Juvenile osteochondrosis is a disease in which degenerative phenomena are observed in the intervertebral discs of adolescents. Boys between the ages of 11 and 18 are most often affected. Many consider osteochondrosis to be a disease of the elderly, but in fact, this disease also occurs in children during a period of rapid growth. Scientists have not fully figured out the causes of cartilage damage and changes in the discs between the vertebrae, but most believe that it's all about a sharp jump in the development of the skeleton.
In the article, we will consider how to recognize juvenile osteochondrosis at an early stage by symptoms, how to identify it and how to treat it. We also advise parents to pay special attention to the period of growing up of the child, since it is best to prevent the disease than to cure.
Predisposition factors for disease
Juvenile osteochondrosis of the spine has several identified factors of occurrence. Vertebral body degeneration can be hereditary in nature, in which an anomaly in the formation of intervertebral discs is detected. Often twistedspine due to the inability of the muscular corset to keep the back skeleton in the correct position. This suggests that the child is not physically developed enough, has an incorrect posture, spends a long time at a computer or a desk, carries a heavy briefcase in his hand or a bag on one shoulder, and does not go in for sports.
Deformation of the discs between the vertebrae can also be associated with excessive physical exertion, often due to malnutrition and, as a result, overweight young men. The pathological process can also begin due to the injury.
It is very difficult to recognize the onset of juvenile osteochondrosis for parents, as often the child's complaints of pain in the back or lower back are not paid much attention at first. Only with the appearance of kyphosis or other curvature of the spine do adults take their child to the doctor. Consider carefully the symptoms of the disease, by what signs can the disease be recognized in order to start treatment on time.
Symptoms
Juvenile osteochondrosis can occur in any part of the spine. In this case, the symptoms will vary slightly. Consider what signs can be used to determine the degeneration of the intervertebral discs of the cervical region:
- Severe headaches turning into migraines.
- Dizziness and faintness.
- The listed symptoms are accompanied by nausea and even vomiting.
Thoracic spine disease causes:
- Pain inbreasts, which are often mistaken for pain in the heart or lungs.
- Difficulty breathing.
Juvenile osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is accompanied by lumbalgia, that is, a sharp pain in the lower back that a person experiences when lifting weights, coughing and even sneezing. There is also cervicalgia, that is, pain that radiates to the neck.
Discomfort experienced more often after exercise. It is necessary to pay attention to the complaints of the child and not to ignore the presence of the first symptoms. Parents often associate pain with other diseases and self-medicate, which in this case can lead to pathological processes in the cartilage tissue and curvature of the spine - scoliosis or kyphosis.
Disease development
Spine disease occurs in several stages, each of which has its own characteristics.
- Hidden stage. The child does not particularly complain about well-being, the back may ache after lifting weights or physical exertion. Visually visible slight stoop. You can check for the presence of pathology by a simple method - ask the young man to lean forward and touch the soles of his feet with his palms. If a child cannot do this, this is the first sign of osteochondrosis in adolescence.
- Early stage. It is characterized by an even greater curvature of the spine, while pinching the nerve endings, which causes already noticeable pain in the lumbar region and between the shoulder blades, which are of a periodic nature. These symptoms can be noticed between the ages of 15 and 20.
- If treatment is not done in time, then at a late stage, the appearance of intervertebral hernias is observed, calcium deposits appear in the ligaments, cartilaginous elements of the joints are affected. Visually, in most cases it is possible to consider the formation of a hump on the back, occasionally scoliosis.
Disease diagnosis
When early signs appear, you should immediately go for a consultation with a specialist. First of all, the doctor conducts a survey of the patient in order to collect information for the anamnesis. The following questions are clarified:
- Do close relatives have similar problems?
- Has the patient had a viral or bacterial infection?
- Have there been injuries or bruises to the spine?
- How does the baby eat?
- What is his physical activity?
Then the doctor performs a visual examination of the back and chest. At the second stage of the examination, the following diagnostics are used:
- X-ray. This allows you to identify areas of damage to the discs and vertebrae, the degree of curvature of the spine, in contrast to the norm. If the causes of back pain are not clearly visible on the x-ray, the doctor may refer you for additional examinations.
- MRI or electroneuromyography.
- Computed tomography.
To detect the presence of an inflammatory process, you will have to pass general blood and urine tests.
Juvenile osteochondrosis of the femoral head
Another unpleasant pathology that is caused byimpaired blood supply, causing bone tissue to die. Osteonecrosis affects the head of the femur, causing a child aged 2 to 15 years to experience pain when walking in the knee and hip joint, which can result in complete immobilization of the limb. Often leg pain and lameness occur after physical exertion, the child cannot explain the cause of pain. The diagnosis can be confirmed only after a radioisotope scan of the femur.
How to treat the disease?
At the initial stage, the disease is treated with conservative methods - massages, physiotherapy, exercise therapy or manual therapy, they can prescribe wearing a special corset.
In severe and advanced cases, surgery may be necessary. The need for surgery is determined by the attending physician after consultation with the surgeon in the case when there are severe enough pain that does not disappear even with the help of drugs, if the curvature of the spine is more than 75 degrees, when blood circulation is disturbed due to the disease and heart problems occur.
In the treatment of osteochondrosis of the femoral head, joints can be fixed with splints to avoid compression fracture of the head or its deformation.
Prevention
In order to prevent such a disease, great attention should be paid to the proper nutrition of a teenager, it must contain useful substances, minerals and other trace elements. In autumn and spring, it is desirable to support the body with additional vitamins.
Notallow the appearance of excess weight, it puts a lot of pressure on the spine, gradually deforming it.
Let the child spend more time in active movement, take a break between lessons, send the student to fitness or to any sports section. Maintain good posture while sitting at your desk and seek medical attention at the first sign of illness or back pain.
Juvenile osteochondrosis code according to ICD-10 - М42.0
The World He alth Organization has come up with a universal classification of all diseases, where each has its own serial number and a code consisting of several numbers and letters.
It is called ICD-10, which stands for International Classification of Diseases. 10 stands for the 10th revision.
Knowing the code of the disease, the doctor of any country will understand what exactly you are sick with. For example, the ICD code for juvenile osteochondrosis is M42.0, where M42 means osteochondrosis, and 0 is the patient's age from 11 to 20 years.
Now you know that if the doctor put the code M42.0 in the medical card, it means that your child has been diagnosed with osteochondrosis and you need to urgently start treatment. After all, the curvature of the spine threatens not only with external deformity, while internal organs are displaced, breathing and blood circulation are disturbed, and heart problems appear.
In the article, we examined in detail the causes, main symptoms, treatment methods and preventive actions for juvenile osteochondrosis, in the ICDthis pathology has the code M42.0. Take care of your children and seek medical help in time.
