Damage to the thoracic spine is often confused with pathology of internal organs. The lungs, heart, as well as the mammary glands and stomach located here can also cause pain in this place. Because of this, doctors often find it difficult to diagnose osteochondrosis of the thoracic region: the symptoms in women are confused with 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 lesion of the discs between the vertebrae related to dystrophy. These processes cause irreversible changes in the spinal 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 severe, sharp pain. At the same time, its nature and intensity may change. This complicates the diagnostic process: to differentiate thoracic osteochondrosis, symptoms and sensations in women are analyzed, excluding the 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 damage to the spine. Intense and painful pains that intensify at night, when staying in the same position for a long time, are usually the first to attract attention. Increased pain during physical activity is also seen with:
- diver's disease;
- sharp turns to one side;
- prolonged physical exercise, even of low intensity;
- deep breathing;
- raising hands.
Some patients complain of a feeling of tightness in the chest area. If osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is suspected, the symptoms in women can be complemented by a number of signs, these are:
- numbness of certain areas of the epidermis;
- feeling of coldness in the lower extremities;
- pain in the projection of the stomach and esophagus;
- alterations in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Degrees of osteochondrosis
Symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis in women largely depend on the nature of the degenerative changes. Taking them into account, the corresponding stages of the disease (degree) are distinguished:
- 1st degree: fixed when changes are observed in the core of the disc itself.Excessive load causes dehydration of the nucleus, which causes a decrease in the height of the disc and the development of cracks in the area of the annulus fibrosus. There is no pain, some women complain of slight discomfort with prolonged static.
- 2nd degree – due to a decrease in the height of the disc, the distance between the vertebral bodies is reduced.The spinal ligaments eventually sag. The vertebrae acquire increased mobility, which is not typical for the thoracic region as a whole. As a result, the risk of displacement increases. The pain occurs mainly during work. It is directly at this stage that osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is detected and symptoms in women become obvious.
- Grade 3: formation of prolapsed intervertebral discs is observed.These phenomena are accompanied by subluxations and the development of osteoarthritis of the intervertebral joints. Mobility decreases and sensations of numbness and tingling appear in the extremities. Painful sensations are recorded in the back, neck and thoracic region.
- Fourth degree: the body tries to compensate for the hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapt to the dysfunction of the spine.When the vertebral bodies come into contact with each other, osteophytes form, which can cause pinched nerves and injuries 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 recorded in men, occurs less frequently than injuries of the cervical and lumbar spine. However, this does not facilitate the process of diagnosing the disease. Due to the peculiarities of the localization, many doctors confuse pathology with diseases of the thoracic organs.
However, experienced specialists who know how to identify thoracic osteochondrosis already at the first stage try to exclude diseases of the breast, heart, stomach and lungs. Therefore, there is no cough with thoracic osteochondrosis, unlike pathologies of the respiratory system, which are always accompanied by this symptom.
How to distinguish thoracic osteochondrosis from heart pain?
In practice, doctors often face a situation when a patient complains of regular pain in the heart, but changes on the cardiogram and ultrasound are not recorded. In such cases, painful sensations in the left chest are associated with neurological disorders due to osteochondrosis. When the space between adjacent vertebrae decreases, the nerve roots become compressed, causing painful sensations that mimic a heart pain attack.
Knowing how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteochondrosis, you can immediately identify myocardial disorders. Among the main differences:
- With osteochondrosis, the pain lasts for hours, weeks and has an undulating course, subsides and reappears. With angina pectoris, a 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, unlike angina pectoris.
- Neurological pain due to a spinal injury can be relieved with analgesics, but for patients with cardiac pathology these medications are ineffective.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Fixed signs of thoracic osteochondrosis in women must be differentiated from the manifestations of VSD. Unlike spinal injuries, diseases of the cardiovascular system are characterized by a series of symptoms that should be paid attention to.Among the characteristic signs of VSD:
- tachycardia, heart pain;
- the appearance of asthma attacks;
- unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (pressure with thoracic osteochondrosis is always normal).
Thoracic osteochondrosis and stomach pain.
Abdominal pain with thoracic osteochondrosis is provoked by a violation of the innervation of the vertebrae located in the projection of the stomach. If the patient has stomach problems, persistent pain occurs, accompanied by unpleasant sensations such as heartburn. At the same time, painful sensations have no relationship with activity and physical activity.Pain with thoracic osteochondrosis in the abdominal area has the following characteristics:
- aggravated by movements involving the spine;
- discomfort does not go away after taking medications that improve digestion;
- They appear 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. However, if there is no cyclical pain, doctors suspect possible changes in the spine. At the same time, women themselves begin to search for the cause on the Internet, trying to find out how to understand that they suffer from osteochondrosis.
In cases where degenerative changes occur in the spine, the pain changes location and appears regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this case, there is no swelling or engorgement of the breast. The gland itself completely retains its appearance, size and shape, unlike cases in which breast pathologies develop. Similar signs of osteochondrosis in women help to differentiate the disease.
What to do with thoracic osteochondrosis?
Suspecting thoracic osteochondrosis in women, doctors send patients for appropriate examination. This diagnosis of the disease and its correct correction allow us to avoid the negative consequences that are inextricably linked to spinal disorders. It is important to perform a thorough diagnosis, based on data from hardware examinations.
Diagnosis of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
The main and often only diagnostic method is chest x-ray. Allows you to diagnose osteochondrosis in women, regardless of the severity of the changes. It all depends on the quality of the photo.When there is osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, the symptoms in women in the picture are as follows:
- violation of the contours of the discs themselves located between the vertebrae;
- modified disc shape;
- the presence of osteophytes (pathological growths);
- spinous processes with sharp edges, irregularly shaped vertebrae;
- the presence of intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine.
Therapy for this disease is complex. Treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis is carried out simultaneously in several directions:
- Elimination of pain- use NSAIDs.
- Spine strengthening– moderate and balanced physical activity, physiotherapy.
- Surgery– when intervertebral hernias occur.