Osteomas rarely develop in the thoracic spine - the discs in it are smaller and thinner than in the cervical or lumbar spine. The thoracic region is less mobile, the load is mainly on the ribs and sternum.
Unlike cervical and lumbar osteonecrosis, thoracic symptoms differ only in the location of pain. The nature of the pain and its duration are similar. With prolapse in the thoracic region, the spinal cord is not affected. Read about this and more.
Stages of the disease
Over time, osteonecrosis often progresses. According to the severity of the manifestation, the pathology is divided into 4 stages.
Preclinical
There are minimal disturbances in the spine. There may be mild pain syndrome, back muscle tension. Possibly developing chest pain - chest pain, but this is rare.
Sciatica
There is a change in the structure of the intervertebral discs. Pain of moderate intensity may occur in the affected part of the spine. Effective patient. But his stats of muscular endurance were steadily declining.
Lenticular blood vessels
At this stage, uterine fibroids are completely destroyed. A herniated disc is formed, the deforming process of the capsule continues leading to rupture of the capsule. The pulp nucleus then falls out into the space under the ligament. A herniated disc is formed. The process affects the tissues located in the disc, the activity of blood vessels, muscles, nerves, ligaments is interrupted. The disease becomes chronic.
Change the shape of bone structure
The vertebrae become rough, the surface becomes sinewy, uneven. Muscles begin to contract spontaneously, resulting in limited mobility of the entire spine or a specific vertebra. Compression of nerves extending from the spinal cord occurs. This leads to a decrease in impulses from the brain to the body's tissues and organs.
Mobility of the spine is generally preserved, but individual vertebrae become fragile and can easily collapse. If the disease is not treated, then it will move to the fourth stage.
Disc tissue regeneration and scar tissue replacement
The damaged disc cannot perform its functions well, leading to the clustering of the trunks of the adjacent vertebrae. This leads to abnormalities in the disc joints known as spondylolisthesis. In this case, torsion or displacement of the vertebrae may occur relative to adjacent vertebrae.
The body turns on its own compensatory mechanisms. To reduce the load in the damaged disc, the vertebrae will flatten and grow in width. So its area increases. And the annular fibrous tissue, which has collapsed, can be replaced by bone.
Sometimes this relieves the pain, however, as the vertebrae grow, the spinal openings get even narrower - the nerve is pinched.
Symptoms of the disease
Symptoms of osteonecrosis of the breast are usually caused by the following factors:
- the patient's age;
- emotional spine;
- developmental stage of the disease;
- The patient's condition is in remission or exacerbation of the disease.
Symptoms also include:
- radiculopathy - painful damage to the nerve endings of the spinal cord;
- abdominal syndrome;
- cardiac syndrome, changes in the heart muscle - it is characterized by severe pain and unresponsiveness to nitroglycerin;
- pulmonary syndrome: congestion, hypoxia occurs in the lungs;
- paresthesia - feeling of "goose bumps" on the body;
- pain in the area of the compressed nerve;
- reduced sensitivity to temperature fluctuations and touch;
- violation of the motor functions of the spine.
The patient's body temperature did not rise. This is a sign that allows you to distinguish pathology.
Degree of disease
Lumbago
It was a stabbing pain that pierced the body. It manifests itself during heavy lifting and other physical activities - pain similar to electric shock.
Morphologically, it is possible that unintentional rupture of the disc cyst can occur when the load is too high. This traumatic injury leads to irritation of the nerves - pain occurs.
The muscles are tense and this is well expressed. Lumbar muscular atrophy is smoothed. So the load is redistributed, the more compressed the disc leads to edema, which increases the pain.
When the disease is concentrated in the neck area, there will be neck pain - manifested by pain when turning the head and palpating the neck muscles. With an exacerbation, cervical pain is often observed, manifested by the fact that a person has a severe headache in the occipital region. There may be ringing in the ears, dizziness, a feeling of flies in the eyes, and teeth may be sore.
Dizzy
They appear due to narrowing of the cavity of the spinal canal. The disc protrudes and compresses the vessels. The brain cannot receive the required amount of blood. You may experience headaches, numbness in your hands, and shoulder pain.
Shortness of breath causes insufficient oxygen to the brain. This leads to sharp pain in the heart area.
Disc herniation
At this stage of development, the picture looks quite dire - the spinal canal and intervertebral disc spaces are greatly narrowed. As a result, a hernia mass can form - a dangerous defect. Usually, at this stage of the disease, surgical intervention is required.
Treatment of third degree osteonecrosis depends on the compression of the root. The same techniques as in the second degree can be used. However, when the pain persists within fifteen days and there are symptoms of prolapse (spondylolysis), surgery is required.
Developments on the vertebrae
As a rule, at this stage of the disease, the manifestations of the hernia disappear, the symptoms of the disease are less obvious, however, it is easy to notice that the spine is unstable, the vertebrae can slide ortwists in relation to each other.
At this point, growth of vertebral bodies can occur - a phenomenon known as osteoblasts. The growth that leads to compression of the spinal nerves, an overlap of the spinal canal occurs, is called secondary stenosis of the spinal canal. As a result, spinal cord compression is possible, leading to ischemia.
This degree of disease also includes consequences of previous surgeries to remove the hernia mass. They can manifest as endocardial disturbances, paralysis, and inflammation.
Dorsago and back pain
The symptoms of thoracic osteonecrosis directly depend on the area of the spine that is affected. Usually, dorsal spondylolisthesis and back pain are distinguished.
Dorsago manifests as a sudden sharp pain in the chest area. This usually happens if a person stays in a sitting position for a long time without changing their posture. Pain can occur when a person's posture is uncomfortable from a physiological point of view. In addition, it is possible when performing monotonous work for long periods of time.
Dorsago is also known as "low back pain". When this happens, the muscles in your back and chest tense up to the point that it's hard to breathe.
Sometimes the pain travels down the ribs to the sternum, radiating to the spinous process. Sometimes the patient may feel it is a heart attack. However, when performing an electrocardiogram, no deviations from the norm were detected. If you take nitroglycerin or another heart remedy, there will be no results.
Avoid staying in one position for long periods of time. Inactivity is one of the main causes of osteonecrosis.
Back pain is a mild pain that lasts for a long time, sometimes up to weeks. The inflamed part of the spine will cause "dull" pain. This is uncomfortable, so the person often visits the doctor.
Back pain can manifest in the fact that:
- pain that gets worse when the person takes a deep breath or coughs;
- overactive muscles;
- reduced motor activity in the neck or lumbar region;
- have muscle spasms;
- the pain is worse at night and when the person is physically active.
Back pain is dominant and inferior. At first, the symptoms of pain were mainly concentrated in the upper chest, in the neck. In the second case, the pain was mainly in the sacral region and lower back.
The symptoms of Back pain are very similar to those of the first symptoms of pneumonia. This is important to remember for prompt diagnosis. If the diagnosis is incorrect and treatment is prescribed, the patient's condition will only get worse.
When a woman breastfeeds, she may experience such manifestations of osteonecrosis. It is only necessary to treat the disease in this situation by contacting a doctor, taking into account all the nuances.
It is important to weigh all the risks of using certain medications, so as not to harm your baby's health and your own.
Atypical symptoms
In some cases, the symptoms of thoracic spondylosis are completely atypical. A person may not even be aware of the disease, as the symptoms are often similar to those of other medical conditions. They should be considered in more detail and analyzed as a whole:
- There may be a heart attack, which develops during angina and heart attacks; coronary vasodilators, such as nitroglycerin, do not work; and the electrocardiogram showed no abnormalities;
- possible pains, similar to those that occur in women with diseases of the mammary glands; this pain can last for a long time; examination did not detect problems in the mammary glands;
- the pelvis and abdomen may be painful, the symptoms are not the same as gastritis and colitis; Pain under the right ribs may be observed, similar to those characteristic of hepatitis or cholecystitis; digestion is often disturbed - this is also a characteristic symptom of osteonecrosis, which occurs due to disturbances in the internal functioning of internal organs; it is necessary to find out what causes the disruption of the digestion of food, is it really the cause of thoracic osteonecrosis;
- The process of urination and sexual function can be disrupted, due to distortion of the interior of the genitourinary system;
- when osteochondrosis of the chest is aggravated, there may be prolonged, weekly pains in the sternum, very similar to those found in diseases of the mammary glands; A visit to the mammologist allows you to determine the cause of the pain.
These symptoms are accompanied by back pain as well as intercostal neuralgia. The onset of atypical symptoms is usually observed in the evening. In the morning, as a rule, there is no whiter. Soreness increases throughout the day if the right conditions are created for this, causing the pain.