Subchondral sclerosis of the spine - what is it and what are the causes?

At the moment, experts increasingly diagnose people with "subchondral sclerosis of the spine". What it is, interests many. How to deal with it? This is a pathological process in which the density of the bone material of the spinal column increases at times .

We will try to consider this pathology in more detail. In what cases should you immediately be alerted in order to avoid disability in the future?

Briefly on the defect of the spine

So, the person has subchondral sclerosis of the spine. What it is?

This is not a separate disease, but a symptom of some other defect. It is for this reason that therapy directly depends on what became a provocateur, causing sclerosis of the vertebra. It should be noted that this ailment is found not only in humans, but also in animals. As for the sex of patients, men are more prone to it.

Sclerosis of the vertebra often affects people aged 50 years and the location of the disease is as follows:

• Hip joint;
• ankle joint;
• Middle part of the vertebra;
• Cervical and thoracic vertebra.

But what causes such a defect, look below.

The reasons for this defect

All of them depend not only on external, but also on internal factors. If you know what can provoke the development of such a disease, then there is a real chance to protect yourself and your loved ones from this dangerous defect.

The reasons for developing subchondral sclerosis of the lumbosacral spine are two, namely:

• The appearance of the inflammatory process, during any disease;
• Rapid aging of bone material.

The material of bones with subchondral sclerosis begins to thicken. Appear specific growths on the bones, which gradually provoke the inflammatory process. In this case, a person begins to feel pain in the vertebrae, which blocks his normal movement.

In general, the development of such a defect leads to osteochondrosis and arthrosis. Under the influence of primary ailments, osteophytes begin to form. If the culprit is osteochondrosis, osteophytes begin to appear along the vertebrae margins. And if the culprit arthrosis, then such formations appear along the edges of the joints.

With the diagnosis of "subchondral sclerosis of the spine" treatment is difficult.

Completely get rid of the disease, which was provoked by arthrosis or osteochondrosis, is unrealistic. But if such a defect caused arthritis, then there is a high probability of getting rid of this ailment. The only condition is the timely detection of the disease and adequate treatment. If you do not do the therapy in time, then such growths can block the joint, which will lead to loss of mobility.

External and internal factors

But there is also a list of some external and internal factors that can trigger the development of this disease, namely:

• The advanced age of the person, as a rule, people who are over 50 years old, are more prone to such a defect because of the weakening of the muscle material;
• Hereditary predisposition of a person;
• If the patient suffers from systemic lupus erythematosus;
• With a disease such as diabetes mellitus;
• Vertebral injury;
• Fractures of an internal character, in which the nutrition of the damaged joint is disturbed;
• obesity;
• sedentary lifestyle.

In all these cases, subchondral sclerosis of the spine may develop. What is it, we dismantled.

It should be noted that often those people who have a permanent job in one position are also exposed to such a defect. Therefore, if there is a risk of developing sclerosis in humans, then it must necessarily undergo a test for the detection of such a disease. It is enough to visit the required specialist every year to prevent an attack on your own organism.

Symptoms by which the disease can be recognized

If subchondral sclerosis develops in the thoracic spine, the following symptoms will indicate to a person the appearance of this defect:

• Pain localized in the vertebra and neck;
• The appearance of pain when trying to bend and turn the body;
• Loss of coordination of movements;
• Loss of balance;
• The appearance of a feeling of numbness in the limbs;
• A sharp loss of body weight, which is not provoked by any known factors;
• State of depression;
• Difficulty in concentrating;
• Partial hearing loss.

It is worth noting that such symptoms do not always appear in humans. The overwhelming majority of symptoms directly depend on how much the disease progresses, and if the disease is at the initial stage, then there may not be symptoms of its development.

Types of subchondral sclerosis

Depending on the location of the disease, subchondral sclerosis is divided into groups, namely:

• The diagnosis of "subchondral sclerosis of the spine" is established if the defect has completely affected the entire vertebral column;
• Subchondral sclerosis of the cervical spine makes itself felt by severe pain in the neck and in the upper limbs;
• With sclerosis of the thoracic region, the vertebra completely ossifies and becomes immovable, while the person suffers from severe pain.

And the last group is a sclerosis of the hip, ankle and other joints. Only the specialist will be able to diagnose what place was hit, so timely application for help should be mandatory.

How is the disease diagnosed?

If there is a suspicion of this ailment, you should immediately seek the advice of a specialist. The doctor after the initial examination will assign the following types of diagnostics:

• The most basic way to identify such an ailment, x-ray;
• MRI;
• CT;
• Testing for bone density densitometry;
• Blood sampling.

In addition to the above methods, an important role is played by the patient's own survey. In this case, the more clearly a person provides a description of the symptoms, the sooner the problem is diagnosed. But at the same time, the most important thing that a person should do is to ask for help in a timely manner.

Therapy

What is the diagnosis of "subchondral sclerosis of the cervical spine" treatment?

First of all, it is impossible to completely get rid of the two most dangerous provocateurs, such as osteochondrosis and arthrosis. If the diagnosis of "arthritis" was established at an early stage of development, with bone formation not yet formed, then this defect can be cured. Most importantly, it is not to get involved in folk ways, because such techniques can only temporarily relieve the pain and improve the blood circulation a little. But as an assistant to get rid of the disease, these methods will not work.

Subchondral sclerosis of the lumbar spine is cured as follows:

• The first stage - the removal of pain and complete removal of the inflammatory process;
• The second stage is the preservation of the mobility of the affected joints and the restoration of the cartilaginous tissue.

For these purposes, a specialist prescribes a course of drugs that neutralize inflammatory processes. If a person is tormented by pain, then an anesthetic is prescribed for their disposal. Also mandatory is the use of immunomodulators and chondroprotectors.

The attending physician builds a complex of medical measures based on the available signs. Subchondral sclerosis of the terminal plates of the spine is successfully treated if certain manipulations are performed, namely:

• physiotherapy;
• Therapeutic massages;
• physiotherapy.

Such methods give the chance to return the lost mobility to the joints. And also some exercises are able to affect a person like an effective pain medication.

It is very important when performing exercise therapy that all movements are slow to avoid loading the defective joint.

If after the spent therapy the patient has no improvement, in this case, surgical intervention will be recommended.

What are the recommended medical luminaries?

If the case is sufficiently started, then the specialists who conducted the medical measures will insist on surgical intervention. But it is important to understand that even an operation does not guarantee that a person will completely get rid of such a defect. The fact is that the osteophytes can reappear and begin the process of proliferation.

Despite the fact that modern medicine in this area has made a huge step forward, the disease has rejuvenated. At the moment, there have been several cases when such a defect was detected even in children. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention in time to any changes that occur in the body.

At the moment, you can identify multiple sclerosis in humans using another technique, this is a genetic test. This method of examination is additional to the main methods. It is not mandatory, but when used, a person will be able to identify any genetic abnormality that can trigger the development of this ailment.

Folk remedies for treatment of subchondral sclerosis of the spine

Treatment of folk remedies of this disease is not recommended. But as an accompanying measure, their use is possible. Before this, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the attending physician. The disease is very serious, so do not experiment with your health. Especially it concerns self-treatment.

What preventive measures will be effective?

Prophylactic measure for subchondral sclerosis, there can be only one, and this is a timely call for advice to a doctor. It is important to understand that painful feelings begin to disturb a person when the defect is in a neglected state.

As for the two main provocateurs of this disease, the timely treatment will minimize the development of sclerosis.

It is very important that a person leads a healthy lifestyle and minimizes the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and completely abandons smoking, as these are the two most important factors that influence the appearance of provocateurs.

Well, a very useful measure in the quality of prevention will be regular massage for the spine. But it should only be done by a professional, do not forget that the spine is the center that controls all our movements, and if any failure occurs in it, this immediately affects the quality of our life.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, such a defect as subchondral sclerosis of the spine can not be completely cured. But if you follow all the recommendations to improve the quality of life is quite real.

This is the only condition for achieving long-term remission.

If a person does not follow the advice given by a specialist, then the progression of the disease will only increase, and eventually such negligence will lead to a complete loss of the ability to fully move. Do not forget about this, take care of yourself and your health, because it is given to a person only once.

We examined subchondral sclerosis of the spine, what it is, it became clearer.