Women most often experience neck pain and headaches (although the stronger sex is not immune from this trouble). In Chinese medicine there is an idea that our diseases directly depend on the emotional background. And neck pain, as a rule, is associated with hyper-responsibility - the need to “carry everything on your shoulders.”
Women who hold serious positions or develop their own business, are responsible for the family, care for distant and close relatives, very often encounter headaches and quickly get used to them, considering this the norm. In most cases, to get rid of such “hyper-responsible” headaches, gymnastics is indicated for thoracic osteochondrosis.
Gymnastics for cervicothoracic osteochondrosis
To understand how gymnastics works for osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic spine, it is advisable to understand the mechanism of formation of this disease. Why does it happen?
Osteochondrosis is a degenerative disease of the intervertebral discs. Due to the fact that the disks do not receive enough power, they begin to deteriorate. Is it possible to reverse this process? Fortunately, yes.
Intervertebral discs are nourished diffusely. The small muscles that connect vertebrae to vertebrae should normally contract and relax: they then work like a pump, pumping nutrients into the intervertebral discs.
If for some reason the muscles freeze in one position - they become overstrained - they stop performing the function of a pump, and the quality of nutrition of the discs decreases. The less nutrition, the worse the disc feels, its shape changes, it flattens, microcracks appear, and osteochondrosis develops.
As soon as the tone of the small muscles connecting the vertebrae (collectively called autochthonous muscles) is restored, they begin to contract and relax again - nutrition is restored and the discs begin to regenerate.
Therapeutic exercises for osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine will help cope with this disease by teaching the muscles to adequately relax.
Gymnastics for osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic spine
What comes first, headache or osteochondrosis? And in general, why does a neck condition cause headaches? Let's understand a little about the mechanics of what is happening.
When there is stable muscle strain in the neck and shoulder area, as mentioned above, osteochondrosis will develop over time. But even earlier, this tension learns to rise up and spasm the tissues of the head.
This is not so obvious, but our head is also equipped with muscles, they envelop the entire skull. And, oddly enough, they know how to tense up. We can hardly tense or relax the muscles of the head, perhaps the facial muscles of the face, but not the tissues of, say, the back of the head. However, this process occurs unconsciously, which at the symptom level leads to headaches. Because of this, the outflow of blood from the head is disrupted, the membranes of the brain are involved in spasm, and the head literally begins to split.
The same tension in the neck over time worsens the condition of the intervertebral discs of the cervical spine, leading to osteochondrosis, against which the blood supply to the head becomes more difficult, which means headaches become more regular.
What conclusion can be drawn from this? If your head starts to hurt periodically, you need to do something about it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the situation will only get worse, and a “vicious circle” will form, from which it will be more difficult to get out.
That is why all doctors never tire of repeating: headaches cannot be tolerated. Taking painkillers is also not beneficial: over time, the body adapts to their effects, addiction occurs, the drugs stop working, and either larger doses or more serious drugs are needed. And most importantly, painkillers do not eliminate the cause of the headache - they do not restore the condition of the cervical spine. This means that the longer a person takes painkillers, the further the disease progresses.
At the first manifestations of pain in the head and neck area, you should consult a doctor: identify the causes of the condition and, if the problem is really muscle strain, master relaxing gymnastics for osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic spine.
Gymnastics for thoracic osteochondrosis
Which gymnastics for the cervicothoracic spine will have a positive effect, and which can be dangerous? As we said above, exercises should be aimed at relaxation. Muscle strains or forceful exercise will only worsen the situation. Why?
The neck is a delicate area, and aggressively stretching the muscles in this area during stretching directly threatens the spine. In addition, if you have noticed, after active stretching the next day the body seems to stiffen - it becomes less flexible. This is how our muscles normally react to stretching: they try to contract “with reserve” in order to protect themselves from further attacks.
Accordingly, after any aggressive stretching, in contrast to therapeutic exercises for osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the muscles will contract and the head will hurt again. Please note: if after this or that gymnastics you have a headache, this is a clear signal that you are not doing a useful practice.
With regard to strength exercises, everything is obvious: if you put stress on already overstrained muscles, they will go into even greater hypertonicity, and the pain will only intensify.
How to choose a gymnastics complex for cervicothoracic osteochondrosis? Here are the main criteria you should rely on when choosing:
- there is no pain during exercises - all movements, especially in the neck area, occur within the framework of the natural mobility of the joints. There is no need to force the body's resources to do this or that exercise;
- the next day after performing gymnastics for thoracic osteochondrosis at home, the neck and head do not hurt, there is no feeling of “stiffness” of the muscles and no feeling of discomfort;
- small amplitude - do the exercises comfortably, there is no crunching or pain in the neck when performing. For cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, gymnastics should not include throwing back the head - such active movements (especially in the initial stages) are contraindicated;
- There are exercises for attention - when performing movements, you are asked to concentrate your attention on one or another point of the body, evaluate its condition, and find deeper relaxation. Relaxation practices are directly related to how your attention is “tuned” and how you communicate with your body. At well-structured seminars, you will be taught to pay attention to pleasant sensations in the body, control of amplitude, etc.;
- feeling like after a massage or a good bath - relaxing exercises should give just such a feeling. Relaxation is nice! If you feel tired after exercise, you probably chose gymnastics that is not entirely suitable for osteochondrosis of the cervicothoracic spine.
In any case, we urge you to sensibly evaluate the effectiveness of the exercises performed. If after 3-4 sessions the usual pain does not subside, its intensity or frequency does not decrease, this means that you are doing something wrong.
How to do the exercises correctly
Gymnastics are prescribed to the patient by a doctor. Hospitals or medical centers must have a physical therapy room, where professional instructors work, using the methods of Bubnovsky and Norbekov. If the diagnosis was made for the first time, but there is no sports experience, it is better not to experiment at home. The instructor will select the optimal load and suitable complexes.
If you already have experience in physical therapy, you can practice at home, but be sure to coordinate your actions with your doctor. The main goal of sports medicine is to do no harm.
At home, you must remember to follow the basic rules for performing exercises:
- Do exercises on a schedule: only regular repetition will give the desired effect.
- Perform movements smoothly.
- Monitor your well-being and stop exercising if pain returns or severe shortness of breath occurs.
- Dose loads. The first time you need to practice for no more than half an hour, do a minimum number of repetitions. Gradually increase the load each time.
You need to play sports in comfortable clothes that do not restrict movement. The room must be ventilated.
After class, it is recommended to have a massage or take a warm shower. This helps the body relax and improves efficiency.
Gymnastics for thoracic osteochondrosis at home
We are all different, and no gymnastics can suit everyone. Your task is to choose the one that suits you. Don’t expect that exercises that bring new pain sensations will somehow help over time: gymnastics for the cervicothoracic spine either works or it doesn’t. And only you can determine how the chosen exercises affect your health. Sometimes you have to take several different courses to find something that suits you - a practice that will stay with you for life, will restore, improve and develop your health.
At the Wu Ming Dao School of Healing Practices, they teach gymnastics for cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis as part of the course “Youth and health of the spine,” which can be performed at home after mastering it via video. People come to us with chronic back and neck pain, and we carefully monitor their progress. More than 80% of our students note that already in 2-3 lessons results are felt: the pain subsides, becomes less intense, attacks occur much less frequently. This is a signal that the exercises are working.
Contraindications to exercise therapy classes
Exercise therapy is not suitable for everyone
There are a number of diseases for which you cannot do therapeutic exercises:
- acute stage of osteochondrosis;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases (tuberculosis, stomach ulcer, etc.);
- oncological diseases;
- hemophilia;
- frequent bleeding;
- any type of embolism of blood vessels;
- hypertension;
- elevated body temperature.
Patients with cardiovascular diseases should consult a cardiologist about the benefits or harms of exercise therapy for them.
After physical exercise, shortness of breath and fatigue may develop. This suggests that you need to choose a different complex or reduce the number of repetitions of the exercise. Over time, the body adapts and the symptoms will disappear.
Gymnastics for the cervicothoracic spine: video
To understand exactly what gymnastics looks like for thoracic osteochondrosis at home and to evaluate its effectiveness, we suggest you learn a simple exercise for the cervical spine.
The exercise is called "Dragon Head", and below is a shortened version of it. Complete gymnastics for the cervicothoracic spine can be learned at an in-person seminar or via a video course.
- Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, knees soft, slightly bent. Hands on waist. The top of the head tends upward. The neck and lower back are relaxed.
- Start rotating at the seventh cervical vertebra. This vertebra is the base of the neck and usually protrudes slightly. Find it with your fingers, return your hand to your waist and direct your attention to the base of your neck.
- When you rotate, you seem to be drawing a circle of a very small radius with the top of your head. The head does not throw back or fall; the top of the head tends upward at every moment of movement.
- Concentrating on the seventh cervical vertebra, ask yourself the question: what else can I relax to make this movement smoother, freer, more flexible? Maybe you need to “turn off” the muscles of the shoulder girdle, relax your shoulders, neck, and the area where the head and neck connect (the first cervical vertebra).
- Do several such rotations in one direction and the other and evaluate how the condition of your neck has changed - how much more pleasant sensations you now experience in this area compared to 2 minutes ago.
You can perform this exercise for thoracic osteochondrosis even at the workplace, when there is a feeling of stiffness in the shoulder girdle. Do it several times a day and note the results. Perhaps very soon you will want to continue to take care of your neck by learning additional relaxation exercises.
Warm-up before performing exercise therapy
Warm-up is needed to mobilize and warm up the muscles before performing the main set of exercises. It is necessary to do it, especially the first time.
To warm up, perform the following simple exercises:
- Walk on your full feet, then on your heels and toes for 3-5 minutes. Keep your hands on your belt.
- Run in place with your elbows bent for about 3-5 minutes.
- Raise your arms up, reach for the ceiling, stretching your back muscles.
- Clasp your shoulders with both palms, place your elbows to the sides. Alternately raise your elbows up, do 10-15 times.
- Bend your head forward five times to stretch your cervical spine.
- Raise your arms up, tilt your body forward parallel to the floor, hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
- Do 10 body tilts to the sides.
- Perform 3 back twists in the lumbar region to the right and left.
- Make 5 low jumps on two legs, 3 jumps on the right and left legs.
- IP (starting position) - sitting, legs forward, toes pulled up, body straight. Lean forward, stretch your chin, clasp your toes with your palms. Fix the position for 10 seconds, return to IP.
- IP - sitting, legs apart, knees bent, body straight. Bend your body forward, touching the floor with your hands. Repeat 5-10 times.
You can do the exercises selectively, the first times without load, then pick up light dumbbells, a gymnastic stick or a ball.
After warming up the back muscles, you can begin to perform the main complex to cure cervical osteochondrosis.
