Often among the various pathologies of the spinal column, lordosis of the spine occurs. The human spine is not straight, it has several natural curves that provide cushioning. In the presence of a strong curvature of the bend, when it is significantly turned forward, they speak of pathological lordosis. In severe cases, the disease can lead to serious pathologies not only of the musculoskeletal system, but also of internal organs. In medicine, there is lordosis of the cervical spine and lumbar. The disease usually develops in childhood or adolescence, but sometimes the disease can form in adults. A number of reasons contribute to this.
Characteristics and description of the problem
Lordosis of the spine is a distortion of the spinal column, in which its curvature occurs in the anterior direction. This pathology in medicine is common, it is usually diagnosed in adolescence. With a mild degree of damage, a person develops discomfort and back pain. In severe cases, lordosis leads to neurologicalviolations, disorder of the activity of organs and systems.
A he althy human spine has four physiological bends: two forward and two back. This ensures the endurance of vertical loads, maintaining balance, supporting the head and cushioning the spine during movements. If the angle of the bend in the cervical or lumbar region is more than expected, they speak of pathological lordosis, in which all the functions of the bends are violated.
Physiological lordosis of the spine is observed immediately after the birth of a child, but it is mild. The curves are clearly visible as the child grows. By the age of eighteen, the structure of the spinal column is fully formed. Lordosis can occur at any stage of development due to many causes, such as changes in the shape and size of the vertebrae.
In this disease of the spine, the vertebrae are mixed forward, while their bodies diverge, and the discs expand. The processes of he althy vertebrae are connected with the affected ones, they come closer and become denser. As a result of this, a change in the chest occurs, in which compression of the internal organs is observed. In some cases, lordosis develops in the thoracic spine.
Varieties of pathology
In medicine, there are two main types of disease:
- Lordosis of the cervical spine has the form of a wide arc, which is facing forward with a bulge. Pathology develops due to the incorrect formation of the bend of the cervical spine. In this case, the bend has the wrongdirection (may be shifted to one of the sides), it is strongly pronounced.
- Lordosis of the lumbar spine is the most common. Pathology is expressed in the development of a strong C-shaped bend of the spine in its lumbar region. At the same time, a person’s stomach and buttocks bulge forward due to the disease.
Depending on the causes of the development of the disease, the following forms of the disease are distinguished:
- Primary lordosis, which is formed as a result of abnormal processes in the spine and spinal muscles, such as the appearance of neoplasms, inflammation, and so on.
- Secondary lordosis develops due to the appearance of diseases that are associated with dysfunction of the hip joints, such as ankylosis. As a result, the human spine begins to adapt to pathology in order to be able to maintain balance. During therapy, the cause of the development of the pathology is first eliminated, and then the spinal column is corrected.
There are also physiological lordosis, hyperlordosis (strong curvature) and hypolordosis (bending straightening). Depending on the possibility of returning the body to its normal position, the following lordosis are distinguished:
- non-fixed, in which a person can fully straighten his back with some effort;
- partially fixed when full extension fails;
- fixed, which is characterized by the inability to straighten the back.
In children and adolescentssecondary lordosis is successfully cured after the cause of its appearance is eliminated. In adults, the curvature of the spine (lordosis) in most cases is fixed. Severe curvature may be an individual feature of the figure, it is not associated with other pathologies.
Reasons for the development of the disease
The causes of the formation of primary lordosis are anomalies in the development of the spinal column, the appearance of neoplasms and inflammatory processes in the vertebrae, muscle spasms, and various injuries of the spine. Also, the spread of metastasis of a cancerous tumor to the spine, the presence of a purulent infection of a chronic nature, tuberculosis, rickets and osteochondrosis can also provoke the development of the disease.
Secondary lordosis of the spine can develop due to the pathology of the hip joint, hip dislocation, various diseases of the bones and muscles, paresis of the lower extremities, poliomyelitis, Kashin-Beck syndrome, cerebral palsy, kyphosis of various etiologies, scoliosis. Also, the disease can occur during pregnancy, usually it disappears after the woman's labor activity.
Lordosis and kyphosis of the spine may be related. The progression of kyphosis often provokes the development of pathological lordosis, when the spine tries to adapt to the pathology to maintain balance.
Provoking disease factors also include a violation of human posture, obesity, rapid growth in childhood, injuries such as burns, wearing high-heeled shoes.
Symptoms of the disease
The main symptoms of pathology includeviolation of posture, pain in the curved section of the spinal column, which increases after physical activity, fatigue, limitation of movement. In severe cases, the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and kidneys, lungs are damaged due to their compression, which provokes a disorder in their activity, manifested by the corresponding signs.
Lumbar lordosis of the spine is often accompanied by thoracic kyphosis, while the back of a person has a round-concave shape, the legs are slightly bent at the knees, the shoulder blades stick out, the stomach and head protrude.
With severe thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis decreases. When walking and standing, a person's legs are bent, the angle of the pelvis is reduced, but the head is tilted forward, the shoulder blades stick out. The abdomen with this disease protrudes forward, and the chest is sunken.
Cervical lordosis of the spine is characterized by lowering of the head and concavity of the chest. Between the upper and lower parts of the neck, the angle of curvature is more than forty-five degrees. A person cannot tilt his head forward and to the sides. He gets dizzy and has a headache.
In any type of disease, there is an abnormal distribution of the load on the musculoskeletal system, as a result of which a person develops weakness and fatigue, muscle tone increases, and spasm of the muscles of the back and neck occurs. Gradually, a change in the chest occurs, heartburn, constipation and flatulence appear, kidney prolapse develops. In people with obesity, external signs of pathology may beinconspicuous, making it difficult to diagnose the disease.
People from forty to fifty often develop fixed lordosis, which is accompanied by muscle spasms in the lumbar region and buttocks, pain in the hip joints when trying to straighten the back. Often, the pathology is accompanied by a loss of sensation in the lower extremities, a change in gait.
Pathology in children
Immediately after the birth of a child, he has a physiological lordosis of the spine. By one year, its intensive formation begins, which ends by the age of eighteen. Pathological lordosis can occur at any age, it will be more pronounced than in adults. Doctors have established that the earlier the pathology is formed, the stronger the deformation of the spine will be. Often in children, the disease is accompanied by a disorder in the activity of the lungs and heart.
In some cases, the disease develops for no apparent reason. In this case, they talk about benign juvenile lordosis, the symptoms of which disappear on their own after a while.
Complications and consequences
With a long course of the disease, various complications may develop:
- abnormal mobility of the vertebrae, spondylolisthesis;
- prolapsed intervertebral discs;
- intervertebral hernia;
- development of psoitis, myositis or deforming arthritis;
- paresis of limbs;
- infertility;
- hearing and vision disorder;
- intestinal obstruction;
- increased intracranialpressure.
Complications of the disease cause the following symptoms:
- numbness of limbs;
- muscle weakness;
- urinary incontinence;
- discoordination;
- pain in the neck and back.
Diagnostic measures
Diagnosis of the disease begins with a study of the anamnesis and examination of the patient, during which the doctor assesses the position of the human body and his posture, using tests to determine the type of pathology and the presence of concomitant neurological disorders. The doctor also conducts a study of the chest organs and the condition of the back muscles.
Then the doctor directs for x-rays in two projections. To determine the degree of curvature of the spine, an x-ray is performed with maximum extension and flexion of the back. The examination examines the structure and shape of the vertebrae.
Also one of the used diagnostic methods is MRI, which makes it possible to establish the cause of the development of the disease and the degree of damage to nerves and soft tissues, as well as to identify the presence of intervertebral hernias.
Pathology Therapy
Lordosis of the cervical spine treatment involves in the form of gymnastics and exercise therapy in the case when the disease is mild. This allows you to strengthen muscles and normalize blood circulation. Also, the doctor may prescribe massage courses. For pain syndrome, NSAIDs are prescribed in the form of tablets, injections or ointments. If dizziness, nausea and headache occur, they are dischargeddrugs that normalize blood circulation in the brain. The doctor may also prescribe B vitamins and relaxants.
Secondary lordosis of the spine treatment involves primarily to eliminate the cause of its development. After effective treatment of the primary disease, lordosis usually disappears. In some cases, the doctor prescribes spinal traction, elimination of excess body weight.
In the presence of pain in the disease, it is necessary to take painkillers, medicines to relax muscles and B vitamins, this is especially true in childhood.
Often, doctors prescribe patients to wear corsets that are able to support the spinal column in the correct position. Corsets also help to eliminate pain, improve posture. It also requires lordosis of the spine exercises to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, normalize gait, and eliminate curvature of the spine.
Surgical treatment
Severe cases may require surgery. Operations are mainly carried out with primary lordosis, which is accompanied by a violation of the activity of internal organs and severe pain.
For the treatment of pathology, doctors use metal staples to restore the normal position of the spinal column. Children are prescribed the Ilizarov apparatus. Operations are carried out in specialized clinics. In some cases, pathological vertebrae are replaced with implants. This method makes it possible to eliminate the curvaturespine and maintain mobility of the vertebrae.
Rehabilitation after surgery takes about one year. During this period, the patient is prescribed massage, exercise therapy, wearing a corset, swimming.
Forecast and prevention
The prognosis of the disease is favorable with timely diagnosis and treatment of pathology. Secondary lordosis completely disappears when the causes of its development are eliminated. In the absence of therapy, complications may develop.
For the purpose of prevention, it is necessary to observe the correct posture, eat right, exercise regularly, treat various diseases in a timely manner, normalize sleep and wakefulness. With a hereditary predisposition to pathology, it is recommended to go in for swimming or other sports that require a load on the back muscles. You need to sleep on orthopedic mattresses. In order to prevent the disease in pregnant women, they are recommended to wear a bandage in the fourth month of pregnancy. When the first signs of the disease appear, you should consult a doctor to prescribe the appropriate treatment. Timely treatment of pathology can reduce the risk of complications and negative consequences.
