord. Oxygen starvation occurs, leading to dizziness, loss of consciousness, and constant fatigue. The pituitary gland suffers, there are disturbances in the work of the hypothalamus, the process of breathing and swallowing becomes more difficult.
The work of the heart becomes hard, it starts to work faster, it increases the rhythm, the blood pressure rises automatically and this in turn affects the blood vessels.
Violation of the vegetative-vascular system
Medications - painkillers, antispasmodics, painkillers, etc. - relieves pain and other symptoms without parallel physical activity, therapeutic massage, but only for a short time.The body quickly gets used to the active ingredients, does not respond to them, the disease returns, and the symptoms sometimes get worse.
This threatens vegetative vascular dystonia - the most dangerous in osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. The whole body suffers from the compression of the vertebral artery, which provides a third of the nutrition to the brain and other vital organs.
Otherwise, many doctors do not consider autonomic vascular dystonia to be an independent disease. Experts are confident that this is only a consequence of violations of other systems. And cervical spine osteochondrosis is often the main "provocateur" of cardiovascular disease.
Above all, the vasomotor center, which is responsible for regulating vital functions, heart function, and normal blood pressure, suffers. In the upper parts of the body, due to the lack of normal blood circulation, a person feels numbness in his hands, notices difficulty breathing and swallowing. Deterioration of motor skills, possible disorientation in space, frequent fainting, "cotton" in the head.
Due to poor blood flow, the heart tries to make up for the "deficiency, " so it starts working faster and faster.As a result, blood pressure rises, heart rate rises, and tachycardia begins.After such accelerated work, the heart muscle tightens.
Compression of blood vessels and the spread of complications to the spine near the neck cause dysfunction of many internal organs. In particular, the adrenal glands become overactive and release excess cortisol hormone.
Over time, the disease progresses. Tachycardia, nervous system disorders, and hypertension and hypotension interfere with the person who initiated osteochondrosis of the cervix.
Hypertension and hypotension
Another dangerous thing in cervical osteochondrosis is the provocation of high blood pressure, one of the most horrific diseases. Initially, a person passes through completely unnoticed, with no visible symptoms. Unfortunately, neck pain is rarely associated with hypertension. Without proper treatment, it can develop into coronary heart disease, cause a heart attack, and cause a stroke. As you know, death from cardiovascular disease is the number one cause in the world.
As for hypotension, it is not able to directly deprive the patient of his life, but it has extremely unpleasant symptoms.
Hypotension is a lack of oxygen caused by improper nutrition of the brain, cerebellum, and inner ear. Because the brain receives little oxygen and other nutrients, it cannot ensure the full functioning of the body.Man has no vital energy, feels weak, chronic fatigue, nausea, drowsiness.Of course, he is constantly in a bad mood, his performance is declining. In the long run, memory, vision and hearing deteriorate, concentration decreases.
One of the most prominent consequences of osteochondrosis of the neck and the hypotension it causes is the so-called drop syndrome - unexpected fainting, and one of the most common - headaches and nervous system disorders.
Headaches and nervous system diseases
What if you don’t have the flu, an acute respiratory infection, your blood pressure is normal but you still suffer from constant headaches? It is quite possible that these are consequences of osteochondrosis of the cervix. The nerves are pinched, the blood vessels are pinched, the blood does not reach the brain in the required volume, the result is pain and dizziness, throbbing in the temple, squeezing in the nape of the neck.
In this state, it is difficult to continue to do your job to a high standard, to be in a good mood, to concentrate and to play sports. If you prefer to swallow pills, painkillers by heart, and do not go to the doctor and do a full examination, there is a risk that the disease will run and cause serious disorders in all parts of the body, including the nervous system.
Depression, panic, apathy, irritability, aggression - these are all indicators of a violation of the functioning of the human nervous system.
If the disease progresses to later stages, restricts movement, restricts life activity, causes constant incessant pain, and persists throughout, the onset of neuroses is a completely natural symptom. In addition, if osteochondrosis of the cervix is not treated, certain syndromes may develop that are associated with dysfunction of certain organs.
Syndromes
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can lead to the following unpleasant syndromes:
- Vestibular syndrome can ruin a person’s life and cause tremendous discomfort. The main symptoms include space loss, hearing and vision loss, and fainting. The hands can open unintentionally, weakness appears in the legs.
- Due to the fact that the vestibular device cannot function normally, cochlear syndrome can occur - it will cause noise in the ear, darkening in the eyes.
- Laryngeal syndrome sometimes occurs. Then the patient has difficulty swallowing, there seems to be a lump in his throat, the sound will be quieter and rougher.
The list of consequences of cervical osteochondrosis does not end there. The above is the most important thing this insidious disease leads to. Remember to consult a professional if you have any first complaints or suspicions that you have spinal disease.
Performs examination, prescribes individual treatment.This is the only way to avoid the dire consequences of cervical osteochondrosis described in this article.And if you are healthy and this disease has not affected you, remember to take preventative measures to stay healthy in the future.