What is osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine

The article tells what osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine is in simple words: this information will allow you to understand what happens when intervertebral discs are destroyed and how to carry out effective and safe treatment.

According to medical statistics, more than 70% of the modern population knows what osteochondrosis is.A sedentary lifestyle, lack of regular physical activity, an excess of calorie intake in the diet with a deficiency of essential microelements and vitamins contained in it - all this and much more leads to the fact that the intervertebral discs begin to deteriorate at a young age.First, a dull, unobtrusive pain appears, then a sharp, persistent pain in the lumbar region.A person cannot move independently;any movement causes severe pain and discomfort.The innervation of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis is interrupted.

To understand what spinal osteochondrosis is, you need to have an idea of its structure and functions.Let's start with the second question.Thus, the spinal column is the load-bearing part of the human skeleton.The upper shoulder girdle, lower limbs, thorax and skull are attached to it.The most important function of the spine is to ensure the safety of the spinal cord, the central part of the autonomic nervous system, which ensures the functioning of the entire human body.

Anatomically, the spinal column consists of two structural parts: the vertebral bodies with the arcuate and spinous processes and the intervertebral discs.The vertebral bodies represent 70–75% of the height of the spinal column, while the intervertebral discs (depending on the patient's age) 25 to 30%.The shape of the intervertebral disc follows the shape of the vertebral body and arcuate processes.The disc guarantees a uniform distribution of the shock-absorbing load transmitted by the lower limbs and other parts of the body.It also provides protection to the radicular nerves that exit the spinal cord.

What is lumbar osteochondrosis?It is a dystrophic degenerative destruction of the cartilaginous tissue of the fibrous ring of the intervertebral discs L5-L4, L4-L3, L3-L2, L2-L1.In total, the lumbar region contains five vertebral bodies and 4 intervertebral discs separating them.The radicular nerves depart through the foraminal openings of the vertebral bodies, responsible for the innervation of the following parts of the body:

• L1 and L2 – abdominal organs and upper thigh;
• L3 – genitals, knees and bladder;
• L4 – legs, feet and prostate;
• L5 – toes, legs, feet.

Branches of these radicular nerves form the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the gluteal region to the popliteal fossa.There it divides into the tibial and peroneal branches and further innervates the lower leg and foot.Additionally, the individual branches of the radicular nerves of the lumbar spine are part of a nerve plexus called the cauda equina.

With the development of osteochondrosis, a gradual disruption of innervation occurs.Diseases of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis may develop.In more severe cases, atrophy of the muscle fibers of the lower limbs, partial paresis of the legs, etc. develops.

You can find more information about what osteochondrosis is, what its symptoms and treatment are in this article.Here are some tips on what to do when such a diagnosis is made and which doctor to contact to undergo fully effective treatment.

What is osteochondrosis and what are its causes?

Modern science knows the answers to the questions of what osteochondrosis is and what its causes are, but, unfortunately, applying this knowledge in practice for effective prevention and treatment is difficult due to the fact that the patient will have to make every effort to fight the disease.

Anatomically and physiologically, the body of the intervertebral disc is made up of almost 80% liquid.It is this circumstance that allows you to effectively distribute the shock-absorbing load on the surface of the separate vertebral bodies.But neither the annulus fibrosus nor the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc has its own capillary network.So there is no blood supply here.All the supplies of liquid and the necessary components dissolved in it occur through diffuse exchange.It is performed only if adequate physical stress is applied to the surrounding muscles.If the muscular structure of the back and lower back does not work, widespread nutrition stops.

The pathology begins to develop:

• first, the fibrous ring simply dehydrates and loses its elasticity;
• then its surface begins to undergo primary destruction, resulting in inflammation (exacerbation of osteochondrosis) and deposition of calcium salts to restore the integrity of damaged tissues;
• the film of calcifications prevents further widespread nutrition, therefore, even with the active work of the surrounding muscles, spontaneous restoration of the tissue of the fibrous ring does not occur;
• the next phase is the collection of fluid from the nucleus pulposus located inside the fibrous ring;
• in this phase the nucleus pulposus loses its mass, ceases to uniformly distribute the shock-absorbing load and the height of the intervertebral disc decreases;
• in the protrusion phase, the intervertebral disc extends beyond the vertebral bodies and begins to exert pressure on the surrounding soft tissues and radicular nerves, causing constant pain and stiffness of movements;
• the third phase is the rupture of the fibrous ring (extrusion) and the escape of part of the nucleus pulposus towards the outside (herniated disc).

What reasons can provoke the development of this pathology of the spine:

1. lack of adequate and regular physical activity on the muscular structure of the back and lower back;
2. improper organization of spaces for sleeping and working when located in which the microcirculation of blood and lymphatic fluid in the area of the spine is disrupted;
3. disruption of metabolic processes in the body, the first sign of which is excess body weight;
4. poor posture and curvature of the spine, resulting in a change in the distribution of the shock-absorbing load along the spine;
5. maintain a sedentary lifestyle and sedentary job;
6. endocrine diseases, for example diabetes mellitus with associated angiopathy;
7. back injuries (sprains of ligaments and tendons, muscle tears, displacements and subluxations of the vertebral bodies, fractures and compression cracks).

There are other reasons, but they are less common and do not pose as pronounced a danger as those listed above.

What is lumbar osteochondrosis

In general terms, what is osteochondrosis disease is explained above.Now let's focus a little on the question of what lumbar osteochondrosis is and why it is so common.In recent decades, the disease has rapidly become younger.If previously it was diagnosed in people who had crossed the threshold of 40 years, now the first signs of degenerative dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs are found not only in people in their 20s, but in adolescents aged between 14 and 16.

Of course, expanding the possibilities for early diagnosis plays a certain role in this.With the advent of MRI examinations, early cases of the disease began to be detected more often.Therefore, patients learned about intervertebral osteochondrosis due to the appearance of severe pain.And now, when carrying out examinations, it is possible to detect pathology at an early stage of development.

The lower back is the most vulnerable place in the spine.This is where the maximum shock absorption load occurs when performing any body movement.During pregnancy, significant changes occur here with the displacement of the vertebral bodies, changes in posture and the expansion of the intervertebral spaces.Therefore, pregnancy for a woman almost always becomes the period during which the spine begins to deteriorate.

What is 2nd degree spinal osteochondrosis?This is a condition in which persistent clinical manifestations already appear and the patient is forced to seek medical help.As a rule, in the second stage of development of degenerative dystrophic pathology, a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and thinning of the tissue of the fibrous ring is observed.

What is osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region 

What is osteochondrosis of the sacral region can only be felt by patients under 25 years of age.At this age the complete fusion of the vertebral bodies in the sacral column occurs.Atrophy of the intervertebral discs.Therefore, clinical signs of inflammation can indicate completely different pathologies.

Much more often they wonder what lumbosacral osteochondrosis is, since it affects the intervertebral disc located between the sacral and lumbar regions.This is L5-S1: it represents the conditional center of gravity of the human body and the maximum physical and shock absorption load.

It is important to understand what osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region is and how it can be effectively treated.First of all, all possible causes of pathology should be excluded.Then it is necessary to strengthen the tone of the muscles surrounding the lower back.Treatment is best carried out using manual therapy and therapeutic exercises.

Signs and symptoms of osteochondrosis

Now you understand what spinal osteochondrosis is, and when its symptoms appear you will be able to identify and eliminate the potential cause of pathological changes.

Many patients ask what the signs of osteochondrosis are on x-rays and in the results of an MRI examination.So, in the pictures, the doctor can see cracks on the surface of the fibrous ring, a decrease in the height of the intervertebral disc and a change in its shape.These are the main signs of osteochondrosis.

Clinical symptoms include: 

• pain in the lumbar region;
• spread of pain along the surface of the thigh, leg and foot;
• decreased muscle strength in the lower limbs;
• change in posture with straightening of the physiological curve of the spine in the lumbar region;
• rigidity of movements and limitation of their amplitude;
• muscle tension in the lumbar region.

In advanced cases, numbness of the lower limbs, convulsions, low back pain, etc. may appear.

What is polysegmental or common osteochondrosis?

The question of what polysegmental osteochondrosis is can be answered briefly.These are degenerative dystrophic changes that affect not one, but several intervertebral discs.The same can be said about what common osteochondrosis of the spine is.This is a condition in which pathological changes are detected not in one, but in several parts of the spine.For example, if a person has only two lumbar discs affected, it is a polysegmental form of the disease.If a disc is affected in the lumbar and lumbosacral regions, this is a common form.

What is radicular osteochondrosis (in simple language)

And now a few words about what radicular osteochondrosis is and why this condition is dangerous for human health.So, speaking in simple terms what it is - osteochondrosis, it can be noted that it is literally a flattening of the lining between the vertebral bodies.

When moving or in a static position of the body, due to the action of gravity, colossal pressure is observed on the spine.Each vertebra above exerts pressure on the one below.The intervertebral discs that separate them are in a compressed state.If they don't have enough liquid they lose their ability to resist and are prone to flattening.At the same time, they lose the ability to provide sufficient height to the intervertebral space so that the radicular nerves extending from the spinal cord are not subjected to compression.

If the disc has lost height and shape, the radicular nerve is crushed.Osteochondrosis with radicular syndrome occurs.It is accompanied by pronounced neurological manifestations in the form of numbness, paresis, paralysis, decreased muscle strength, the appearance of paresthesias, etc.

Effective treatment of osteochondrosis

We figured out what osteochondrosis is, now we can talk about the effective treatment of the disease.As it has already become clear, for the complete restoration of the intervertebral discs, it is necessary to restore the impaired widespread nutrition of the cartilaginous tissue of the fibrous ring.This can only be done with the help of manual therapy and therapeutic exercises.There are no pharmacological drugs capable of restoring the widespread nutrition of the cartilaginous tissue of the intervertebral discs.And the injection of chondroprotectors in the absence of widespread metabolism is useless.They do not penetrate the cartilaginous tissue.

For effective treatment you need:

• change your lifestyle, make it more active with sufficient physical activity and an adequate diet;
• avoid extreme physical activity on the back muscles;
• carry out various spinal traction procedures in order to restore the physiological height of the intervertebral spaces;
• visit an osteopath to restore the elasticity of the cartilage tissue and its capacity for widespread exchange with the muscle tissue;
• perform several massage sessions to improve permeability, tissue elasticity, restore microcirculation of blood and lymphatic fluid;
• develop an individual course of therapeutic exercises with a vertebrologist.

Physiotherapy, kinesitherapy, laser therapy and much more are also indicated.Treatment of osteochondrosis should be carried out under the supervision of a vertebrologist or neurologist.