Cervical osteochondrosis is a common disorder that causes many unpleasant symptoms and significantly worsens quality of life. It is nearly impossible to cure it without surgery. But you can stop the process and get rid of most of the symptoms. Only physical therapy can help with this.
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Osteochondrosis is the degeneration of bone and cartilage (disc) tissue in the spine. As a result, its discs deform, bulging between the vertebrae, and growths form on the vertebrae.
As a result, nerve endings are pinched, blood vessels passing along the spine are pinched, and surrounding tissue is injured by bone growth. Inadequate blood supply and immobility due to pain can accelerate the development of the pathology. As a result, patients receive a whole bunch of unpleasant symptoms:
- severe pain ("lower back pain")
- Visual and hearing impairments.
- dizziness.
- Changes in intracranial pressure.
- syncope.
- Nausea attack.
- Limited neck movement.
Medications can reduce inflammation and pain. But they were unable to free the constrained nerve roots and blood vessels to put the disc in the correct position and restore mobility. It can only perform special exercises. Therefore, therapeutic exercise is the most important part of the treatment of osteochondrosis.
Indications for the use of gymnastics
Therapeutic exercise is useful in any stage of osteochondrosis (there are four of this disease). However, it only gave significant results at an early stage. The presence of the disease and its stage are determined by the doctor. The reason for passing inspection and doing therapeutic exercises should be any of the above symptoms, as well as a tightness in the neck when moving.
Previously, cervical osteochondrosis was considered a disease of adults (40-45 years old), but in recent years it has become significantly "younger" and even occurs in adolescents. The reason is sitting still in front of a computer or desk for long periods of time. Therefore, even healthy young adults do not harm the set of exercises that studies have shown for cervical osteochondrosis and performed for prevention purposes. This doesn't require any equipment and sportswear, and you can do it at lunchtime or in lieu of a "smoking break".
Contraindications to therapeutic exercise
This does not mean that physical therapy exercises are available to anyone at any time. Osteochondrosis can be in acute, subacute, and remission phases. The acute phase is characterized by the clear presentation of several symptoms of the disease (which occur in different groups of people in different groups) and, of course, severe pain when moving.
In the acute phase of osteochondrosis, it is necessary to eliminate pain and inflammation with the help of drugs in the clinic (prescribed by a doctor) and physiotherapy procedures. Physical education classes are strictly prohibited.
Gymnastics can be started only in the subacute phase. When moving the neck, there should be no severe pain, dizziness, "fly" in front of the eyes, or murmur in the ear. Minor discomfort is acceptable. Also contraindicated:
- Severe blood pressure abnormalities.
- malignant tumor.
- Fever condition.
Classes are required during the remission phase (at least 3 times per week). If treatment is started early, with conscious physical therapy exercise, the acute phase of the disease is likely to not recur for many years.
Rules for conducting therapeutic exercises
Exercises for people with cervical osteochondrosis are simple. They are movements of the head, shoulders and arms. But they should be enforced, obeying some rules. Only in this case will they give a result.
- Before starting the training, the muscles must be warmed up. The easiest way to do this is through self-massage.
- Movement must be performed with the greatest possible amplitude. It may be small at first, but should increase as you progress.
- The movement should be smooth, with no jerks.
- The number of repetitions for each exercise is 5-10. If it is symmetric, count the repetitions separately in each direction.
- You can perform gymnastics while sitting (you must support your back on the back of a chair or armchair) or standing. The first one is better, so it is convenient to do gymnastics in a workplace office.
- There should be no breaks in class. An exception is the transition of osteochondrosis to the acute phase or the emergence of diseases accompanied by hyperthermia.
- Mild discomfort (minor pain, pulling, crunching) should be tolerated, especially at the beginning of the session. However, if you experience severe pain or other obvious symptoms of osteochondrosis, you should stop exercising immediately and seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Doctors usually recommend therapeutic exercise at the same time. Following this rule is desirable, but not required. If for some reason you can't do both at the same time, you can do it at different times. It is important not to skip class at all.
Gymnastics is not only unhelpful but can have the opposite result if you don't follow the rules of the class listed above. Improper movement can cause compression of the nerve or displacement of the disc.
Main exercises for cervical osteochondrosis
Today, there are many systems for treating osteochondrosis with the help of physical therapy exercises. You can make your own choice, or make your choice based on your doctor's advice - all systems will give you results. Several basic exercises are also included in almost all complexes.
- The head is tilted toward the shoulders.
- Turn to the sides (in this case, you need to bring your chin down to your shoulders).
- Turn to the sides while placing palms on opposite shoulders.
- Tilt back and forth. It is fine if the head is pressed against the chair or the headrest of the chair against slight resistance when leaning back.
- Raise and lower shoulders.
- Tilt your head to one shoulder while lifting the other shoulder.
- Extend the neck forward and pull it back (called "chick peeking out of the nest").
- Extend your neck forward and turn your head to one side (called "goose").
- The head is tilted and turned to the sides, and the arms are raised and folded overhead (called a "fakir").
- Extend your neck forward and up while abducting your straight arms (called "gulls") behind your back.
In addition, osteochondrosis patients are advised to tilt their head to the sides and forward, as well as to turn to the sides in very small increments. The number of repetitions in this case should be more (at least 10). These exercises are sometimes called "ay-ay-ay, " "yes-yes, " and "no-no. "They are especially recommended for those suffering from what is known as a "widow's hump" (aka "housewife's roller") - swelling in the 7th cervical vertebrae area.
The first few classes are best conducted under the guidance of a physical therapist. He will teach you how to practice properly, and then the patient can do it himself. If it is difficult to find such an expert, you can use video tutorials.
Executing such a complex (with all the rules) will take no more than 20 minutes. So it's clear - instead of putting up with all the hassle to prepare someone with cervical osteochondrosis, it's better to start exercising as soon as possible.
Osteochondrosis of the neck is a disease that doctors cannot cure. He cannot do it without the active participation of the patient in the treatment process. However, if you start your therapeutic exercise on time, you can avoid the unpleasant manifestations of osteochondrosis in the long term.