Damage to the thoracic spine is often mistaken for pathology of internal organs. The lungs, heart, as well as the mammary glands and stomach located here can also cause pain in this place. Therefore, it is often difficult for doctors to diagnose breast osteochondrosis: in women, the symptoms are mistaken for mastopathy.
Thoracic osteochondrosis - symptoms and sensations
To begin with, it should be noted that osteochondrosis is the most common pathology of the spine. By its nature, it is a degenerative, dystrophy-related injury of the discs between the vertebrae. Such processes cause irreversible changes in the vertebral structure, which affects the functionality of the spine as a whole.
Given the dense innervation and the presence of a large number of nerve roots, patients with osteochondrosis experience strong, sharp pain. At the same time, their character and intensity can change. This complicates the diagnostic process: in order to differentiate breast osteochondrosis, symptoms and sensations are analyzed, except for the pathology of the mammary glands, heart and stomach in women.
The first signs of osteochondrosis in women
Among all possible symptoms of spinal cord injury, painful sensations come to the fore. Severe, aching pains that worsen at night, when staying in one position for a long time, often attract attention first. Increased pain is also observed during physical activity:
- bends;
- sharp turns to the side;
- long-term physical exercise, even of low intensity;
- deep breathing;
- raise your hands up.
Some patients complain of a feeling of tightness in the chest area. If you suspect osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the symptoms in women can be supplemented by a number of signs, such as:
- numbness of certain areas of the epidermis;
- feeling of coldness in the lower extremities;
- pain in the projection of the stomach and esophagus;
- disorders in the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
Degrees of osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women mainly depend on the nature of degenerative changes. Taking these into account, the relevant stages (degree) of the disease are distinguished:
- Grade 1 - is fixed when changes are observed in many cores of the disk.Excessive load leads to dehydration of the core, which leads to a decrease in the height of the disc and the development of cracks in the fibrous ring area. There is no pain, some women complain of mild discomfort with prolonged static.
- 2nd degree - the distance between the vertebral bodies decreases due to the decrease in the height of the disc.Spinal ligaments eventually sag. Vertebrae acquire greater mobility, which is not characteristic of the thoracic region as a whole. As a result, the risk of displacement increases. Pain occurs mainly during work. It is at this stage that osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is detected and the symptoms become clear in women.
- 3rd degree - formation of intervertebral disc prolapses is observed.These events are accompanied by the development of subluxation and arthrosis of intervertebral joints. Mobility decreases, numbness and tingling in the limbs. Painful sensations are recorded in the back, neck and chest area.
- 4th degree - the body tries to compensate for the hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapt to the dysfunction of the spine.Osteophytes form where the vertebral bodies come into contact with each other, which causes compression of the nerves and damage to the vertebrae.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from other diseases?
According to statistics, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, whose symptoms generally do not differ from those recorded in men, occurs less often than injuries of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. However, this does not make the process of diagnosing the disease easier. Due to the peculiarities of localization, many doctors confuse the pathology with diseases of the chest organs.
However, experienced specialists who know how to determine thoracic osteochondrosis at the first stage try to exclude diseases of the chest, heart, stomach and lungs. Thus, in contrast to pathologies of the respiratory system, which are always accompanied by this symptom, there is no cough with thoracic osteochondrosis.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart pain?
In practice, doctors often encounter a situation where a patient complains of regular pain in the heart, but no changes are recorded in the cardiogram and ultrasound. In such cases, painful sensations in the chest on the left are associated with neurological disorders due to osteochondrosis. When the space between the adjacent vertebrae decreases, the nerve roots are compressed, which causes painful sensations that mimic a heart attack.
Knowing how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, you can immediately identify myocardial disorders. Among the main differences:
- During osteochondrosis, the pain lasts for hours or weeks and has a wavelike course, subsides and reappears. The pain attack with angina pectoris lasts 10-15 minutes and decreases after nitrates.
- The appearance of pain in osteochondrosis does not occur against the background of physical activity, unlike angina pectoris.
- Neurological pain associated with spinal cord injury can be relieved with analgesics, but these drugs are ineffective for patients with cardiac pathology.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Stable symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women should be distinguished from VSD manifestations. Unlike spinal injuries, diseases of the cardiovascular system are characterized by a number of symptoms that need attention.Among the characteristic signs of VSD:
- tachycardia, heart pain;
- the appearance of asthma attacks;
- unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (pressure is always normal with thoracic osteochondrosis).
Thoracic osteochondrosis and stomach pain
Abdominal pain with thoracic osteochondrosis is provoked by disruption of the innervation of the vertebra located in the projection of the stomach. If the patient has stomach problems, nagging pains accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as heartburn occur. At the same time, painful emotions are in no way related to activity and physical activity.Pain in the abdominal region with thoracic osteochondrosis has the following characteristics:
- aggravated by movements involving the spine;
- discomfort does not subside after taking indigestion drugs;
- appears regardless of the fullness of the stomach: on an empty stomach, after eating.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and pain in the mammary gland
Mastalgia is a common symptom among women. Many girls experience painful sensations in the chest due to cyclical hormonal changes. But if there is no cyclical pain, doctors suspect possible changes in the spine. At the same time, women themselves begin to look for the cause on the Internet, trying to understand how to understand that it is osteochondrosis.
In cases of degenerative changes in the spine, the pain changes its location and appears regardless of the stage of the menstrual cycle. In this case, swelling or swelling of the breast is not observed. Unlike cases where breast pathologies develop, the gland itself completely retains its appearance, size and shape. Similar symptoms of osteochondrosis in women help distinguish the disease.
What to do with thoracic osteochondrosis?
Doctors who suspect thoracic osteochondrosis in women send patients for appropriate examination. This diagnosis and correct correction of the disease allows you to avoid the negative consequences that are inextricably linked to the disorders of the spine. A comprehensive diagnosis based on hardware examination data is important.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The main and often the only diagnostic method is thoracic radiography. It makes it possible to diagnose osteochondrosis in women regardless of the severity of the changes. It all depends on the quality of the photo.When osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is present, the symptoms in the women in the picture read as follows:
- violation of the contours of the discs located between the vertebrae;
- modified disk shape;
- the presence of osteophytes (pathological growths);
- spinous processes with sharp edges, vertebrae of irregular shape;
- presence of intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The treatment of this disease is complicated. Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out simultaneously in several directions:
- Pain relief- Use NSAIDs.
- Strengthening the spine- moderate, balanced physical activity, physical therapy.
- Surgery- when intervertebral tears occur.