Thoracic osteochondrosis is a severe degenerative-dystrophic pathology that cannot yet be completely cured. It takes place against the background of the destruction of the intervertebral discs, the displacement and protrusion of the vertebrae. When diagnosing the disease, doctors take into account that the signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women and men are different. This is due to hormonal fluctuations in the female body. Women often stick to diets, wear tight high-heeled shoes and find it difficult to endure domestic conflicts. This affects the development, course and progression of pathology of the musculoskeletal system.
Differences between female and male clinical manifestations
Diagnosing thoracic osteochondrosis in women causes more difficulties due to the peculiarities of the hormonal background. In young patients, it is subject to frequent monthly fluctuations. In women during natural menopause, the body's production of hormones decreases. This can cause the development of pathologies, they must be differentiated. Men are characterized by a typical course of the disease, which allows to detect in a timely manner and begin treatment immediately.
The clinical picture of thoracic osteochondrosis in women includes many signs that are so specific that it is sometimes difficult to classify as symptoms of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Doctors distinguish such characteristic differences between male and female clinical picture, the further progression of thoracic osteochondrosis:
- clinical manifestations in women appear a little earlier. This is due to the spine, which is more fragile and vulnerable to the action of negative factors, increased sensitivity to painful sensations;
- the intensity of chest pain, stiffness varies depending on the menstrual cycle. This is due to the production of estrogen in the body - steroid sex hormones. They reduce the severity of pain, which occurs against the background of thinning of the intervertebral discs and spasm of the neck muscles. Therefore, at the time of initial diagnosis, based on patients' complaints, women are not always able to describe in an informative way the feelings that disturb them;
- in men, thoracic osteochondrosis rarely causes the development of concomitant disease. And in women, several pathologies can occur at once. At the same time, osteochondrosis can provoke the development of a disease that is not related to the musculoskeletal system. Conversely, endocrine or metabolic disorders lead to destruction of cartilage tissue;
- for the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis in women are prescribed drugs that are used in the treatment of men in rare cases. These are antipsychotics, tranquilizers, sedatives. The psycho-emotional state of women is more labile, so the symptoms include anxiety, increased anxiety and insomnia. Sometimes with the news of the incurability of the disease comes depression, which is eliminated only 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 in women, libido may increase. This is how steroid hormones work, which are produced intensively in the body to suppress pain. And men's sexual desire is significantly reduced as a result of a violation of the innervation of the prostate.
Typical signs of the disease
Patients usually complain to doctors of pain in the shoulder blades, which is aggravated by tilting or turning the body. It radiates to the sides, lower back and even the forearms. The pain is felt along the intercostal nerve, their intensity increases with coughing, laughing, sneezing. The reflected pain complicates the diagnosis, requires additional tests, consultations with an endocrinologist, cardiologist, mammologist, gynecologist.
Characteristic signs are stiffness, a feeling of stiffness.When moving, 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 include the following clinical manifestations:
- feeling of "creeping bristly skin", decreased tactility in the chest or abdomen, tingling in some areas of the skin;
- appearance of signs of intercostal neuralgia. When lifting weights, increasing physical activity, hypothermia, there is a sharp, piercing pain in the ribs, spreading to the chest and sides;
- the development of stable dorsalgia - a combination of pain with varying degrees of intensity in the back. They can appear even when inhaled, intensified when climbing stairs, doing any household chores;
- muscle spasm that limits range of motion. Muscle spasm occurs in response to compression by osteophytes (bone growth) or inflammatory swelling of sensitive nerve endings in soft tissues.
Thoracic osteochondrosis is characterized by constant tension of the muscles located near the spine. This is detected by palpation at the initial examination, as well as pain in the nerve endings. There is a change in the posture, the gait of the woman. She tries to keep her back straight to prevent pain. However, in pathology of the 3rd degree there is already a distortion of the spine against the background of developing scoliosis and a reduction in the distance between the vertebrae.
Specific symptoms of the pathology
Thoracic osteochondrosis is rarely diagnosed. This part of the spine is equipped with a powerful muscular corset, and its strong attachment to the ribs allows it to withstand intense static and dynamic loads. Doctors often call thoracic osteochondrosis "chameleon disease. "Its detection requires a differential diagnosis not only in pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (arthritis, spondyloarthritis), but also in diseases of the internal organs.
Often patients do not complain to a vertebrologist or neurologist, but to a cardiologist, nephrologist, gastroenterologist, gynecologist. The fact is that the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis are disguised as clinical manifestations of angina pectoris, cholecystitis and renal colic. And the attack of intercostal neuralgia is very similar to myocardial infarction or appendicitis. What atypical signs of osteochondrosis of the chest in women may occur in remission or relapse:
- pain in the heart. They are confused with angina or myocardial infarction. Cardiologists rule out cardiac pathology after studying the results of ECG and other instrumental tests;
- pain in the mammary glands. The discomfort does 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 pain (GIT). A woman consults a gastroenterologist after the onset of persistent pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium or recurrent. When diagnosing gastritis, cholecystitis, ulcerative lesions, various laboratory and instrumental tests are performed;
- pain in the lower abdomen. They often occur due to compression of the nerve endings of the spinal cord. Painful sensations and urinary disorders are similar to the signs of diseases of the genitourinary system. Urologists or gynecologists distinguish osteochondrosis from pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, uterine fibroids.
Despite the increased libido caused by estrogen production, patients show dysfunction of the reproductive system. Anorgasmia (lack of orgasm) develops against the background of compression of the nerves that innervate the lower chest area of the back.
The close localization of the pathologies in the internal organs and the general innervation cause very specific clinical manifestations. Sometimes they are disguised as cerebrovascular accidents, kidney failure, liver colic and even dental disease. Cases of extraction of treated teeth due to severe persistent pain at the base have been described in the medical literature. Subsequently, the cause of the pain syndrome is determined - neurological symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis.
Vertebrological signs are more characteristic of cervical pathology, but are sometimes found in severe thoracic pathology. Destructive-degenerative processes in the vertebrae and discs provoke sharp jumps in blood pressure, dizziness, impaired coordination of movements, headaches, tinnitus. There are cases of reduced visual acuity.
Many patients are diagnosed with psychoemotional disorders (crying, anxiety, mood swings). Health problems, news of upcoming surgery, reduced physical activity sometimes cause 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 cannot be repaired, 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, the stage of thoracic osteochondrosis. Women are much more likely than men to prescribe antidepressants, tranquilizers and sedatives. Hormone replacement therapy may be prescribed during natural menopause, which is also needed to prevent osteoporosis (loss of bone mass).
Drugs from different clinical and pharmacological groups are used to eliminate the pain of thoracic osteochondrosis in women:
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)in tablets. After one week of admission and improving the well-being of women, external forms of NSAIDs are prescribed;
- hormonal preparations. Glucocorticosteroids are commonly used for drug blockades;
- muscle relaxants. Relax skeletal muscles, relieve painful muscle spasms;
- chondroprotectors. Partially regenerate damaged hyaline cartilage, after a few weeks of application, have an analgesic effect.
In the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis are actively used physiotherapy procedures: UHF therapy, laser therapy, magnetic therapy, applications with ozokerite, paraffin, bischofite. Patients are shown massage, physiotherapy, swimming, 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 hernias. Deterioration of the spine leads to compression of the spinal cord, and then to the appearance of renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular pathologies.