Thoracic fibroma is a disease in which the discs in the thoracic spine are destroyed. Because this part is the least active, it is less likely to get sick.
Thoracic fibroids are manifested as spasms and pain in the chest, under the ribs, shortness of breath, stabbing, cutting, and sharp pain behind the breastbone. Symptoms and manifestations of the disease can be similar to those of other diseases.
Symptom
Spinal pain is the most common and superficial symptom. Of course, they do not always talk about the development of osteonecrosis in humans. Therefore, you should pay attention to other sensations in the body:
- Chest discomfort and pain. Usually, if you are a sedentary person, you may not notice this. But as soon as you start doing any physical activity in which your breathing is accelerated, you'll notice more intense pain. The nature of this pain can be called shingles.
- In addition, you may experience pain in completely unwanted places - the heart area, abdomen, liver. This is due to the fact that thoracic osteonecrosis tends to "disguise" as a specific disease. For example, many people may mistake it for gastritis, an ulcer, or angina.
- If you notice occasional "goosebumps" in your chest area, combined with other symptoms, this could be a sign of a thoracic osteosarcoma.
- In some cases, there can be a loss of sexual function, for example impotence in men.
Pain in osteonecrosis in the chest
One of the main features of this type of pain is shingles. But you can't always recognize this pain from it. Here's another way it can feel and be characterized:
- usually manifest in the dark, behind the sternum;
- a sensation that can be described as a "pocket in the chest";
- discomfort in the hypochondrium, both on the right and left side;
- feeling as if there is some foreign body behind the breastbone;
- If the lesion only touches the upper part of the thorax, the patient may experience pain in the esophagus and pharynx.
Since these symptoms are still very vague and may refer to some other illness, your doctor recommends that you undergo an additional electrocardiogram analysis.
Affects organs
During development, the disease can adversely affect internal organs, namely the lungs and heart. Here's what thoracic osteonecrosis can lead to:
- affect the heart. Mainly due to compression of the thoracic nerve root. After all, it is from there that the cardiac plexus goes. It is these plexuses that participate in the regulation of the heart. The main alarm bells here are frequent tachycardia (extrasystole), arrhythmia, tachycardia. Therefore, effects on the cardiovascular system may manifest in one of these symptoms, or at the same time;
- affect the lungs. It manifests most often as shortness of breath and painful sensations at the same time.
Why does osteonecrosis appear in the chest?
Despite the fact that osteonecrosis is generally a fairly common disease, thoracic osteonecrosis is less common. The prerequisites for the onset of this disease can already be found in students who are sitting grimacing at their desks. As a result, children can get scoliosis, and in more adulthood - osteonecrosis. Most other developmental causes are closely related to scoliosis:
- violation of posture;
- metabolic disorders affecting the integrity of the intervertebral disc;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- genetic reasons;
- spinal cord injury;
- working statically and staying long in an uncomfortable, contorted position.
How is the treatment?
After the correct diagnosis has been established in the tests, the doctor will prescribe special drug treatment. In the case of osteonecrosis of the chest, it may include the following drugs, depending on the severity of the disease and the characteristics of its manifestations:
- First of all, drugs are prescribed to "remove" the pain and relieve the discomfort. These are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or glucocorticosteroids.
- To avoid the lack of fluid in the intervertebral disc, papain is used.
- Medicines called "chondroprotectors" are prescribed. With their help, there is a general strengthening of cartilage tissue.
- Medicines may be added to the list to ease spasms of the muscles around the spine.
- If the development of an inflammatory process is detected, then a special anti-inflammatory therapy will be prescribed.
But, of course, it is not possible to heal with medicine alone. Make sure to follow a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition. These practices are not only helpful for treatment but also for the prevention of this and many other diseases.
Exercises for osteonecrosis of the chest
Since lack of physical activity is one of the fundamental causes of the development of the disease, the role of exercise in this case is very large. In addition, supplementing the treatment with exercises, your body will return to normal and stabilize much faster.
There are several exercises specifically for the thoracic region. When performing them, follow the basic rules: do not jerk, act slowly, rhythmically, do not try to overload the body. Allowing to increase the amplitude, but only if you are not in pain. So, what are the most effective exercises offered by physical therapy?
- Lie face down on the floor. Hands - along the body. We bend in the thoracic region - smoothly, gently. Raise your arms and head as high as you feel, but try to avoid pain. You should complete at least 5 approaches.
- For the next exercise, we need a chair with a small and firm back. Sit down correctly on a chair. We exhale, bend back, and at the same time pull our hands back. Then we return to the starting position. We repeat 10-12 times.
- We stood up straight. Hands at seams, feet together. We take a deep breath and raise our hands. As we exhale, we slowly bend back and lower our arms. We return to the starting position. You should do 7-9 approaches at once.
- Walk on all fours on the floor. Slowly arch your back while inhaling, while exhaling - return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 7-10 times.
- We lay face down on the floor. Hand at seam. Your task is to tear your body off the floor, reaching your head towards your heels. We pull the whole body, do chest exercises. The number of approaches needed is 7-8.
- We work with the upper part of the thoracic region. Starting position - hands at seams, feet shoulder width apart. We work with our shoulders. We raised them together first, then individually. We twist our shoulders forward - backward, forward - backward. We take 10-15 approaches for each task.
- Alternatively, for the upper part of the chest area, you can do circular movements with your hands. Starting position, as in the previous mission. We stretch our arms out to the sides, squeezing our palms into fists. We rotate the fist forward and back, then rotate the hand from the elbow back and back, then with the whole hand back and forth. We do each part of the exercise 4-6 times, in general we repeat the exercise 2-4 times.
Exercise in the morning and evening for at least 15-20 minutes. Dilute it with a set of exercises for other muscle groups by inserting some of the options above.
Massage
Massage is also a very good remedy in the fight against bone necrosis. Here, a therapeutic massage session is performed by a specialist doctor after a thorough examination of the patient. You can also do it at home - here are some options on how to do this.
Honey massage. We need 2-3 tablespoons of honey, preferably unsweetened, warm. Dip your palms in the honey so that they are coated in a thin layer. We apply on the area behind the sternum and then suddenly tear, repeat many times, moving the palm from one place to another.
Do not massage for too long because it is easy to cause pain. Enough 10-15 minutes for a session. After that, the skin will redden, "burned".
Classic massage. It consists of several steps, including: caressing, kneading, vibration, rubbing. You should perform massage using an anti-osteonecrosis cream or ointment - which may be recommended by your care professional.
The duration of this massage should not exceed 20 minutes, and the general course of treatment with this method should not exceed 11-13 times. Therefore, as a precaution, kneading is also recommended for the neck, arms, shoulders, buttocks and even legs.
Treatment at home
In addition, there are alternative methods to treat osteonecrosis of the chest. For example, rubbing is great, its base can also be used when performing massage. Lilac, horseradish, garlic, onion, potato, juniper are often taken as a basis. Honey, vegetable oils, and sometimes perfume or alcohol are added. Everything is thoroughly mixed into a homogeneous mass and the damaged area is rubbed. For example, according to the following recipe, you can prepare a rub from the leaves of the ficus:
- Ficus leaves in the amount of 6-8 are passed through a extractor or cut into small pieces. Placed in a container where it is filled with 2 tri-size bottles of perfume. Mix. Grinding should be in a dark place for 2 weeks. Then need to use at least 2 times / day until heat appears on the skin.
Working with computers is one of the most important causes of osteonecrosis. If you spend a lot of time at the computer, you should do the exercises at least every two hours.
Computer work and osteonecrosis
Performing daily computer activities without physical activity can lead to poor posture. This happens because the person does static work for a long time, does not give the muscles and spine rest, and does not do any warm-up or rest activities. In the future, if this problem is not corrected, thoracic osteonecrosis may develop.
To prevent this from happening, experts recommend implementing the so-called office charger, which is specially designed for people who work with computers most of the time.
For example, the following exercises are great:
- Bend your back, pull your arms up, tilt your head back. Feel a comfortable weight in your back. Do it after every hour of working at the computer at least 3-4 times.
- Do circular movements with your head. Look left and right, tilt your head back and forth.
- Raise your arms up - to the sides - forward - to the sides. Repeat a few times.
- Stand next to your work area, if you can, and switch from foot to foot.
Don't forget to change your posture when working at the computer, then you will keep your health, spine and posture for a long time!
Strengthens the muscles of the back with bone resorption
Strengthening the muscles of the back is a very important part of the treatment and prevention of osteonecrosis. To do this, just being physically active - working out, going to fitness classes or the gym is enough. Choose the option that best suits you. Swimming, for example, strengthens muscles very well, so you can not only enjoy it but also improve your body.