Damage to the thoracic spine is often confused with pathology of internal organs. The lungs, heart as well as the mammary glands and stomach located here can also cause pain in this location. Because of this, it is often difficult for doctors to diagnose osteonecrosis of the chest area: symptoms in women are confused with mastoid pathology.
Osteoarthritis of the chest - symptoms and sensations
To begin with, it should be noted that osteoarthritis is the most common pathology of the spine. In essence, it is a lesion related to degeneration and dystrophy of the intervertebral discs between vertebrae. Such processes lead to irreversible changes in the vertebral structure, affecting the entire function of the spine.
With its dense distribution and presence of a large number of nerve roots, patients with osteoarthritis will feel intense pain. At the same time, their nature and intensity may change. This complicates the diagnostic process: to distinguish mammary chondrosis, symptoms and sensations in women are analyzed, with the exception of pathology of the mammary glands, heart and stomach.
The first signs of osteoarthritis in women
Pain appears among all the possible signs of spinal damage. Intense pain that intensifies at night when in one position for long periods of time is often the first sign that attracts attention. Increased pain is also observed during physical activity with:
- Bend;
- turn sharply to one side;
- prolonged, even low-intensity exercise;
- deep breath;
- raise your hand.
Some patients complain of a feeling of pressure in the chest area. If osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is suspected, symptoms in women can be supplemented by a number of signs, which are:
- numbness in some areas of the epidermis;
- feeling of cold in the lower extremities;
- pain in the stomach and esophagus;
- disruption in the functioning of the digestive tract.
Degrees of osteochondral degeneration
Symptoms of breast osteochondrosis in women largely depend on the nature of the degenerative changes. Taking them into account, the corresponding stages of the disease (degrees) are distinguished:
- Level 1 - corrected when changes are observed in the core of the disc.Excessive loading leads to nuclear dehydration, which reduces the height of the intervertebral disc and develops cracks in the annulus fibrosus area. There is no pain, some women complain of a slightly uncomfortable feeling when the static electricity lasts.
- Grade 2 – as the height of the intervertebral disc decreases, the distance between the vertebral bodies also decreases.The spinal ligaments will eventually sag. The vertebrae have greater mobility, which is not typical for the entire thoracic region. As a result, the risk of displacement increases. Pain occurs mainly during work. It is at this stage that osteochondrosis in the chest area is detected and symptoms in women become apparent.
- Grade 3 – disc prolapse formation is observed.These phenomena are accompanied by subluxation and the development of arthritis in the intervertebral joints. Mobility decreases, numbness and tingling sensations appear in the limbs. Painful sensations were recorded in the back, neck and chest areas.
- Grade 4 - the body tries to compensate for hypermobility of the vertebrae and adapts to spinal dysfunction.When the vertebral bodies come into contact with each other, bone spurs form, which can compress nerves and damage the vertebrae.
How to distinguish thoracic spondylosis from other diseases?
According to statistics, thoracic spondylosis, the symptoms of which in women usually do not differ from those noted in men, occurs less often than lesions of the cervical and lumbar spine. However, this does not make the process of diagnosing the disease any easier. Due to the peculiarities of localization, many doctors confuse pathology with diseases of the chest organs.
However, experienced specialists who know how to identify thoracic osteoarthritis in the early stages have tried to exclude diseases of the breast, heart, stomach and lungs. Thus, there is no cough when there is cartilage degeneration in the chest area, in contrast to diseases of the respiratory system that always accompany this symptom.
How to distinguish chest osteochondrosis from heart attack?
In practice, doctors often face situations where patients complain of frequent heart attacks, but changes on the electrocardiogram and ultrasound are not recorded. In such cases, pain in the left chest is associated with neurological disorders caused by osteoarthritis. As the distance between adjacent vertebrae decreases, the nerve roots become compressed, causing heart attack-like pain.
Knowing how to distinguish angina from thoracic osteoarthritis, you can immediately identify myocardial disorders. Among the main differences:
- When suffering from osteoarthritis, the pain lasts for hours or weeks and has a wave-like progression, gradually decreasing and reappearing. With angina, the pain lasts 10-15 minutes, gradually decreasing after taking nitrates.
- The appearance of pain in osteonecrosis does not occur during physical activity, unlike angina.
- Neuropathic pain caused by spinal injury can be relieved with painkillers, but for patients with heart disease, these drugs are ineffective.
Thoracic osteochondrosis and VSD
Fixed signs of mammary cartilage degeneration in women must be distinguished from manifestations of VSD. Unlike spinal injuries, diseases of the cardiovascular system are characterized by a number of symptoms that require attention.Among the characteristic signs of VSD:
- fast heartbeat, heart attack;
- the occurrence of asthma attacks;
- Unstable blood pressure due to circulatory disorders (pressure with thoracic osteoarthritis is always normal).
Osteochondrosis of the chest and stomach pain
Abdominal pain accompanied by degeneration of thoracic cartilage occurs due to the disorder of nerve distribution of the vertebrae located on the projection of the stomach. If the patient has stomach problems, there will be persistent pain, accompanied by unpleasant feelings such as heartburn. At the same time, the feeling of pain is in no way related to physical activity and activity.Pain due to osteonecrosis of the thorax in the abdominal area has the following characteristics:
- aggravated by movements involving the spine;
- Discomfort does not subside after taking drugs that improve digestion;
- Appears regardless of whether the stomach is full: on an empty stomach, after eating.
Osteoarthritis of the breast and pain in the mammary gland
Chest pain is a common symptom in women. Many girls feel pain in their breasts due to cyclical hormonal changes. However, if there is no cyclical pain, doctors suspect there may be changes in the spine. At the same time, women themselves begin to search for causes on the Internet, trying to find out how to understand that you have osteoarthritis.
In the case of spinal degeneration, the pain will change location and appear regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle. In this case, the breast is not swollen or tight. The gland itself completely retains its shape, size and shape, in contrast to cases where breast pathology develops. Similar signs of cartilage degeneration in women help differentiate the disease.
What to do about osteonecrosis of the chest?
When breast cartilage degeneration is suspected in women, doctors send the patient for appropriate examination. This accurate diagnosis of the disease and correction allows us to avoid the negative consequences that are inextricably linked with disorders of the spine. A thorough diagnosis based on hardware test data is important.
Diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine
The main and often the only diagnostic method is chest X-ray. It allows you to diagnose osteonecrosis in women, regardless of the severity of the changes. It all depends on the quality of the photo.When cartilage degeneration occurs in the chest area, the symptoms in the woman in the picture are as follows:
- violation of the contour of the intervertebral disc located between the vertebrae;
- Modified disc shape;
- the presence of osteoporosis (pathological growth);
- spinous processes have sharp edges, vertebrae are irregularly shaped;
- Presence of intervertebral hernia.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine
Treatment of this disease is very complex. Treatment of breast osteonecrosis is carried out simultaneously in many directions:
- Eliminate pain- use of NSAIDs.
- Strengthen the spine– Moderate physical activity, balance, physical therapy.
- Surgery- when intervertebral hernia occurs.