Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is a severe degenerative-dystrophic pathology that has yet to be fully cured.It occurs against the background of destruction of the intervertebral disc, displacement and protrusion of the vertebrae.When diagnosing this disease, doctors take into account that the signs of thoracic osteochondrosis are different in women and men.This is explained by hormonal fluctuations in the female body.Women often adhere to diets, wear narrow high-heeled shoes, and have a difficult time dealing with domestic conflicts.This affects the development, course and development of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
Differences between the clinical manifestations of women and men
Diagnosing thoracic osteochondrosis in women is more difficult due to hormonal characteristics.In young patients, it is subject to frequent monthly fluctuations.In women during natural menopause, hormone production in the body decreases.This can lead to the development of pathology;they need to be distinguished.For men, the typical course of the disease is characteristic, which allows it to be detected in time and treatment can begin immediately.
The clinical picture of thoracic osteochondrosis in women includes many signs that are so specific that it is sometimes difficult to classify them as pathological symptoms of the musculoskeletal system.Doctors identify the following characteristic differences between the clinical picture of men and women and the further development of thoracic osteochondrosis:
- Clinical manifestations in women occur slightly earlier.This is due to the spine being more fragile and exposed to negative factors, and increased sensitivity to painful sensations;
- intensity of pain in the thoracic region, stiffness varies depending on the menstrual cycle.This is explained by the production of estrogen in the body - the steroid sex hormone.They reduce the severity of pain that occurs due to thinning of the intervertebral disc and neck muscle spasms.Therefore, during the initial diagnosis, based on the patient's complaints, women are not always able to informatively describe the sensations that bother them;
- In men, thoracic osteochondrosis rarely causes the development of concomitant diseases.And women can experience several pathologies at once.In this case, osteochondrosis can trigger the development of diseases unrelated to the musculoskeletal system.On the other hand, endocrine or metabolic disorders lead to the destruction of cartilage tissue;
- For the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, women are prescribed drugs that are used in the treatment of men in rare cases.This is an antipsychotic, tranquilizer, sedative.Women's psycho-emotional state is more labile, so symptoms include anxiety, increased restlessness, and insomnia.Sometimes, upon learning that the disease cannot be cured, depression occurs, which can only be eliminated with a course of antidepressants.
Women are more likely to experience headaches.But unlike men, they do not experience increased intensity of clinical manifestations during the day due to the action of estrogen.
An interesting fact is that when the pathology develops, a woman's libido may increase.This is the effect of steroid hormones, which are intensively produced in the body to suppress painful sensations.And men's sexual desire is significantly reduced due to the disorder of prostate conservation.
Common signs of illness
Patients usually complain to the doctor about pain in the shoulder blade, which increases when bending or turning the body.It radiates to the side, lower back and even the forearm.Pain is felt along the intercostal nerve, its intensity increases with coughing, laughing, and sneezing.Referred pain complicates the diagnosis and requires additional research and consultation with endocrinologists, cardiologists, mammologists and gynecologists.
Characteristic signs are stiffness, a feeling of constraint.When moving or changing the position of the body, a certain click is heard, usually associated with the displacement of the vertebrae relative to each other.Typical symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women also include the following clinical manifestations:
- sensation of "crawling goosebumps", decreased touch in the chest or abdomen, numbness of some areas of the skin;
- the appearance of signs of intercostal neuralgia.When lifting weights, increasing physical activity, or hypothermia, a sharp, stabbing pain appears in the rib area, spreading to the chest and sides;
- the continuous development of dorsalgia - a set of pain sensations with varying degrees of intensity in the back.It can happen even when inhaling, strengthening when climbing the stairs, doing any housework;
- muscle spasms, limiting range of motion.Muscle spasms occur in response to compression by osteophytes (bone growths) or inflammatory swelling of sensitive nerve endings in soft tissue.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is characterized by constant tension in the muscles located near the spine.This is detected by palpation during the initial examination, such as pain in the area of nerve endings.There was a change in the woman's posture and gait.He tried to straighten his back to avoid the pain.But with grade 3 pathology, the curvature of the spine is already observed against the background of the development of scoliosis and a decrease in the distance between the vertebrae.
Specific symptoms of pathology
Thoracic osteochondrosis is rarely diagnosed.This part of the spine is equipped with a strong muscular corset, and its strong attachment to the ribs allows it to withstand intense static and dynamic loads.Doctors often call thoracic osteochondrosis a "chameleon's disease."To detect it, differential diagnosis is required not only for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (arthritis, spondyloarthrosis), but also diseases of internal organs.
Patients often turn with complaints not to vertebrologists or neurologists, but to cardiologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists or gynecologists.The fact is that the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are disguised as clinical manifestations of angina, cholecystitis, and renal colic.And attacks of intercostal neuralgia are very similar to myocardial infarction or appendicitis.What atypical signs of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine in women may occur during remission or during relapse:
- pain in the heart area.Mistaken for an angina attack or myocardial infarction.Cardiologists exclude heart pathology after reviewing ECG results and other instrumental tests;
- mammary gland pain.Uncomfortable sensations do not disappear for a long time, and their intensity does not decrease.After the patient contacts a gynecologist or mammologist, an ultrasound of the mammary gland is performed to exclude benign and malignant neoplasms;
- pain in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).A woman turns to a gastroenterologist after experiencing persistent or recurring pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium.When diagnosing gastritis, cholecystitis, and ulcerative lesions, various laboratory and instrumental studies are carried out;
- pain in the lower abdomen.It often occurs due to compression of the nerve endings of the spinal cord.Painful sensations and urinary disturbances are similar to the symptoms of diseases of the genitourinary system.Urologists or gynecologists distinguish osteochondrosis from pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, and uterine fibroids.
Despite the increased libido caused by the production of estrogen, dysfunction of the reproductive system was detected in the patient.Anorgasmia (lack of orgasm) develops against the background of compression of the nerves enveloping the lower part of the back thoracic region.
The close localization of the pathology to internal organs and normal conservation causes very specific clinical manifestations.Sometimes they masquerade as cerebrovascular accident, kidney failure, hepatic colic and even dental disease.Medical literature describes cases of tooth extractions that were treated due to severe persistent pain at the base.After that, the cause of the pain syndrome is established - neurological symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Vertebrological signs are more typical for cervical pathology, but are sometimes detected in cases of severe thoracic pathology.Destructive and degenerative processes in the vertebrae and discs cause sharp jumps in blood pressure, dizziness, movement coordination disorders, headaches, and tinnitus.There are cases of decreased visual acuity.
Psycho-emotional disorders (tears, anxiety, mood swings) are diagnosed in many patients.Health problems, news of upcoming surgical operations, and decreased physical activity are sometimes causes of depression.
How to eliminate the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis
Treatment methods for degenerative-dystrophic pathology in women and men are the same.Destroyed cartilage cannot be restored, so the main goal of therapy is to reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent further spread of pathology.
When choosing a method, doctors take into account the degree of destructive changes, the presence of inflammatory processes in soft tissues, and the stage of thoracic osteochondrosis.Women are prescribed antidepressants, tranquilizers, and tranquilizers more often than men.During natural menopause, hormone replacement therapy can be prescribed, which is also necessary for the prevention of osteoporosis (low bone mass).
To eliminate pain due to thoracic osteochondrosis in women, drugs of various clinical and pharmacological groups are used:
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)in tablets.After a week of taking it and feeling better, women are prescribed external forms of NSAIDs;
- hormonal drugs.Glucocorticosteroids are usually used for drug blockade;
- muscle relaxant.Relaxes skeletal muscles, relieves painful muscle spasms;
- chondroprotectors.Regenerate part of the damaged hyaline cartilage, and after a few weeks of use of course they have an analgesic effect.
Physiotherapeutic procedures are actively used in the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis: UHF therapy, laser therapy, magnetic therapy, applications with ozokerite, paraffin, bischofite.Patients are shown massage, physical therapy, swimming, and yoga.
If a woman does not seek medical help, then internal organ diseases may soon develop.They are provoked by the protrusion of the intervertebral disc into the narrow spinal canal and the formation of a hernia.Deterioration of the spinal column leads to compression of the spinal cord, and then to the occurrence of renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular pathologies.