The spine is called the tree or pillar of life for its enormous influence on the internal organs of a person. A slight damage to it carries with it negative consequences that affect the human body and significantly reduce the quality of his life. This is also due to the fact that each part of the spine has its own tasks and direct connection with the organs.
How pain in the spine affects joints
It is especially difficult for those whose joints suffer from pain in the spine.
The connection between the spine and joints is very easy to trace. Every day the spine takes on physical activity. It does this job well while the person is young and strong, but with age, this part of the skeleton is damaged and can no longer fully perform its functions. Next, as if in a chain, there is damage to bones and joints. But let's take it in order.
Why do spinal diseases occur?
There can be many reasons, the main ones are: age, increased physical activity, excess weight, bad habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Chronic diseases and injuries also affect the spine.
Symptoms that occur with this
- Back pain
- Headaches and dizziness
- Aches all over the body
- Limited mobility
- Poor posture
- Numbness of the limbs
One or more symptoms that continue for a long time may indicate the presence of one of the spinal diseases. Now we will analyze them and discuss how they can affect the joints.
Osteochondrosis
This is a disease during which the cartilage that connects the vertebrae is destroyed.
The tissue suffers from a deficiency of nutrients, which leads to depletion of the intervertebral disc. It becomes very fragile, cannot fully perform its functions, collapses and an intervertebral hernia forms. It's already getting on my nerves. Pain and severe discomfort appear. But that is not all. A small pinching leads to bone growths. Osteophytes also compress blood vessels and nerve roots.
Herniated disc
Another common spine disease that causes severe discomfort. All why? When a hernia occurs, the strength of the fibers of the fibrous ring of the disc is disrupted, it cracks and the nucleus pulposus comes out. This can lead to pinched spinal roots and terrible back pain.
The Art of Body Weight
I am 77 years old, I am often, especially at night, bothered by pain in my back, arms, and legs, so severe that I wake up and take painkillers. I tried everything, the doctors shrugged their shoulders and said that I have arthrosis. Isn't arthrosis curable?
Raisa Zakharova, Moscow
Nikolay Zagorodniy:
Joint pain is one of the most common reasons why patients seek medical help; the most common joint diseases are osteoarthritis and spinal osteochondrosis. Patients often use simple terms to refer to this disease - “arthrosis” or “salt deposition.”
According to various estimates, 12-20 percent of the population of different ages suffer from osteoarthritis in the world. Most often (43 percent of cases) the hip joint is affected, a little less often the knee joint (34.3 percent), about 11 percent occurs in the shoulder joint. The remaining 12 percent are diseases of other joints. Every third disability is due to arthrosis.
Its main symptoms are pain in the joint; at the beginning of the disease it occurs periodically - for example, during physical activity, walking, standing for long periods of time, and goes away at rest. As the disease progresses, the pain becomes constant.
The cause of this disease is still unknown to science. But we can name several preventive measures that can reduce the risk of its occurrence: do not overload the joints, avoid injuries and do not gain excess weight. Overweight people are more likely to suffer from arthrosis, especially of the knee and hip joints.
Also at risk are people who are born with hypermobility of the ligamentous apparatus, very mobile ligaments - they are highly susceptible to injury, which can contribute to the development of arthrosis. And young people with a diagnosis that does not exist in Russia, but exists abroad - “weekend sports”. This is when a person leads a sedentary lifestyle all week, and then on the weekend he goes, for example, to a fitness center and begins to forcefully engage in sports, “breaking” his joints and back. So if you don’t play sports constantly, day after day, you need to get into it very carefully, gradually.
If your joints start to hurt, you should follow a few rules to reduce the load on them.
Firstly, avoid running, jumping, deep squats, and prolonged squatting. Fast and long walking, especially on uneven and rough terrain, ascents and descents from mountains, and walking on stairs worsen the condition of joints and increase pain.
Secondly, lifting and carrying heavy objects should be avoided.
Thirdly, you need to wear comfortable shoes, low (2-4 centimeters), wide heels with soft elastic soles - they help absorb the shock that spreads along the limb when the heel touches the ground.
Fourthly, use individually made insoles-instep supports for foot pathology (longitudinal or transverse flat feet), and for loads and long walking - orthoses.
Osteoarthritis is usually treated in a comprehensive manner: changing movement patterns, reducing body weight, unloading the affected joints, therapeutic exercises and massage, physiotherapy and medications that should be selected by the doctor.
In severe cases, people undergo surgery, including joint replacement.
I have back pain, especially at work (sedentary work in an office), and pain in my legs when walking. Doctors advised me to take up fitness. But I can't because of the pain. They put a blockade, but it didn’t help for long. Warming ointments have been banned, and not all painkillers suit me. The doctors don't say anything definite. Are there simple methods for cases like mine?
Alexey Viktyunin, 36 years old, Moscow
Nikolay Zagorodniy:
Osteochondrosis is also a common disease. The main symptom is pain in the lower back, sometimes it “shoots” in the legs.
This disease occurs due to a lack of physical activity or, conversely, its excessive intensity (work associated with lifting or carrying heavy objects, playing traumatic sports). Also, its appearance is promoted by excess weight, anomalies in the development of the spine, and the presence of a herniated intervertebral disc.
If such pain occurs, you should never self-medicate. You need to see a doctor immediately. He must conduct an examination, including an X-ray, MRI or CT scan. Then he will select the appropriate treatment.
You may need to avoid movements that trigger or worsen the pain. You should choose body positions that do not cause pain or reduce it. Wear a lumbar corset (bandage) in the acute period. It serves to reduce pain, relieve stress on the spine, and stabilize the position. After the cessation of acute pain, it is advisable to wear a corset only before heavy physical activity. Continuous wearing is not recommended as it may cause muscle weakening.
Physiotherapeutic procedures are prescribed on the recommendation of a doctor. You will also need therapeutic exercises, exercises for which should be selected by a doctor individually. The doctor may also prescribe drug therapy.
It is important to eat right - excess weight creates risks for the spine
To prevent back pain, you need to regularly engage in physical exercise and gymnastics, which forms a strong muscle corset around the spine.
Avoid overload, sports in which sudden movements are possible, there is a hidden danger of turning, twisting or sharp stretching of the spine. It is not recommended to exercise with a barbell. Always warm up before starting training or gymnastics. Swimming on your back in the pool, using a semi-rigid mattress and an orthopedic pillow while sleeping are useful. And it is very important to eat right - excess weight increases the load on the spine.
You can send your questions for Roszdravnadzor specialists to:
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How does this affect the joints?
Pain brings discomfort to a person. He tries to reduce it, takes positions in which it is convenient for him to wait out unpleasant sensations, and leans towards a certain side. In this case, there is an uneven load on the joints. Joints begin to suffer, and if they have been damaged, destruction occurs faster.
Therefore, people suffering from back pain for a long time often have concomitant diseases of the lower extremities.
Therefore, it is imperative to treat your back and consult a doctor in a timely manner, as this can not only lead to back problems, but also affect your joints.
When your joints and back hurt
Today, more than 50 diseases of the joints and back of various etiologies are known. Today there are many clinics and different technologies for treating the back and joints, but, unfortunately, all treatment methods have an effectiveness of no more than 30%, or even less. If the medical center or doctor was unable to identify and inform the patient about the root cause of the disease, then the relief will be temporary.
Causes of back and joint pain
Let's figure out what are the main reasons that lead to back and joint diseases:
- Excess weight;
- Improper metabolism;
- Low mobility – sedentary lifestyle;
- Lack of physical exercise (gymnastics, running);
- Sudden lifting of weights;
- Poor nutrition – fast food, overeating, no clear regimen, incomplete microelements to nourish bones and joints;
- Stress;
- Infections;
- Self-medication in the earliest stages in 75-85% of cases.
And these are all serious reasons for the occurrence of back and joint diseases in 85-95% of cases, ignoring which leads to unjustified expectations and bad reviews, which is why the doctor’s reputation suffers.
Let's imagine for a moment that you come to a private medical center, since it is simply not possible to reach our doctors in the clinic through the entire series of coupons, and they begin to treat you immediately or after a consultation. Of course, if you come with pictures and analyzes immediately or after some time.
Treatment has begun, effective methods or procedures, positive reviews and reputation of the clinic, and you, as a patient, have high expectations. The first 2-3 sessions go well, after 5-6 sessions everyone sees the results, both you and the clinic staff.
The course of treatment for your joints or back has come to an end, you feel 50% better or 80-90%, depending on the severity of the pain it varies for everyone, look with hope that everything is behind you. But suddenly again - the same pain or worse, you go to the medical center again and take the course again. The situation repeats itself, the effect is insignificant.
Then the patient sins on the medical center. Are you familiar with this situation? Or have you been in this patient’s shoes yourself? One way or another, the example was taken not from the ceiling, but from the real situation in the market for medical services for the treatment of diseases of the joints and spine.
So what to do?
Firstly, contact specialists whose methods in treating the back and joints are based primarily on identifying the root cause of the disease, that is, what caused the disease. Next we will work to eliminate or reduce this cause. This way the pain syndrome is removed.
You also need to understand: to achieve long-term remission, to stop the progression of the disease, it can take, according to various estimates, from 1 to 2 months.
Case from practice
The patient, Alexey, 35 years old, came to us with lower back pain radiating to his left leg. He went to a lot of doctors and massage therapists, visited several medical centers, but the pain did not subside for long, i.e. the effect was temporary. The young man came with great distrust, with the thought: “Now they’ll cheat you out of money again, temporary relief, and shell out a round sum again!”
Therefore, he insisted only on massage, but we were able to convey to Alexey the method of our treatment and the technology that we use. It was also revealed that the patient was overweight, had a sedentary lifestyle, and did not move much, which was the root cause of the disease with which he came to us.
From the very first day, we began not only drug treatment for Alexey, but also selected a system of acupuncture, kinesiotherapy, gymnastics, and proper nutrition for him, which were guaranteed to eliminate up to 90% of the effects of the etiological factor that caused Sciatica.
At the 3rd session, the patient felt relief, the pain began to go away, freedom in movement appeared, at the end of the full course, he was already a different person, in his words. “The pain occurred sometimes.” Under the strict guidance of exercise therapy specialist, acupuncturist and neurologist Artem Yuryevich Lengin, the gymnastics program he developed, the patient began to lose weight.
The pain went away completely, after 3 months of daily training for 30 minutes a day, Alexey lost 7-10 kilograms, joint mobility increased by 85%.
With weight loss and physical activity, and our comprehensive method of treating and nourishing joints, Alexey forgot about back pain. But we must clearly understand that without movement and a sedentary lifestyle, some symptoms may return , which is why our medical team pays more attention to the prevention of diseases of the joints and spine. Namely: the developed rehabilitation program is continued by the patient at home independently , and, if necessary, in consultation with a doctor.
However, as practice shows, when the pain goes away, patients give up all physical activity, and then everything returns to normal.
As they say: “The patient’s health is in his own hands”!
Lengina Tatyana Nikolaevna, neurologist, reflexologist, Honored Doctor of Russia.
Treatment
Contact the First Medical Clinic for help.
The doctors at the First Medical Clinic are a brilliant team of specialists.
The clinic sees a neurosurgeon, vertebrologist, arthrologist, orthopedist, neurologist, traumatologist, vascular surgeon. Doctors with the highest medical category and extensive experience. They have a variety of modern non-surgical methods for treating the spine and joints. The techniques are used at any age, with many concomitant chronic diseases and are adapted for older people.
Already at the first appointment, the doctor performs therapeutic procedures that relieve pain and significantly improve the patient’s well-being
To make your treatment not only comfortable, but also affordable, we have provided a system of discounts for preferential categories of citizens.
You can make an appointment for a consultation and appointment by phone
