Osteochondrosis is a rather unpleasant disease of the spine, belonging to the degenerative-dystrophic type. This leads to abnormal compaction of the intervertebral discs and their overtaking beyond the normal range. As a result, the patient begins to experience intense pain.
As the disease develops, the nature and frequency of the pain will only increase. In this regard, the patient is prescribed drug injections. They quickly lead to the desired result, as their entry into the circulatory system takes literally minutes. In addition, it is possible to use the drug locally. For example, inject it directly into the affected joint.
But this method of treatment has some disadvantages. For example, there is a chance of infection or damage to the tissues of the joint at the injection site. Therefore, this treatment is prescribed only when really necessary. Below, we'll take a closer look at cervical osteochondrosis, its symptoms, and injection treatment.
Typical and atypical symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
The main difference between cervical and lumbar is that the vertebrae are located closer together. For this reason, the appearance of pathology in at least one of them can cause an interruption in the normal functioning of the entire spine. To exclude the possibility of other diseases with similar symptoms, to prescribe the appropriate treatment and injections for osteochondrosis, it is important to accurately establish the diagnosis.
The main problem is that the initial forms of cervical osteochondrosis practically do not appear. And already in a neglected state, a variety of unpleasant and painful sensations begin, arising from the process of changing the cartilage structure itself and pinching the artery.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis include:
- It all starts with the appearance of pain in the cervical region. This pain begins to cover the muscles at the back of the head, is accompanied by an unpleasant and frightening crisis, and becomes stronger when turning the head. Severe headaches are possible, radiating to the neck, left chest and passing to the lower back;
- There may be a feeling of nausea. This is due to a violation of normal cerebral circulation. There may be signs of vegetovascular disease, feeling hot, intense sweating, hearing loss, and tongue numbness.
- Difficulty breathing is possible. They are associated with excessive irritation of the diaphragm due to damage to the neck vertebrae. There may be severe shortness of breath and even a choking sensation. This can lead to memory impairment and permanent brain damage;
- Also, this condition is characterized by visual impairment. It occurs due to distortion of the arteries. This leads to the appearance of blurred vision, flickering spots in front of the eyes, difficulty focusing the gaze and occurrence of atherosclerosis;
- Due to the spasm of the arteries and disruption of normal blood flow to the brain, dizziness can occur, which can spill over into an unexpected loss of consciousness and unstable pressure.
The need for treatment with injections may arise depending on the stage of the disease and how much it has deformed the vertebrae. In any case, the sooner you start being treated, the more likely you are to get rid of osteochondrosis for good. Ignoring the disease can lead to dangerous consequences up to disability.
Indications for the appointment of injections for cervical osteochondrosis
Traditionally, when osteochondrosis occurs, such treatment methods are prescribed as:
- Massage;
- Special gymnastics;
- Manual therapy;
- Yoga;
- Methods of Oriental Medicine;
- Other.
All of the above are aimed at restoring the spine and combating the consequences of osteochondrosis. But such procedures may simply not be feasible. This is due to the intense pain experienced by the patient. This is what injections are needed for cervical osteochondrosis.
With cervical osteochondrosis, several types of pain are possible, depending on their origin:
- reflection;
- spastic;
- neuropathic;
- Compression.
The greatest attention should be paid to the latter, as this is the most common and dangerous variety. In inflammatory processes, pain is easier to treat. Therefore, it is possible to get rid of it even with just one medicine.
Depending on the type of syndrome, a course of treatment is prescribed:
- Accelerated effect. By skipping the absorption process in the gastrointestinal tract, the drug reaches target organs almost immediately;
- peculiar. Certain drugs can simply lead to the destruction of the gastrointestinal tract, as a result, their effectiveness will be worse, especially compared to drugs that enter the blood stream directly;
- Selective. Some injections for cervical osteochondrosis are placed directly at the site of injury. This is necessary to improve your performance.
The most effective injections for osteochondrosis are prescribed on the recommendation of a doctor. The greatest effect can be achieved precisely when using injections.
What injections are prescribed for cervical osteochondrosis
All osteochondrosis injections are strictly prescribed by a doctor after the patient is hospitalized during an exacerbation of the disease. The patient is undergoing an intensive course in which all drugs are administered parenterally.
The main indication for prescribing osteochondrosis treatment with injections is severe pain that ointments or pills cannot deal with.
Between exacerbations, injections may also be prescribed for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. Basically, they are chondroprotectors and vitamin complexes to improve the condition of the spine. This helps to minimize the number of exacerbations. What injections are prescribed for osteochondrosis will be discussed below.
Muscle relaxants and antispasmodics
These drugs must be combined with other drugs. They are used to relieve muscle spasm and relieve pinched nerve endings. With the proper prescription of medicines, they give a good result.
If we talk about some drugs in this group, the dosage will be 25 mg for 10 days.
Analgesics
These medications are usually prescribed in cases where anti-inflammatories are powerless. Mostly painkillers. The most effective painkiller injections for osteochondrosis:
- Analgesic and antipyretic from the group of pyrazolones. Although it belongs to NSAIDs, it has almost no anti-inflammatory effect. But quickly deals with the pain. It should be administered intravenously twice a day;
- An analgesic that acts directly on opioid receptors in the head to relieve pain. The effect appears in 30 minutes and lasts for six hours. The drug is addictive, but not strong.
vitamin complexes
Often with osteochondrosis, injections of vitamins A, E and C are prescribed. They are able to reduce inflammation of the affected tissues and nerve endings and have a positive effect on microcirculation.
Most often, cervical osteochondrosis vitamin injections are delivered in the form of oily or aqueous solutions. They are entered only intramusculary. A course of treatment lasts for a few weeks.
Ines
Regardless of the degree of osteochondrosis, one of the main pathogenic factors is inflammation. These medications are designed to get rid of symptoms (in particular, pain). They cannot help to overcome the disease itself.
chondroprotectors
Contribute to the protection and restoration of intervertebral discs. The composition of the preparations includes the same substances as in the composition of joint tissue. They quickly deal with pain and inflammation.
They are given intramuscularly, depending on the doctor's prescription, every day or a few times a week. The duration of the course is several weeks.
Methods of drug administration for cervical osteochondrosis
During the injection process, it is important to follow the rules of antisepsis and asepsis, as the integrity of the skin is violated and there is a risk of infection. There are several types of injections that are given for osteochondrosis, namely:
- intravenous;
- epidural;
- intraosseous;
- Intramuscular.
The intramuscular injection process is as follows:
- It is necessary to treat the skin at the injection site with iodine or alcohol;
- Aspirate the medicine into the syringe according to the dosage indicated in the instructions;
- Insert the needle about two-thirds into the muscle.
If you can do it all yourself when injecting into a muscle, then you will definitely need an experienced assistant to do neck injections.
The cervical variety of osteochondrosis is much more dangerous than the lumbar or thoracic. All because the vessels are compressed and the blood circulation in the brain is disturbed. The distortion of the structure itself and the deformation of the intervertebral discs can lead to compression of the nerve roots, as well as the destruction of the vessels responsible for blood circulation in the brain.
As a result, with impaired blood circulation, a person starts to become stupid and does not even realize it. In addition to the above treatment, it is important to get rid of the cause of the pathology as much as possible, for example:
- Lack of activity in daily life;
- Too much weight;
- Violations of metabolic processes;
- unhealthy diet;
- constant stress;
- severe hypothermia;
- Loss;
- Often sitting without moving.
Properly prescribed treatment with injections in a short period of time can remove pain, relieve inflammation and restore normal blood flow. With severe attacks of the disease, the patient may be given droppers with mixtures of various drugs.