How to protect the cervical vertebrae from osteochondrosis

Modern people, especially townspeople, often hear a crunch in the neck with a sharp turn of the head, feel temporary numbness in the fingers, heaviness in the nape, headaches, discomfort in the collar area (neck, shoulders). Many people do not think about the reasons for such feelings or write off them for normal fatigue. However, it can be the symptoms of a complex disease, which you are thus signaled by cervical vertebrae.

The spine of a person is made up of vertebrae, which are joined together by discs. Compared with the rest of the spine, our neck is the most mobile, because we are able to turn the head at a greater angle than the trunk. Therefore, the cervical vertebrae are more vulnerable to movement. They are assigned and a great load, because the neck supports the head in an upright position. And if in the rest of the vertebral column passes the canal of the spinal cord that transmits impulses (orders of our brain) to other parts of the body, then the vertebral artery responsible for the blood supply of the brain and the nerve trunks that give sensitivity to our hands, Legs, neck.

People who often feel unpleasant numbness in the shoulder and neck area, tingling in the fingers, tinnitus, darkening in the eyes, dizziness, there are hidden processes leading to deformation of the cervical spine. In the discs securing the cervical vertebrae, protrusion or disc herniation, bone growths that will squeeze or irritate the nerve endings may form, causing unpleasant sensations, and later pain. As a result of the weakening of the supply of blood to the brain (and, accordingly, to oxygen), a person often experiences headache, migraines, chronic fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness.

All of the above are symptoms of a disease called osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebra. This is a very common disease, gaining rapid pace in connection with the emergence of occupations that require a long sitting at the monitor or in other tense frozen postures. Osteochondrosis affects computer scientists, truck drivers, people who lead a not very mobile life.

Initially, it can manifest itself in the lungs of short-term dizziness and fatigue, but as the vertebral artery is squeezed , the disease grows: pressure jumps, hypertension, vegetative-vascular dystonia, and heart problems, including loss of consciousness. Cervical vertebrae wear out, which leads to spasms of the vessels of the cervical spine, and in some cases also to their squashing. With age, the picture is aggravated by the senile narrowing of the lumen inside the vertebral arteries as a result of atherosclerotic processes. If you start the disease, changes in the cervical vertebrae become irreversible. Do not think that osteochondrosis is an old age: now more and more young people complain of pain in the back and neck, 15-30 years old, 30% of headaches are actually caused by insufficient supply of blood to the brain as a result of compression of the intervertebral arteries.

Therefore, in order to prevent osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae, special attention should be paid to the prevention of the disease. If you are forced to spend a lot of time in a motionless and strenuous posture, every hour, do a little exercise: tilt your head several times in one direction, then the other, then up and down, make the head circular motions; Move your shoulders and move with your hands. You need to think about how to gradually get rid of bad habits - for example, smoking only helps to narrow the blood vessels. Watch for the figure - obesity and overweight only add fuel to the fire. The development of osteochondrosis can contribute to metabolic disorders. Pay attention to a healthy sleep: a high pillow, a too soft mattress does not give the body to give a strictly horizontal position, necessary for resting the neck.