Osteochondrosis of the chest is a severe degenerative-dystrophic pathology that cannot yet be completely cured.It occurs against the background of destruction of the intervertebral discs, displacement and protrusion of the vertebrae.When diagnosing the disease, doctors take into account that the signs of thoracic osteochondrosis differ in women and men.This is explained by hormonal fluctuations in the female body.Women often adhere to diets, wear tight high-heeled shoes and have a hard time dealing with domestic conflicts.This affects the development, course and progression of the pathology of the musculoskeletal system.
Differences between female and male clinical manifestations
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 the natural menopause, the production of hormones in the body decreases.This can cause the development of pathologies;they must be differentiated.For men, the typical course of the disease is characteristic, which allows for timely detection and immediate treatment.
The clinical picture of thoracic osteochondrosis in women includes many signs that are so specific that it is sometimes difficult to classify them as symptoms of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.Doctors identify the following characteristic differences between the male and female clinical picture and the further progression of thoracic osteochondrosis:
- Clinical manifestations in women appear a little earlier.This is due to a more fragile and vulnerable spine to negative factors and increased sensitivity to painful sensations;
- the intensity of pain in the chest area, stiffness varies depending on the menstrual cycle.This is explained by the production of estrogens in the body - steroid sex hormones.They reduce the severity of pain that occurs due to thinning of the intervertebral discs and spasm of the neck muscles.Therefore, during the initial diagnosis, based on patients' complaints, women are not always able to informatively describe the sensations that bother them;
- In men, thoracic osteochondrosis rarely causes the development of a concomitant disease.And women can experience several pathologies at once.In this case, osteochondrosis can provoke the development of a disease that is not related to the musculoskeletal system.Conversely, an endocrine or metabolic disorder leads to the destruction of cartilage tissue;
- For the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, women are prescribed drugs that are rarely used in the treatment of men.These are antipsychotics, tranquilizers, sedatives.The psycho-emotional state of women is more labile, so symptoms include anxiety, increased restlessness and insomnia.Sometimes, after realizing that the disease is incurable, 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 suffer from an increase in the intensity of clinical manifestations during the day due to the action of estrogen.
An interesting fact is that with the progression of the pathology, the libido of women can increase.This is the effect of steroid hormones, which are intensively produced in the body to suppress painful sensations.And the sexual desire of men is significantly reduced as a result of a violation of the innervation of the prostate.
Characteristic signs of the disease
Patients usually complain to doctors about pain in the shoulder blades, which increases when bending or turning the body.It radiates to the sides, the lower back and even the forearms.The pain is felt along the course of the intercostal nerve, its intensity increases when coughing, laughing and sneezing.The indicated pain complicates the diagnosis and requires additional examinations and consultations with an endocrinologist, cardiologist, mammologist and gynecologist.
Characteristic signs are stiffness, a feeling of stiffness.When moving or changing the position of the body, specific clicks are 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:
- feeling of "creepy goosebumps", decreased tactility 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, piercing pain appears in the rib area, which spreads to the chest and sides;
- development of persistent dorsalgia - a set of pain sensations of varying intensity in the back.They can appear even when inhaling, intensify when climbing stairs, doing any household work;
- muscle spasm limiting range of motion.A muscle spasm occurs in response to compression by an osteophyte (bone growth) 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, as well as pain in the area of nerve endings.There is a change in the woman's posture and gait.She tries to keep her back straight to prevent the pain.But with pathology of degree 3, a curvature of the spine is already noticeable against the background of developing 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 powerful muscular corset, and its strong adhesion to the ribs allows it to withstand intense static and dynamic loads.Doctors often call thoracic osteochondrosis a "chameleon disease."For its detection, a differential diagnosis is necessary not only of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (arthritis, spondyloarthrosis), but also of diseases of the internal organs.
Patients often complain not to a vertebrologist or neurologist, but to a cardiologist, nephrologist, gastroenterologist or gynecologist.The fact is that the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are disguised as clinical manifestations of angina, cholecystitis and renal colic.And an attack of intercostal neuralgia is very similar to a myocardial infarction or appendicitis.What atypical signs of osteochondrosis of the chest in women can appear during remission or during relapse:
- pain in the region of the heart.It is mistaken for an attack of angina pectoris or a myocardial infarction.Cardiologists rule out heart pathologies after studying the results of ECG and other instrumental studies;
- pain in the mammary glands.Discomfort 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 glands is performed to rule out benign and malignant neoplasms;
- gastrointestinal tract (GIT) pain.A woman consults a gastroenterologist after experiencing constant or recurrent pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium.When diagnosing gastritis, cholecystitis and ulcer lesions, various laboratory and instrumental tests are performed;
- pain in the lower abdomen.They often appear due to compression of the nerve endings of the spinal cord.Painful sensations and urination disorders are similar to signs of diseases of the genitourinary system.Urologists or gynecologists differentiate osteochondrosis from pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and uterine fibroids.
Despite the increased libido caused by estrogen production, dysfunction of the reproductive system is found in patients.Anorgasmia (lack of orgasm) develops against the background of compression of the nerves innervating the lower part of the thoracic region of the back.
The close localization of pathologies to internal organs and common innervation causes very specific clinical manifestations.Sometimes they are disguised as cerebrovascular accidents, kidney failure, liver colic and even dental disease.Medical literature has described cases of removal of treated teeth due to severe persistent pain at their base.Subsequently, the cause of the pain syndrome was established - neurological symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Vertebrological signs are more typical of cervical pathology, but are sometimes found in severe cases of thoracic pathology.Destructive and degenerative processes in the vertebrae and discs provoke sharp jumps in blood pressure, dizziness, impaired coordination of movements, headaches and tinnitus.There are cases of reduced visual acuity.
Many patients are diagnosed with psycho-emotional disorders (crying, anxiety, mood swings).Health problems, news of upcoming surgery and reduced physical activity sometimes become the cause of depression.
How to eliminate the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis
The methods of treatment of degenerative-dystrophic pathology in women and men are the same.Destroyed cartilage tissue cannot be restored, so the main goals of therapy are to reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent further spread of the pathology.
When choosing a method, the doctor takes into account the degree of destructive changes, the presence of an inflammatory process in the soft tissues and the stage of thoracic osteochondrosis.Women are prescribed antidepressants, tranquilizers and sedatives much more often than men.During natural menopause, hormone replacement therapy may be prescribed, which is also necessary to prevent osteoporosis (low bone mass).
To eliminate pain due to thoracic osteochondrosis in women, drugs from different clinical and pharmacological groups are used:
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)in tablets.After a week of reception and a feeling of improvement, women are prescribed external forms of NSAIDs;
- hormonal drugs.Glucocorticosteroids are usually used for drug blockade;
- muscle relaxants.Relaxes skeletal muscles, relieves painful muscle spasms;
- chondroprotectors.They partially regenerate the damaged hyaline cartilage and after a few weeks of course use have an analgesic effect.
Physiotherapy procedures are actively used in the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis: UHF therapy, laser therapy, magnetotherapy, applications with ozokerite, paraffin, bischofite.Patients are shown massage, physiotherapy, swimming and yoga.
If the woman does not seek medical help, diseases of the internal organs may soon develop.They are provoked by the protrusion of the intervertebral disc in the narrowed spinal canal and the formation of a hernia.Deterioration of the spine leads to compression of the spinal cord and then to the appearance of kidney, liver, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular pathologies.