Radiculopathy - what is it? Radiculopathy: symptoms and treatment

Back pain is a widespread phenomenon. Such pain is experienced by most people at least once in a lifetime. At half of working citizens they arise annually and last, the smallest, one day. They cause their injuries, various pathologies, including radiculopathy (radiculitis).

What is radiculopathy?

Hearing the diagnosis, put by the doctor, patients involuntarily ask the question: "Radiculopathy - what is it, what are its causes and consequences?" The general term "radiculopathy" in neurology denotes symptomatology associated with injury, injury or clamping of the roots of the spinal nerves. At inspection can appear as one damaged rootlet, and a little.

Symptoms are expressed by soreness in the back of a shooting or piercing character, combined with lethargic muscles, tingling, numbness in the innervated zones of the limbs. Radicular syndrome of radiculopathy appears painful in all kinds of areas.

Pain syndrome permeates the neck, lower back, limbs and separate organs. It is found, for example, in the area where the heart or stomach is located. Correct diagnosis of sciatica is possible only by a doctor.

Radiculopathy and its causes

Varieties of osteochondrosis - the main cause of all radiculitis. The disease can be a consequence of chronic injuries, pathologies that develop in the internal organs, inflammation, affecting the spine, tumors. His provocateurs are stresses, metabolic imbalances, infectious diseases, hypothermia, lifting of gravity.

Often an intervertebral hernia becomes an impetus for the development of an ailment . The intervertebral disc, endowed with elasticity, is given the role of a shock absorber. Developing osteochondrosis leads to degenerative-dystrophic processes, which result in protrusion (localized protrusion of the disc). As a result, the protrusion flows into the intervertebral hernia leading to squeezing and irritation of the near roots.

The cause of irritated roots are osteophytes and stenoses, narrowing of the lumens in the spinal tunnel or foraminal canals (where nerves come from). Foramenal stenosis is usually affected by the region of the lower back, where the roots, suffering from compression, have their roots merged into the sciatic nerve.

Chronic radiculopathy - what is it, what is its symptomatology? Roots undergo an unceasing compression, they are irritated and inflamed. This results in chronic soreness, which causes discomfort in the neck and lower back, and projected along the nerve fibers to a significant removal. Compression of roots ends in impaired conduction of impulses, loss of functions, muscle dystrophy.

Symptoms of sciatica

To understand the symptoms of the disease, let's ask once again the question: "Radiculopathy - what is it?" Radiculitis is not an independent disease. He is just a complex of symptoms, combining soreness, decreased sensitivity, muscle dystrophy, starting in the spine and descending to the extremities.

Patients are concerned about wandering pain projected from the neck to the arms or from the waist to the legs, which has undergone changes in sensitivity (limbs numb, tingle and burn), loss of muscle strength in specific areas of the body. Quite a variety of signs of radiculopathy were grouped together:

1. Soreness. Pain sensations are manifested in various variations from dull, recurring, to persistent debilitating with the presence of irradiation.
2. Changed sensitivity. The spine is a complex structural unit of the human body. Thanks to him, people make a great many unconscious automatic movements. The harmony of movements ensures the reflexion of the brain, muscles and sensitive recipes. Radiculopathy, the symptoms of which are manifested, causes compression of the roots. This leads to the fact that the transfer of impulses to both sides occurs with violations, and the sensitivity undergoes changes.
3. Dystrophy of muscles. Damaged nerves are incapable of continuous two-way transmission of impulses (from the muscles to the brain and spinal cord and vice versa). Therefore, the muscles stop working in normal mode. Long-term impairments in the transmission of impulses lead to weakness, atrophy and even a weak cut of the muscles.

Types of radiculopathy

Several types of radiculitis have been identified by clinicians. Depending on the location of the affected nerves, radiculopathy, the symptoms of which are obvious, can be cervical, thoracic, lumbosacral or mixed.

Concerning the lesion focus distinguish radiculitis discogenic (spondylogenic), vertebrogenic and mixed type. This classification of the disease provides a clear differentiation of the main features of radiculitis in a particular patient.

Discogenic radiculitis

Patients are more often diagnosed with primary discogenic radiculopathy, caused by deformation of the cartilaginous tissue growing on intervertebral discs. At the same rootlets are infringed, the course of the inflammatory process is observed, accompanied by puffiness and a powerful pain syndrome.

There is a loss of some functions associated with the innervation of nerves subjected to infringement. Banal radiculitis is accompanied by pain, motor and vegetative disorders, provoked by affected roots.

Vertebrogenic sciatica

Note that vertebrogenic radiculopathy is always secondary. It takes place against the background of the developed stenoses, which hit the foraminal holes, where the path of the nerve roots lies.

Spinal roots, passing through the "tunnel", the walls of which form various structures (intervertebral hernias, yellow ligaments, osteophytes, etc.), are compressed and irritated. The "tunnel" narrows down under the influence of age and degenerative transformations. As a result, in the place of compression of the spine, a circulatory disturbance occurs followed by swelling.

The pain distally distances, penetrating from the spine into the hands or feet. Symptoms of dysfunction of roots, expressed by cuts, loss of sensitivity and decreased reflexes, do not always immediately manifest. However, the characteristic soreness is an obvious evidence of radicular syndrome.

This kind of radiculitis is accompanied by a strong muscular spasm, which significantly limits the motor activity. As a rule, vertebrogenic radiculopathy lasts a long time (at least 2-4 months) and requires urgent medical intervention.

Cervical radiculitis

Cervical radiculopathy is provoked by hernia, protrusion or disk degeneration, osteoarthritis, foraminous stenosis and other pathologies. Usually the radiculopathy of the cervical region comes unexpectedly, being expressed as shooting pains. Checking the sensitivity, muscle strength, reflexes, make sure that the ailment is neurological.

The disease is characterized by the appearance of pain in the neck, giving in the muscles of the hands and fingers. Localization of pain is caused by the suffering spine. They are always sudden and very sharp, provoked by the bending of the neck. Soreness softens with careful turns or head inclinations in one direction or another. Unsuccessful movements cause it to increase.

Patients with difficulty find comfortable positions for sleep. Their sleep is interrupted by stitching pain in the neck and arms. Patients complain of loss of sensitivity in the hand, a feeling of tingling and numbness, a simultaneous significant decrease in muscle strength.

Thoracic radiculopathy

This kind of radiculitis appears in the middle of the back, at the location of the thoracic spine. Localization of pain is observed in the region of intercostal nerves. Increased soreness occurs with movement and deep breaths.

With thoracic radiculopathy they collide less often than with lumbosacral or cervical. For the thoracic region, relative stiffness is characteristic. Flexibility in the department is negligible, so the disks undergo minimal changes in it.

However, when symptomatic symptoms are detected, they refrain from the absolute exclusion of the fact that the patient is burdened with thoracic radiculitis. Often bent to such a diagnosis prompts an anamnesis with the injuries recorded in it.

Potential causes of thoracic radiculopathy include factors associated with degenerative transformations, protrusions and hernias of discs, osteoarthritis, osteophytes, stenoses. It causes infectious diseases, usual hypothermia, osteochondrosis, physical traumas, awkward movements.

Lumbosacral radiculitis

The most widely spread lumbosacral radiculopathy. It has signs that are similar to related diseases. Lumbar radiculitis proceeds chronically. It is often aggravated by acute relapses. By tilting the body or starting walking, patients experience increased soreness.

Localization of lesions is caused by the area of innervation. Concentration of pain depends on the focus of inflammation. Patients perceive it in the region of the waist and gluteal region, in the thigh, its posterolateral and anterior zone, the anterior part of the shin. Pain permeates the rear of the foot, passes along the heel, the thumb, touches the calf muscles and is found in the outer ankle.

Soreness is strongly pronounced when the roots are compressed by bone outgrowths, discs, various dense tissues, for example, formed by intervertebral hernia. The pain caused by soft tissues (muscles, ligaments), clamped nerves, is not so powerful. It is characterized by a weak growth dynamics.

The radiculopathy of the lumbosacral spine is usually provoked by destructive processes in the ligaments, articular defeats of the spine. It is caused by disorders of intervertebral discs, which resulted from osteochondrosis, hernias and other diseases.

Types of lumbar radiculopathy

Usually there are three types of lumbar radiculitis. These include:

1. Lumbago. Pain concentrates in the lumbar region. Soreness provokes inadequate physical exertion, causing overexertion in the lumbar muscles, severe hypothermia. In addition, seizures are caused by lumbar hernias and displaced vertebrae.
2. Anyone has another lumbar radiculopathy, accompanied by pain that occurs in the lumbar region, giving off to one or both legs. Soreness spreads over the gluteal region and the back part of the legs, not going down into the fingers. Pain syndrome is described as aching, burning and growing.
3. Ishialgia. The pain concentrates around the buttocks, grasping the thigh and the lower leg, descend to the feet. In addition to painful sensations, muscle weakness is noted, caused by lesion or irritation of the sciatic nerve. Soreness in sciatica is of a shooting nature, reminiscent of an electric shock. Sometimes there is a simultaneous manifestation of tingling, numbness and "goose bumps". Pain syndrome is different in degree and intensity. Soreness varies from mild to incredibly powerful. The patient is deprived of sleep, the pain makes him uneasy when standing, sitting, walking, does not allow to bend and turn.

Lumbar radiculopathy is provoked, the treatment of which is initially limited to conservative therapy, arthritis, degenerative vertebral changes, stenoses, compression fractures, disc herniation and protrusion, spondylolisthesis.

Conservative treatment of radiculopathy

If the diagnosis is "radiculopathy", treatment is prescribed taking into account the symptoms (pain syndrome, loss of sensitivity, motor disorders). First patients are treated with conservative therapy:

1. With the help of medications, inflammation, puffiness arising in the underlying tissues, soreness is removed.
2. Physiotherapeutic methods normalize blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the spine, reduce pain, promote impulses.
3. From muscle blocks and spasms get rid of, performing massage and doing manual therapy.
4. Methods of acupuncture can restore nerve impulses.
5. LFK with dosed volumes provides restoration of biomechanics of the spine. Exercises that redistribute the load vectors, often relieve the compression of the roots. Thanks to gymnastics and classes on the simulator, stop degenerative processes in the spine, increase the elasticity of ligaments and muscles. As a result, the movement increases in volume. In addition, regular classes - excellent prevention, preventing relapses of varying degrees of intensity, caused by improper operation of the spine.

In the above ways, discogenic radiculopathy of a chronic nature is well treated. The applied efforts save patients from the disease forever, returning them to a full life.

Surgical treatment of sciatica

Surgical intervention requires complicated radiculopathy. What is this - operation with radiculitis? The type of the forthcoming operation is affected by the condition of the spine, age and human health. Indications for it is a persistent pain syndrome, a negative clinical picture.

The procedures consist of performing a surgical decompression of the spine, extracting a bulging disc or bone adjacent to the nerve tissue, and performing disco-dissolving manipulations (chemonucleolysis) and other operative actions.

Methods of treatment of vertebrogenic radiculitis

Vertebrogenic radiculopathy must be treated immediately. Therapy is chosen, taking into account the etiology of radicular syndrome. First of all, the main syndrome is eliminated - painful. It is removed with anti-inflammatory drugs from the group of non-steroid drugs. The choice of medications are prudent, because they can lead to serious side effects.

If the patient is burdened with intervertebral hernia, compression fracture, oncological pathology, he can not avoid surgical intervention. In the postoperative period, careful medical supervision is organized.

Patients who have suffered radicular syndrome provide comprehensive rehabilitation. They are restored in sanatoria, receive sessions of medical massage, they are engaged in exercise therapy.