Damage to the thoracic spine is often mistaken for pathology of internal organs. The lungs, heart, mammary glands and stomach located here can also cause pain in this location. Because of this, doctors often find it difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the thoracic region: women's symptoms are mistaken for mastopathy.
Thoracic osteochondrosis - symptoms and sensations
First of all, it should be noted that osteochondrosis is the most common pathology of the spine. By nature, it is a degenerative, dystrophy-related change of the discs between the vertebrae. Such processes lead to irreversible changes in the structure of the vertebrae, which affect the functioning of the spinal column as a whole.
Due to the dense innervation and the presence of a large number of nerve roots, patients with osteochondrosis experience strong, sharp pain. However, their nature and intensity may vary. This complicates the diagnostic process: in order to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis, women's symptoms and feelings are analyzed, excluding pathology of the mammary glands, heart and stomach.
The first signs of osteochondrosis in women
Painful sensations come to the fore among all possible signs of spinal damage. At night, strong, aching pains that intensify when staying in one position for a long time are the first to attract attention. Increased pain can also be observed during physical activity:
- inclinations;
- sharp turns to the side;
- prolonged physical training, even of low intensity;
- deep breathing;
- raising his hand.
Some patients complain of tightness in the chest area. If osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is suspected, the symptoms of women may be supplemented by a number of signs, such as:
- numbness of certain areas of the epidermis;
- cold feeling in the lower limbs;
- pain in the projection of the stomach and esophagus;
- disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Degrees of osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women largely depend on the nature of degenerative changes. Taking them into account, the corresponding stages (degrees) of the disease are distinguished:
- Grade 1 - fixed if changes are detected in the core of the disk.Excessive loading leads to drying out of the core, which causes a decrease in the height of the plate and the formation of cracks in the area of the fibrous ring. There is no pain, some women complain of slight discomfort from prolonged static tension.
- 2nd degree - the distance between the vertebral bodies decreases due to the decrease in the height of the disc.The spinal ligaments eventually sag. The vertebrae acquire greater mobility, which is not characteristic of the thoracic region as a whole. As a result, the risk of displacement increases. The pain occurs mainly during work. It is at this stage that osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is detected, and women's symptoms become apparent.
- Grade 3 - development of intervertebral disc prolapses can be observed.These phenomena are accompanied by subluxations and the development of arthrosis of the intervertebral joints. Mobility decreases, numbness and tingling sensations appear in the limbs. Painful sensations are recorded in the back, neck and chest.
- Grade 4 - the body tries to compensate for the hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapt to the dysfunction of the spinal column.Where the vertebral bodies come into contact with each other, osteophytes form, which can cause pinched nerves and damage to the vertebrae.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from other diseases?
According to statistics, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine, the symptoms of which in women usually do not differ from those in men, occurs less often than lesions of the cervical and lumbar spine. However, this does not make the process of diagnosing the disease any easier. Due to the peculiarities of localization, many doctors confuse the pathology with diseases of the chest organs.
However, experienced specialists, who already know how to identify thoracic osteochondrosis at the first stage, try to exclude diseases of the breast, heart, stomach and lungs. Thus, in thoracic osteochondrosis there is no cough, in contrast to pathologies of the respiratory system, which are always accompanied by this symptom.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart pain?
In practice, doctors are often faced with a situation where the patient complains of regular heart pains, but the changes on the cardiogram and ultrasound are not recorded. In such cases, painful sensations in the left chest due to osteochondrosis are associated with neurological disorders. When the space between adjacent vertebrae decreases, the nerve roots are compressed, causing painful sensations that mimic a heart attack.
Knowing how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, you can immediately identify abnormalities of the heart muscle. Among the main differences:
- In the case of osteochondrosis, the pain lasts for hours or weeks, has a wave-like course, subsides and reappears. In the case of angina pectoris, the pain attack lasts 10-15 minutes and disappears after nitrates.
- The appearance of pain in osteochondrosis does not occur against the background of physical activity, in contrast to angina pectoris.
- Neurological pain caused by spinal cord injury can be alleviated with painkillers, but these drugs are ineffective in patients with heart disease.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Fixed signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women should be distinguished from manifestations of VSD. Unlike spinal injuries, cardiovascular diseases are characterized by a number of symptoms that need attention.Typical signs of VSD include:
- tachycardia, heart pain;
- appearance of asthmatic attacks;
- unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (in case of thoracic osteochondrosis, the pressure is always normal).
Thoracic osteochondrosis and stomach pain
Abdominal pain associated with thoracic osteochondrosis is caused by a violation of the innervation of the vertebrae located on the projection of the stomach. If the patient has stomach problems, there is a nagging pain accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as heartburn. At the same time, painful sensations are in no way related to activity and physical activity.Pain in the abdominal area associated with thoracic osteochondrosis has the following characteristics:
- aggravated by movements involving the spine;
- the discomfort does not decrease after taking medicines that improve digestion;
- they appear regardless of the fullness of the stomach: on an empty stomach, after a meal.
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. However, 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 and try to figure out how to understand that she has osteochondrosis.
In cases where degenerative changes occur in the spine, the pain changes its location and appears regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this case, there is no swelling or swelling of the breast. The gland itself completely preserves its appearance, size and shape, in contrast to the development of breast pathologies. Similar signs of osteochondrosis in women help to distinguish the disease.
What to do with thoracic osteochondrosis?
After suspecting thoracic osteochondrosis in women, doctors send patients for appropriate examination. This diagnosis and correct correction of the disease allows us to avoid the negative consequences that are inextricably linked to disorders of the spinal column. A thorough diagnosis based on hardware examination data is important.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The main and often the only diagnostic method is chest 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.If osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is present, the symptoms of the women in the picture are as follows:
- violation of the contours of the discs located between the vertebrae;
- modified plate shape;
- the presence of osteophytes (abnormal growths);
- sharp-edged spinous processes, irregularly shaped vertebrae;
- the presence of intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
The therapy of this disease is complex. Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out in several directions at the same time:
- Pain relief- Use NSAIDs.
- Strengthening the spine– moderate, balanced physical activity, physical therapy.
- Surgery– in case of intervertebral hernia.