There are many people who are interested in knowing how to treat osteoarthritis in the spine, But first of all, it is convenient to know what it consists of and what its symptoms and origin are.. In this way, it is more feasible to be able to know the way in which the problem is faced and the treatments that are carried out to treat the problem in question.
Index
What is osteoarthritis in the spine?
The osteoarthritis in the spine, also known as spondyloarthrosis is a degenerative disease of the cartilage of the discs that are located between the vertebrae. These lose elasticity and this means that they do not fulfill their original function of cushioning the impacts that are caused by the movement of the body itself..
The osteoarthritis in the spine can be in the neck, which is called cervical osteoarthritis, or lower back, receiving the name of artrosis lumbar.
Types of osteoarthritis in the spine
in addition, It should be noted that there are three types of osteoarthritis in the spine depending on the cause that provokes it, being these types the following:
- Primary or type I spinal osteoarthritis. It occurs as a hereditary disease in which there is a family predisposition, with no known cause.
- Secondary spine osteoarthritis or type II. It is related to the levels of steroid hormones, primarily with estrogen levels. This type of osteoarthritis in the spine develops in the first years of menopause.
- The type III spinal osteoarthritis. This is directly related to age., being considered a synonym of aging.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis in the spine
the disease of osteoarthritis in the spine may be asymptomatic or present some symptoms such as:
- Pain in the back or spine.
- Loss of flexibility in the spine.
- Numbness or restlessness radiating to the extremities.
- Stiffness in the spine.
- Increased pain with activity or after spending a lot of time standing or sitting.
Causes of osteoarthritis in the spine
There are different reasons why osteoarthritis can appear in the spine, a degenerative disease in which progression depends on different traumatic factors, They can appear anywhere on the body, nutritional and mechanical.
Among the factors to be taken into account regarding the appearance of spinal osteoarthritis the following are found:
- Aging. From the 30 O 40 years of age it is normal for radiology to show early signs of vertebral osteoarthritis at some level of the spine, regardless of whether or not you suffer pain. What's more, from the 50 years the risk increases exponentially.
- Sex. Women have a higher prevalence of suffering osteoarthritis in the spine, Since this disease mainly affects women between 50 and 55 years, coinciding with menopause and reduced estrogen levels.
- Genetics. Osteoarthritis in the spine can also be a hereditary disease.
- Work activity. Repeating joint movements can lead to long-term joint overload.
- high physical activity. Elite athletes have a higher risk of developing the disease.
- Obesity. Does not directly participate in the development of osteoarthritis in the back, but it can aggravate them in certain joints such as the knees.
- Sedentary lifestyle. A sedentary life can cause weakness in the back and abdominal muscles, which are unable to support the spine during movements or retractions of paravertebral muscles.
- trauma. Injuries or fractures can become a factor that ends up triggering osteoarthritis in the spine.
Prevention of osteoarthritis in the back
For patients who are at risk of developing osteoarthritis in the back are recommended to keep a healthy and balanced diet, doing moderate physical exercise, and avoiding those work activities that involve overexertion. What's more, avoid obesity.
Secondly, experts advise that people who are at risk of suffering from it should be careful when playing contact sports such as rugby or football.
Treatment of osteoarthritis in the back
Once you know what it is, the causes, symptoms and how to prevent it osteoarthritis in the back, you should know how this disease can be treated, taking into account that the treatment can be in two different ways:
Non-surgical treatment
The main objective of treating osteoarthritis in the spine is to restore the patient's ability to perform normal activities without pain.. For this, non-surgical or conservative procedures are used., among which the following should be mentioned:
- Medicines like paracetamol, opioid analgesics and NSAIDs.
- exercises of physiotherapy as exercise program, hot or cold, water therapy, TENS, massage, and so on.
- Different actions should be carried out focused on the weightloss. This implies carrying out a healthy diet and eating plan as well as performing physical activity to try to lose weight and maintain values that can be considered acceptable for each person. , according to its characteristics, complexion, edad…
Surgical treatment
Secondly, in the event that non-surgical treatments fail, you can choose a surgical treatment after a period of time. This treatment may include having the patient undergo different types of surgery., which depend on each patient. Among them are the following:
- Anterior lumbar interbody fusion
- Microdiscoidectomy
- disk replacement
- Decompression
- Postero-lateral decompression and fusion
In this way, through these treatments we seek to deal with a major problem such as the osteoarthritis in the back, a disease that more people have than you might think at first.
As with any other type of disease or health problem, It is important to keep in mind that how soon the disease can be diagnosed, there will be greater possibilities of being able to face the problem through the treatment that the specialist considers to be the most indicated.