What to do with cervical osteochondrosis in children? Features of manifestations of cervical osteochondrosis in pediatric practice How long to treat cervical osteochondrosis in adolescents.

Osteochondrosis has ceased to be exclusively a disease of people after 40 years of age. Now this diagnosis is made in childhood and adolescence and the disease mainly affects the cervical and lumbar spine. Parents who are concerned about changes in posture bring their child to the doctor.

During adolescence, the human body experiences natural stress - it is actively growing, hormonal levels are increased. Young people spend a lot of time at school and preparing assignments. Therefore, when a teenager complains about:

• Constant headache;
• General weakness;
• Chronic fatigue;
• Impaired functioning of the kidneys and urinary system;
• For a severe headache, very often on one side, accompanied by pain behind the eye socket - parents justify this by being overloaded at school, sitting in front of gadgets or at the computer.

Concern manifests itself only when incorrect posture is clearly manifested - a sharply grown child slouches, changes in gait begin, or when periodic headaches and noise in the ear become more frequent, hearing decreases, in pain the teenager tends to move less, keep his head in one position (the pain increases sharply with movement and head tilt). Doctor's diagnosis osteochondrosis in adolescents becomes an unpleasant surprise. The first question that parents usually ask is what caused the disease?

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Causes

The following reasons are identified that contribute to the development of osteochondrosis:

• Traumatic damage to the supporting apparatus;
• Heredity;
• Poor nutrition with insufficient amounts of nutrients;
• Congenital and acquired pathologies of the heart and blood vessels;
• Various allergies;
• Internal diseases;
• Living with environmentally disadvantaged wives;
• Past infections;
• Various pathologies of bone development;
• Low physical activity;
• Incorrectly administered physical strength load during intense sports activities.

Most often, the diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis is made to children who received injuries at birth. During difficult childbirth, the neck is the most vulnerable part of the body and is therefore affected in subsequent development. Symptoms appear mainly in adolescence and young adulthood, during the growth and formation of the body. Osteochondrosis in children occurs after injuries received from a fall (during games, during physical education, when skating, a teenager very often falls on the tailbone), causing compression and displacement of the discs.

The importance of good nutrition, balanced and providing the body with calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins for the proper formation of the spine, was confirmed by Soviet pediatricians when describing disorders in children and adolescents who survived the blockade.

Very often, destructive changes in osteochondrosis appear in children whose families already have such patients. A factor that provokes changes in the spine will also be the teenager’s residence in environmentally unfavorable areas.

A sedentary lifestyle also does not provide sufficient nutrition to the spinal discs and their development proceeds incorrectly, causing disease. The same effect is caused by too much physical activity during professional sports, sharp twisting, flexion and extension of the spine, and falls while performing sports exercises.

Diagnosis of osteochondrosis

Diagnosing osteochondrosis in children requires the experience of a doctor and careful follow-up treatment. When diagnosing, the doctor asks the patient to tell about his feelings, his parents, the history of the child’s life and illnesses, and asks about possible heredity. Then he conducts an external examination, assesses posture, taps and palpates the spine, studies the condition of the muscles, noting places of unnatural tension.

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To make the correct diagnosis of “teenage osteochondrosis,” the possibility of movement in the spine is assessed. When identifying symptoms of osteochondrosis and accurately determining the diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe:

• X-ray examination, which evaluates the condition of the vertebrae;
• A study using computed tomography, which allows you to fully see not only the bone structure of the spine, but also the discs, the location of blood vessels and other tissues. Tomography is prescribed after undergoing an X-ray examination to clarify the results;
• In complex or controversial cases, MRI is prescribed;
• Ultrasound is used to determine pathologies in cases of complaints of severe headaches and suspected damage to the cervical spine.

There are three main types of such spinal diseases:

• Cervical osteochondrosis in children and adolescents;
• Chest;
• Osteochondrosis of the lower back.

The most common diagnoses are osteochondrosis of the lumbar region and neck. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment for a teenager.

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Treatment and prevention

Due to the high regenerative abilities of the child’s body, conservative treatment of such conditions will be best. Since pain most significantly reduces the child’s standard of living, therapy is primarily aimed at relieving it. For this purpose, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed, and vitamin preparations are also prescribed to strengthen the spine.

The patient must be prescribed physical therapy and massage. Swimming has proven itself well as a method of gentle correction of the spine.

What reasons may contribute development of lumbar osteochondrosis,how dangerous thoracic osteochondrosis in children and what is the most effective treatment for these diseases today?
Teenagers and children suffer from osteochondrosis , which occurs under the influence of insufficiency or pathology of cartilage tissue, congenital or acquired. Children's osteochondrosis(thoracic or lumbar spine) - a type of ailment in children, which is characterized by a change in the shape of cartilage tissue in those places where bone grows and develops. Such deformations in the area of ​​bone growth cause problems with the growth of the child's body.
Osteochondrosis in children can affect various bones. The disease interferes with the physical development and growth of the child. Treatment of childhood osteochondrosis should not be delayed; consult your doctor as early as possible.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine manifested by degeneration and dystrophy some intervertebral disc tissues the corresponding part of the children's spine. The causes of this disease lie in thoracic compression myelopathy (compression of the spinal cord), radiculopathy (compression of nerve root structures), compression-vascular myelischemia (insufficient blood supply to the spinal cord, resulting from narrowing or compression of some arteries and veins, which leads to disruption of its functioning ).

For the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis Heating of the affected area of ​​the back, various types of massage (including effective vacuum massage), stone therapy, magnetic therapy and other procedures that affect the source of the disease are prescribed. In addition, therapy is used that not only affects the pathology, but also treats pain.

For lumbar osteochondrosis intervertebral discs are affected located in the child’s lumbar region. The lumbar region has 5 large vertebrae and is located between the thoracic region and the sacrum.
Symptoms of the disease: Osteochondrosis the lumbar spine creeps up unnoticed: the child bends over and freezes in a strange position, but cannot straighten up: with any movement a piercing pain is felt in the lower back. The condition of the spine is worsened by physical inactivity, stress, overweight , junk food. For for patients with osteochondrosis, gymnastics with a set of therapeutic exercises is indicated to strengthen the muscles and joints of the spine.

Considering the frequency of symptoms, the severity of pain that worries a sick child with osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine , the specialist will recommend: manual therapy; taking hormones, analgesics, NSAIDs; administering drug injections into the intervertebral joints , muscle trigger points, spinal canal; SMT, UHF and other physiotherapeutic procedures; acupuncture; surgery, gymnastics. All these procedures are carried out complex treatment of osteochondrosis under regular supervision of specialists.

Developing osteochondrosis of the thoracic region spine in a child can significantly affect the correct formation of the musculoskeletal system . Therefore, if you find characteristic symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis of the spine in a child, be sure to consult a specialist for a thorough examination and prescribe appropriate treatment for the disease.
if the child experiences discomfort or even pain when bending and straightening the body , then perhaps he develops osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. The disease significantly affects correct formation of intervertebral discs and the development of the spine as a whole. Next we will talk in detail about methods of treating lumbar osteochondrosis in children and we’ll tell you which exercises are most effective against childhood osteochondrosis.

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Osteochondrosis in children is an extremely rare and, nevertheless, very dangerous phenomenon. The thing is that this is an age-related disease, so the main risk group is represented by people over 50 years of age, who exhibit all the signs of aging and associated metabolic disorders. Until relatively recently, osteochondrosis in children was extremely rare, but modern living conditions lead to the fact that all degenerative-dystrophic diseases are rapidly “getting younger,” so cervical osteochondrosis in children is now being diagnosed more and more often.

The main causes and features of the course of osteochondrosis in children

The spine in childhood has a significant potential for recovery, thanks to which even serious injuries are tolerated by children much easier and can pass without a trace. However, at the same time, a child’s spine is a rather fragile structure that can be affected by all unfavorable factors, especially considering that up to a certain age both vertebrae and intervertebral discs continue to increase in size.

There are a number of specific reasons that can become an impetus for the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical and lumbar spine in children. Cervical osteochondrosis has a multifactorial etiology, therefore, when considering cases of morbidity, several reasons can be identified that could lead to the appearance of this degenerative disease in a particular case. There are a number of most likely causes for the development of cervical osteochondrosis:

1. Poor nutrition low in healthy vitamins and minerals.
2. Diseases and pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
3. Severe allergic reactions.
4. Injuries of varying severity.
5. Somatic diseases.
6. Severe intoxication of the body.
7. Genetic predisposition.
8. Frequent infectious diseases
9. Pathologies of bone development.

A decrease in physical activity, which is a necessary condition for the normal development of bones and joints in children, is also a predisposing factor for the onset of this disease. However, in some cases, cervical osteochondrosis can also develop due to excessive physical exertion, especially if a teenager plays sports professionally and wants to achieve significant results in his chosen sport.

Many doctors, when diagnosing degenerative-dystrophic diseases, note that the main reason for the development of the disease is urbanization in general, since modern children often spend all their time at the computer or study, which contributes to the development of damage to the cervical spine. It is worth immediately noting that in most cases, children have damage to the cervical spine, since children do not observe hygiene when working at the computer, reading and writing, which leads not only to scoliosis, but also to a change in the level of blood supply to the spinal tissues and in the future becomes cause of degeneration.

Symptomatic manifestations of osteochondrosis

As a rule, in children the development of this disease is almost asymptomatic, especially at the initial stage of the disease. Children have all the symptoms of this disease that are also observed in adults, but all such manifestations occur in a very mild form, so the child can quickly get used to them and consider them normal. The most typical manifestations of symptoms of this disease in children include:

• weakness;
• decreased physical activity;
• discomfort;
• dysfunction of the pelvic organs;
• change in posture;
• constant fatigue;
• dizziness.

Damage to the cervical spine by a disease such as osteochondrosis is the most common course of this disease. With osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, most children very often complain of intense headaches. Among other things, many children who have osteochondrosis of the cervical spine may complain of aching pain in the lumbar and cervical region when they remain in one body position for a long time.

How is cervical osteochondrosis treated in children?

Lumbar and cervical osteochondrosis requires careful diagnosis and a long course of treatment. However, at the same time, the child’s body can fully recover, therefore, with full treatment, complete restoration of functions and elimination of all signs of degenerative-dystrophic damage to the intervertebral discs and vertebrae are possible.

Conservative treatment is the most common treatment option for lumbar and cervical osteochondrosis in children. First of all, medications can be prescribed to eliminate pain, inflammation, swelling and other characteristic signs of the disease. To eliminate the existing destruction of the vertebrae and cartilage, patients are prescribed a course of massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, etc. Without measures aimed at rehabilitation, children suffering from cervical osteochondrosis may develop irreversible damage, which can lead to developmental disorders and many complications, including radicular syndrome.

Surgical treatment methods for a child are used only in cases where conservative measures aimed at eliminating lumbar and cervical osteochondrosis do not give a positive result. As a rule, surgical intervention is prescribed in the presence of a radicular syndrome that threatens to disrupt the functioning of certain internal organs. Most doctors consider surgery in children to be too radical a method of treatment, which largely justifies itself; however, if cervical osteochondrosis is complicated by protrusions or a herniated disc, surgery is the only effective treatment.

Be sure to consult your doctor before treating any illness. This will help take into account individual tolerance, confirm the diagnosis, ensure the correctness of treatment and eliminate negative drug interactions. If you use prescriptions without consulting your doctor, it is entirely at your own risk. All information on the site is presented for informational purposes and is not a medical aid. All responsibility for use lies with you.

Juvenile osteochondrosis, or as it is often called juvenile osteochondrosis, refers to certain pathologies that occur during active growth and formation of the skeleton. This disease manifests itself in the form of degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs and joints. This disease is caused by the accelerated growth of a teenager or significant physical activity.

Juvenile osteochondrosis of the spine can occur due to a genetic predisposition or as a result of injuries received during birth. Anomalies in the development of the skeletal system also play an important role, and disturbances are especially pronounced during the period of active growth of the child. The following factors can provoke the occurrence of a pathological process:

• violation of metabolic processes;
• some chronic diseases;
• poor nutrition;
• excessive physical activity;
• sedentary lifestyle;
• incorrect posture.

These factors can provoke teenage osteochondrosis. If there is a genetic predisposition to the formation of pathology, parents need to carry out prevention in advance, since treatment can be very complex and lengthy. To carry out prevention, you need to do special exercises aimed at strengthening the muscular corset of the back, as well as to form correct posture.

Important! Osteochondrosis in adolescents occurs much more intensely than in adults, however, there is no pronounced pain syndrome, which is why treatment is carried out mainly in later stages.

Symptoms

Osteochondrosis in children and adolescents is quite complex and significantly reduces their quality of life. Symptoms of the pathology may occur periodically or be stable. In this case, the patient notes the following main symptoms:

• fatigue;
• memory impairment;
• decreased concentration;
• dizziness;
• headaches;
• pressure changes;
• pain in the neck, back and lower back;
• pain in left side;
• curvature of the spine.

All these symptoms are caused by compression of blood vessels and nerve endings. This provokes insufficient oxygen supply to the brain and disruption of the conduction of nerve impulses.

This disease is dangerous because, against the background of ongoing degenerative processes in cartilage tissue, bones can also be affected, and the consequences of this process are very dangerous and irreversible, since as a result, growth functions are impaired. It is very important to promptly recognize the presence of a problem and carry out proper treatment.

Classification

Osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is characterized by the fact that the nerve endings are compressed by the intervertebral discs. When pathology occurs in the lumbar region, symptoms such as:

• sharp and acute pain in the lumbar region;
• burning and pain when walking;
• muscle numbness;
• disruption of the genitourinary system and intestines;
• gynecological diseases;
• decreased potency.

Treatment of pathology is aimed at eliminating pain, as well as preventing subsequent destruction of the intervertebral discs. Conservative methods of therapy are mainly used, however, in the most complex and advanced cases, surgery is performed.

Cervical osteochondrosis, in addition to certain symptoms, also provokes very strong discomfort that can provoke certain changes in brain activity. This happens because the pinched vessels cannot sufficiently saturate the brain with oxygen. The main signs of the pathology can be considered as follows:

• headache;
• sleep disturbance;
• blurred vision;
• changes in intracranial pressure.

All these signs require immediate diagnosis - radiography, as well as subsequent thorough comprehensive treatment. The therapy consists of an integrated approach, which involves the use of therapeutic exercises, medications, and massage. The sooner therapy is started, the faster it will be possible to eliminate existing symptoms and prevent complications from occurring.

Diagnostics

In order to be able to identify juvenile osteochondrosis in a timely manner, a thorough comprehensive diagnosis is required. When conducting diagnostics, the doctor takes into account the patient’s well-being and also determines the possibility of genetic predisposition. Then the posture is assessed, an external examination and palpation of the spine is carried out to determine the condition of the vertebrae and muscle corset. When identifying the first signs of a pathological process, the doctor may additionally prescribe:

• fluoroscopy;
• computed tomography;
• magnetic resonance imaging;
• ultrasound diagnostics.

When performing fluoroscopy, it is possible to assess the condition of the vertebrae. A study performed using computed tomography allows us to determine the bone structure of the spine, as well as the condition of the intervertebral discs and blood vessels.

In addition, mandatory procedures may be prescribed to conduct laboratory tests of the patient’s blood and urine. In some cases, this makes it possible to establish the cause of the disease and detect associated complications. And only after this the doctor selects the most suitable procedures for restoring the spine.

Treatment

At the initial stages of development, osteochondrosis in children and adolescents is treated by using conservative therapy. Among the main methods of therapy, the following should be highlighted:

• massage;
• physiotherapy;
• therapeutic exercises;
• swimming;
• use of medications.

All these techniques help eliminate pain and inflammation, as well as strengthen the muscle corset and improve blood circulation in the damaged area. When using medications, in addition to painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, doctors prescribe special medications to restore the damaged structure of the spinal column. First of all, it is necessary to include chondroprotectors, the use of which helps prevent subsequent destruction of intervertebral discs. The healing process can be accelerated by strengthening and healing the body, which is why special vitamin complexes are prescribed.

If conservative therapy does not bring any results, and pathological changes lead to complications, then surgery is indicated.

In childhood, unfortunately, various diseases of the osteoarticular system often develop. This fully applies to the spine, which can be negatively affected by numerous unfavorable factors both in the neonatal period and in preschool and school age. Among the pathologies of the spinal column, one can especially highlight osteochondrosis in children, which has some features of the course and clinical picture, in contrast to adult patients.

As in older patients, this disease affects one or several parts of the spine at once, and the initial stages of the pathology are practically asymptomatic and unnoticeable, for a long time in most cases. Only later, during periods of intense growth or puberty, do the first signs of the disease begin to appear. They are associated, first of all, with chronic and progressive changes in the structure and functional characteristics of cartilage tissue, which, having the shape of discs, fills the spaces between the vertebrae.

It is believed that these changes are directly caused by malnutrition of the cartilage discs, caused by insufficiency of the circulatory system, anomalies in its structure, as well as metabolic pathologies. Unlike adult patients, osteochondrosis in children does not have the same development mechanism as degenerative-dystrophic. Its progression is influenced, first of all, by congenital factors, age-related features of the structure of the spinal column and environmental conditions.

Young children may also suffer from osteochondrosis, more often due to congenital anomalies

Reasons for the formation of pathology

In a newborn child, the osteo-articular system is not yet completely perfect, since many processes of its formation continue. Compared to the bone mass of the vertebrae, cartilage tissue is represented in a larger volume. In healthy children, it is well supplied with blood, all biochemical metabolic reactions are dynamically carried out in it and harmful substances are quickly removed. Cartilaginous intervertebral discs are very elastic and resilient, which explains the high degree of flexibility of the spinal column in a child.

But already in infancy, the vertebrae and cartilaginous structures can be subject to various threatening influences. These may be unfavorable external conditions, any underlying diseases or a hereditary factor that causes the onset of destructive changes in the cartilaginous layers.

There are many such causes of osteochondrosis in children, but all of them can be presented as follows:

• birth trauma, which unfortunately happens in our time. During injury, the structures of the cervical spine are primarily damaged;
• congenital anomalies of the structure of the components of the spinal column, most often the vertebrae themselves (absence of a vertebra, their deformation), as well as the muscular-ligamentous apparatus and a segment of the circulatory system that provides the spine with everything necessary;
• hereditary (genetic) predisposition, which causes improper development of bone or cartilage tissue, as well as the course of metabolic processes;
• the presence of somatic pathologies (diseases of internal organs) that directly or indirectly negatively affect cartilage tissue;
• diseases manifested by systemic failure of connective tissue (cartilage tissue also refers to it) and characterized by a detailed clinical picture affecting all organs and systems.
• hormonal imbalance that occurs in adolescents or at any age of a child if he has some endocrine pathologies (diseases of the endocrine glands);
• a complex of acquired factors that influence throughout childhood and adolescence. This is too much or insufficient physical activity, overweight of the child, hypothermia, spinal injuries, unbalanced nutrition, poor posture, incorrect posture at the study table.

Extra pounds negatively affect the entire body, including the spine.

The older the child becomes, the more intensely these factors influence, the more clearly the characteristic signs of osteochondrosis appear. Symptoms develop earliest in cases where there is a hereditary and congenital factor, then the pathology is diagnosed literally in the first months of a small patient’s life.

Signs

The younger the child is, the more difficult it is to diagnose osteochondrosis, since it is impossible to detect the presence of negative subjective sensations in him. He still cannot localize and differentiate the pain syndrome and generally tell what is bothering him. Older children can already tell their parents and doctor what and where it hurts, as well as how intensely it hurts.

Therefore, the clinical symptoms of osteochondrosis are of most importance. Depending on which part of the spine is predominantly affected by the disease, the complex of pathological signs also differs. If osteochondrosis is secondary, developed, for example, against the background of congenital anomalies or after traumatic injuries, then in most cases, attention is drawn to deformation of the spinal column, expressed to varying degrees. This can be a curvature in one or two planes at once (lateral, anterior-posterior), which can be seen with the naked eye. In other situations, neurological symptoms and manifestations caused by the failure of the circulatory network acquire the most important clinical significance.

The origin of neurological signs is explained mainly by the reaction of the nervous system, in particular, irritation of the nerve roots extending from the spinal cord. The so-called “vascular” symptoms are most often associated with anomalies in the location or structure of the arterial-venous bundles, which causes damage to many internal organs.

For a child with osteochondrosis, ordinary physical education becomes a problem

In children, in most cases, symptoms develop from any one part of the spinal column. The most common is the cervical localization of the pathological process, and due to the close location of the most important blood vessels leading to the brain to the spine, alarming and quite characteristic symptoms appear. So, with cervical osteochondrosis, children may have the following signs of the disease:

• rapid fatigue, compared to other children, especially evident at school age;
• headaches, sometimes associated with physical activity or prolonged static posture of the child;
• frequent dizziness;
• fainting;
• nausea or vomiting, most often associated with headache attacks;
• pain in the neck area, spreading to the upper limbs;
• the appearance of paresthesia (tingling, goosebumps, slight itching) associated with changes in skin sensitivity.

If osteochondrosis is localized in the thoracic spine, the child may complain of pain in the chest area, sometimes spreading along the intercostal spaces. Often there is a feeling of numbness in the skin of the chest or back. With lumbar osteochondrosis, discomfort and pain appear in the lumbar region, sometimes they are felt by the child in the lower extremities.

As a result of the gradual destruction of the cartilage layers between the vertebrae, the motor and static functions of the spinal column are disrupted. The range of movements (bending, turning, rotating) decreases, the child can no longer fulfill the usual requirements in physical education lessons, all exercises begin to be accompanied by the appearance and intensification of pain.

Diagnostic features

Despite the fact that the early stage of the disease is most often asymptomatic, all cases of childhood osteochondrosis must be diagnosed in a timely manner. A huge responsibility in this regard lies with local pediatricians, doctors of preschool institutions and schools. In addition, parents themselves should be very attentive to all complaints of their child, in particular those related to health.

When contacting a specialist, a thorough questioning of the parents and child is carried out, all complaints are clarified, an anamnesis is collected (what the pregnancy was like, how the baby grew and developed, what concomitant diseases are present). If the patient is of school age, the doctor clarifies how he tolerates physical activity and whether he participates in additional sports clubs.

Next, the child is examined, during which the condition of the spine is determined (impaired posture, range of motion, presence of pain), the severity of tendon reflexes, and changes in skin sensitivity. Based on the information received, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis.

To confirm it, it is necessary to examine the child, that is, perform an X-ray examination of the spinal column. As a rule, it is enough to verify the presence of changes characteristic of osteochondrosis of the thoracic, lumbar or cervical spine. But sometimes an MRI or CT scan is performed, which provides more accurate data. Laboratory tests are also necessary, according to indications, endoscopy, ECG, EEG, ultrasound, to identify the presence of background pathologies.

Clinical examinations help to identify pathology in the early stages

Treatment options

Osteochondrosis in children occurs, gradually involving all structures of the spine in the process. If the little patient is not provided with timely assistance, very dangerous complications may develop. This is a persistent pronounced deformation of the spinal column, a negative impact on the activity of internal organs, delayed physical development, and the formation of intervertebral hernias.

Therefore, treatment of osteochondrosis in children is the most important task of both medical workers and parents of patients. This is a long process that requires patience, perseverance, time and effort. A comprehensive treatment regimen usually looks like this:

• medication (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in tablets, injections or in the form of ointments, hormonal agents, analgesics, muscle relaxants, drugs to improve the condition of nervous tissue);
• non-pharmacological direction (physical therapy, massage, physiotherapy, reflexology if indicated).

The fight against childhood osteochondrosis should not be interrupted until a stable and long-term improvement is achieved. At the same time, we must not forget about such important points as the normalization of physical activity, nutritious nutrition, the use of an orthopedic mattress and pillow, and the proper organization of a workplace for a schoolchild.