He alth is the main life value for any person, remaining for all time. And, unfortunately, it cannot be bought, fully returned or restored to its former level, if you do not pay attention in time to the signals sent by the body in response to incipient deviations with a neglectful attitude towards it. To help mankind in this difficult struggle, medical science was invented, which makes it possible to identify and cure many human sufferings. After all, often, against the background of seeming good he alth, this or that serious illness can occur. A similar situation occurs with the so-called latent, or, more simply, hidden course of the disease, when the doctor's diagnosis sounds like a bolt from the blue and puts you in a stupor from surprise.
Invisible danger
It is to such violations that doctors often refer to various pathological formations in humans. They are able to bring severe pain and disable the patient, especially osteophytes of the vertebrae and large joints, related to such findings.
Dangerof the mentioned changes lies in their late detection in the final stages of the disease, and an adequate therapeutic effect is possible only with a minimal positive effect. A reasonable question may immediately arise: "Osteophytes - what is it?" Such a peculiar name was given to a separate group of diseases that are based on the development of bone pathology according to the type of growths, determined mainly only with the help of additional examination methods.
Osteophytes - what is it?
Literally translated from Greek, this medical term means a bone sprout (osteon - bone, phyton - offspring, plant). The osteophytes themselves can look like spikes, teeth, protrusions or tubercles, the larger ones are called exostoses. At the heart of their structure, such formations have a spongy or compact bone structure. In other words, it can be said about osteophytes that it is such a dense neoplasm of the type of locally limited outgrowths due to a violation in the direction of excessive bone synthesis at the site of inflammation of its outer shell.
Traumatic effects or infectious agents, including those in the soft tissues surrounding the skeleton, are considered triggering processes. As a cause, a violation of calcium metabolism in the body is also considered. There are several main varieties of osteophytes in accordance with their etiological cause. Post-traumatic, degenerative-dystrophic, neurogenic processes underlie the start of the entire pathogenetic mechanism of the disease.
The prerequisites are laid from childhood…
Shouldnote that the whole complex of changes in the spine begins from early childhood,
even from the moment when the baby begins to sit down and gradually move from a horizontal position to a vertical upright posture on two legs. As a result, an adult already has to pay for such evolutionary changes with a deterioration in the he alth of his musculoskeletal system, and, first of all, the spinal column due to constant overloads and everyday injuries in case of non-compliance with the necessary physiological standards. By themselves, marginal osteophytes are often regarded, especially in recent times, as components of the process of involution of the structures of the spine, leading to degeneration of the fibrous ring and consequent violations of the anatomical and topographic ratio of bone structures and ligamentous apparatus.
Spondylosis - protection from the destruction of time and disease
Similar mechanisms are observed in the development of bone oncology or in metastases of breast or pancreatic cancer. Benign tumors also contribute to the disruption of the normal development of cartilage tissue, stimulating the growth of pathological bone neoplasms. It can be said about osteophytes of the spine that this is a kind of manifestation of the reaction of the body's defense to the destruction of the intervertebral disc. Medical science combines all this into one capacious term spondylosis.
If the mechanical and dynamic parameters of any locomotor act produced by the human body are violated, it is possible to involve large andsmall joints of the limbs. When the physiological norms of the motor process change, scoliosis can form, which occurs in almost every second modern inhabitant. However, you can meet not only the defeat of the vertebrae. Recently, such diagnoses as osteophytes of the hip joint, neck, knee, calcaneus are not uncommon.
Predisposing factors
The intervertebral space filled with cartilage is normally able to provide the optimal ratio of numerous articular surfaces and cushion them together when walking. However, with disc pathology that develops with excessive or non-physiological stress, poor posture, prolonged sitting in a sitting position and similar conditions, leading, for example, to osteochondrosis, changes are observed in these already imperfect joints. Excess weight, flat feet, various metabolic disorders, injuries and heredity predispose to this.
As a result, the appearance of complete and incomplete dislocations, various inflammatory processes is characteristic, which is why, as a protective reaction, compaction and growth of bone tissue develops in the marginal areas of the articular surfaces of the vertebral bodies, including to increase the area of their support on the surrounding fabrics. The described changes are especially pronounced at an older age, after 50 years, when the processes of wear and tear of the body provoke the development of pathology not only in the structure of the skeleton, but also in many organs and systems.
Symptomatics of neck lesions
The pathological process may involveany part of the spinal column. Depending on the level of the lesion, a characteristic clinical picture will correspond to it. Osteophytes of the cervical spine are usually formed along the posterolateral surfaces of the vertebrae and are manifested by frequent migraine attacks, local pain in the neck radiating to the shoulder, arm or shoulder blade, and a feeling of stiffness when moving the head in an upright position. Due to the concomitant effects on the blood circulation of nearby organs and nerve plexuses, pain may appear in the region of the heart, as well as signs of cerebral circulatory insufficiency such as tinnitus, visual impairment, aggravated by tilting the head back. Cervical osteophyte, as well as similar formations in other parts of the spine and joints, can be determined using X-ray, computed or magnetic resonance imaging.
Features of manifestations of bone growths in the lower back
Given the lack of mobility in the joints of the thoracic vertebrae, the clinic of bone neoplasms of this localization is less bright and often goes unnoticed by the patient. Basically, anterior osteophytes are formed here.
Pain in the lower back, especially during exertion, a feeling of numbness and tingling in the limbs, as well as a violation of the normal functioning of the bladder and intestines are more characteristic of lumbar spondylosis. Given the maximum pressure in this section of the back of the vertebrae on each other, due to the emergingpathology of the cartilaginous disc, anterolateral osteophytes are formed here. Their originality lies in the horizontal direction, unusual shapes and frequent orientation of adjacent growths towards each other (the so-called "kissing" compositions).
The most sensitive formations are localized along the dorsal surfaces of the vertebrae and are called posterior osteophytes. The pain syndrome is caused by compression of the nerve trunks passing nearby through the holes between the bone structures.
Which doctor should I contact?
As soon as there are unpleasant or painful sensations in the back or limbs, you should immediately seek medical help, and not self-medicate. The easiest way out is to come to an appointment with a local therapist who will advise or immediately appoint an examination by a neurologist or rheumatologist. If there is a vertebrologist in the clinic, with pain in the spine, you can go to his office on your own. In case of pathology in the arm or leg, it does not hurt to consult an orthopedic doctor. It is possible that there will be a need for an examination by a surgeon or a neurosurgeon. At the final stage of treatment, specialists in massage, physiotherapy exercises and physiotherapists will help.
How to confirm the presence of osteophytes?
It is possible to make a diagnosis to a competent specialist, especially when analyzing complaints and the history of the disease, already at the stage of palpation of both the osteophytes themselves, defined as dense, painless and motionless growths, and whenconducting a complete neurological examination. If it is impossible to feel the pathological formations in detail, due to the physiological characteristics of the patient or the small size of the bone sprout, the doctor prescribes additional diagnostic methods. These include, as mentioned above, X-ray examination, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.
Thanks to a detailed study of bone pathology in the affected area using such modern high-tech examination methods, it is possible not only to make a correct and timely clinical diagnosis, but also to identify complications such as compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, as well as help prescribe the necessary adequate treatment in each case.
Frequent localization of pathology outside the spine
Osteophytes of the hip joint are a sign of such a pathology as deforming osteoarthritis with the development of a limitation in the amplitude of full movement in the acetabulum of this bone junction. In addition, a history of hip fracture, diabetes mellitus, brucellosis, syphilis, osteomyelitis and other inflammatory processes due to a concomitant metabolic failure in the surrounding tissues can become the causes of the development of pathological disorders.
Osteophyte of the calcaneus, or in the common people a spur, can cause severe pain and is detected by X-ray examination in the form of an additional inclusion or spinous process.
Rupture of the periosteum -a more characteristic process in the development of osteophytes of large joints, for example, knee or elbow, with their complex injuries or dislocations. During the healing of the damaged area, the outer bone membrane thickens with the formation of hypertrophic structures. Therefore, in medical practice, it is now not uncommon to hear the diagnosis of arthrosis, which includes such a component as osteophytes of the knee joint.
Treatment without surgery
Modern medicine, depending on the indications and the stage of the process, has several approaches to this pathology in its arsenal of treatment. Conservative therapy offers to deal with such joint problems in their initial stage of development or mild forms with the help of medications. The main group includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, drugs "Nise", "Nimulid", "Ibuprofen", "Diclofenac" and similar medicinal substances. Their main effect develops due to the anti-inflammatory action, followed by a decrease in swelling and pain.
In addition, auxiliary agents containing vitamin B complexes, nicotinic acid, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, chondroprotectors, vasodilators are prescribed. Topical application of ointments with a warming effect can relieve pain for a short time due to the distraction effect.
Osteophytes of the knee joint have their own characteristics, the treatment of which is somewhat different due to the possibility and frequent need for intra-articulardrug administration.
Other effective treatments
Massage, reflexology, therapeutic exercises also have healing properties, improving microcirculation and elasticity of muscle fibers surrounding the altered bone frame. In the history of medicine, there are clinical observations indicating the reverse development and resorption of pathological structures of the vertebrae, including against the background of the onset of osteoporosis.
However, persistent excruciating pain, ineffectiveness of drug therapy or a severe degree of damage to the supporting system will orient the doctor in favor of prescribing a surgical intervention to remove osteophytes and relieve pathological compression of the nerves. General diseases such as diabetes mellitus and severe cardiovascular pathology are contraindications for surgery.
Prevention is easier than cure
You should always remember that an operation will relieve a certain symptom only for a while, but a miraculous drug has not yet been invented for the disease as a whole. All this does not exclude the possibility of recurrence or the appearance in the future of new osteophytes with characteristic pathological changes and clinical picture.
Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of such disorders, one should lead an active and he althy lifestyle. And this means eating right, sleeping in accordance with physiological requirements on a flat hard surface with a small pillow under your head, constantly monitoring yourposture and posture, if necessary, stay in one position for a long time, take regular breaks to perform gymnastic exercises for back he alth.
