Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is a severe degenerative-dystrophic pathology that cannot yet be completely cured.It occurs against the background of destruction of 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 follow diets, wear narrow high-heeled shoes and have difficulty 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
The diagnosis of 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, the production of hormones in the body decreases.This can cause the development of pathologies;they need to be differentiated.For men, the typical course of the disease is characteristic, which allows it to be detected in a timely manner and treatment can be started immediately.
The clinical picture of thoracic osteochondrosis in women includes numerous 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 occur slightly earlier.This is due to a spine that is more fragile and vulnerable to negative factors and increased sensitivity to painful sensations;
- The intensity of pain in the thoracic region, stiffness varies depending on the menstrual cycle.This is explained by the production of estrogens in the body - steroid sex hormones.They reduce the intensity 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 the same time.In this case, osteochondrosis can provoke the development of a disease not related to the musculoskeletal system.On the other hand, an endocrine or metabolic disorder leads to the destruction of cartilaginous tissue;
- For the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis, women are prescribed medications that are used to treat men in rare cases.They are antipsychotics, tranquilizers, sedatives.The psycho-emotional state of women is more unstable, so symptoms include anxiety, increased restlessness and insomnia.Sometimes, upon learning that the disease is incurable, depression occurs, which can only be eliminated with a series of antidepressants.
Women are more likely to experience headaches.But, unlike men, they do not experience an increase in the intensity of clinical manifestations during the day due to the action of estrogen.
An interesting fact is that as the pathology progresses, female libido may increase.This is the effect of steroid hormones, which are produced intensely in the body to suppress pain.And men's sexual desire is significantly reduced as a result of a disorder in the innervation of the prostate gland.
Typical signs of the disease
Patients often complain to doctors about pain in the shoulder blades, which intensifies when bending or turning the body.It radiates to the sides, lower back and even forearms.The pain is felt along the intercostal nerve and its intensity increases with coughing, laughing and sneezing.Referred pain complicates the diagnosis and requires additional research and consultations with an endocrinologist, cardiologist, mammologist and gynecologist.
Characteristic signs are stiffness, feeling of embarrassment.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:
- sensation of “goosebumps”, decreased sense of touch in the chest or abdomen, numbness in 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, spreading to the chest and sides;
- development of persistent back pain - a set of pain sensations of varying degrees of intensity in the back.They can occur even when breathing in, intensify when climbing stairs, carrying out any household work;
- muscle spasm, limiting range of motion.Muscle spasm occurs in response to compression by an osteophyte (bone growth) or inflammatory swelling of sensitive nerve endings in soft tissues.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is characterized by constant tension in the muscles located near the spine.This is detected by palpation during the initial examination, as is pain in the area of the nerve endings.There is a change in the woman's posture and gait.She tries to keep her back straight to avoid the pain.But with pathology of grade 3, 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 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”.To detect it, differential diagnosis is necessary not only for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (arthritis, spondyloarthrosis), but also for diseases of internal organs.
Patients often turn with complaints 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 thoracic spine in women can occur during remission or during relapse:
- pain in the cardiac region.Mistaken for an angina attack or myocardial infarction.Cardiologists exclude cardiac pathologies after studying the results of ECG and other instrumental tests;
- pain in the mammary glands.Uncomfortable sensations do not disappear for a long time and their intensity does not decrease.After the patient contacts the gynecologist or mammologist, an ultrasound scan of the mammary glands is performed to exclude benign and malignant neoplasms;
- pain in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).A woman seeks a gastroenterologist after experiencing constant or recurring pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium.When diagnosing gastritis, cholecystitis and ulcerative lesions, a variety of laboratory and instrumental studies are carried out;
- pain in the lower abdomen.They often occur due to compression of the nerve endings in the spinal cord.Painful sensations and urinary disorders are similar to signs of diseases of the genitourinary system.Urologists or gynecologists differentiate osteochondrosis from pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and uterine fibroids.
Despite the increase in libido caused by estrogen production, reproductive system dysfunctions are detected in patients.Anorgasmia (lack of orgasm) develops against the background of compression of the nerves innervating the lower thoracic region of the back.
The close location of the pathologies in the internal organs and the common innervation cause very specific clinical manifestations.Sometimes they are disguised as strokes, kidney failure, hepatic colic and even dental disease.Medical literature describes cases of removal of treated teeth due to severe constant pain at their base.Later, the cause of the pain syndrome was established - neurological symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Vertebrological signs are more typical of cervical pathology, but are sometimes detected 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 have been cases of decreased visual acuity.
Psycho-emotional disorders (crying, anxiety, mood swings) are diagnosed in many patients.Health problems, news of an upcoming surgical operation, and decreased physical activity sometimes become causes of depression.
How to eliminate the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis
The methods of treating degenerative-dystrophic pathology in women and men are the same.Destroyed cartilaginous tissue cannot be restored, therefore the main goals of therapy are to reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent the spread of pathology.
When choosing a method, the doctor takes into account the degree of destructive changes, the presence of an inflammatory process in 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 several 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 generally used for drug blockades;
- muscle relaxants.Relaxes skeletal muscles, relieves painful muscle spasms;
- chondroprotectors.Partially regenerates damaged hyaline cartilage and, after a few weeks of use, 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 receive massage, physical therapy, swimming and yoga.
If a woman does not seek medical help, diseases of internal organs may soon develop.They are provoked by the protrusion of the intervertebral disc into the narrowed spinal canal and the formation of hernias.Deterioration of the spine leads to compression of the spinal cord and then the occurrence of kidney, liver, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular pathologies.