Spondylitis is considered one of the most dangerous diseases of the musculoskeletal system. This is an infectious or autoimmune disease that is accompanied by inflammation and then destruction of bones and joints. If measures are not taken in time to cure the disease, it leads to complete and irreversible changes.
Spondylitis of the lumbar spine - what is it?
In this article we will look at lumbar spondylitis, what it is, its causes and symptoms, types of spondylitis, diagnosis and treatment.
What it is?
Spondylitis is a disease of the spine in which deformities of the vertebrae appear, the strength of the bone tissue of the musculoskeletal system decreases, and purulent formations occur. In medicine, many cases of tuberculous spondylitis in humans have been recorded.
Spondylitis is a common problem in men and older people
Among spinal diseases, spondylitis is the least common - in five percent of cases. However, its consequences are extremely dangerous. Patients with spondylitis face spinal deformation and bone fragility.
Spondylitis is more often found in men. In females, it occurs less frequently, goes away more easily, and they recover from it faster.
How to increase the effectiveness of treatment: useful tips
Treatment of spondylitis is aimed not only at eliminating the main symptoms and stopping purulent-inflammatory processes, but also at preventing relapses and possible complications. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, you must adhere to the recommendations listed below:
- Sufficient (at least 8-9 hours) sleep in the right position is of great importance in forming a favorable prognosis. Patients with various forms of spondylitis need to purchase special medical and preventive accessories (pillows, mattress) for sleep;
The correct position of the spine during sleep will help increase the effectiveness of treatment. - dosed hardening procedures are useful for improving the functional abilities of the spine and increasing the overall immunoresistance of the body;
- physical activity should be daily and correspond to the level of physical fitness, and also take into account the characteristics of the disease. The ideal choice is exercise therapy, swimming, walking.
Swimming is one of the most effective ways to treat spinal pathologies
Orthopedic mattresses
If possible, patients diagnosed with spondylitis should be sent for spa treatment once a year.
Spondylitis is a serious disease of the spine that can lead to the most severe consequences (for example, purulent meningitis), so treatment should be started as early as possible. In cases where conservative therapy does not give a stable positive result, the question of the possibility of surgical treatment and the further prognosis of life and health (including assignment of a disability group) are decided individually.
Features of spondylitis
Spondylitis has characteristic features:
- When the disease develops in the lumbar region, the symptoms are not as noticeable as with inflammation in the thoracic or cervical region. With lumbar spondylitis, the patient is less likely to have a severely deformed spine. But the likelihood of fistulas (or fistulas) increases.
The difference between a healthy vertebra and one affected by ankylosing spondylitis
- At the initial stage of the disease, symptoms do not appear. Only a rare, mild pain is felt, which is often attributed to overwork or a cold.
- In the terminal stage of lumbar spondylitis, sensation in the legs is lost. Internal organs do not function at full capacity.
Important!
The processes of bone tissue degradation due to spondylitis can often be detected only during diagnosis and treatment.
Causes of spondylitis development
Spondylitis occurs due to damage to the human body by an infection that affects the functioning of the immune system. Immune dysfunction leads to deformation of the bone tissue of the spinal column. People with weakened immune systems are at risk of developing spondylitis even from a common cold.
Spondylitis causes a person to constantly take an unnatural posture
Spondylitis appears due to infectious diseases such as:
- tuberculosis;
- pyelitis and pyelonephritis;
- psoriasis;
- gastritis, duodenitis, colitis, stomach ulcer, cholecystitis;
- lichen, erythrasma, dermatophytosis, fungus.
The second place is occupied by injury to the lumbar vertebrae. The inflammatory process occurs in men aged thirty and older who work hard physically and, as a result, place excessive stress on the spine.
Spondylitis can also be caused by a spinal injury or a genetic predisposition.
Classification
Classification of spondylitis is carried out mainly due to the occurrence of the inflammatory process. In total, there are two broad groups of spondylitis - specific and nonspecific - which also have several varieties.
Specific spondylitis
Specific spondylitis is a deformation of the spinal column that develops against the background of infectious inflammation of the spinal tissues. The classification of this group of spondylitis involves division according to the type of infectious agent (viruses, fungi or bacteria).
Specific spondylitis is caused by pathogens - viruses, bacteria, fungi
Table. Specific spondylitis: varieties
Symptoms of spondylitis
The main symptom of lumbar spondylitis is pain in the lower back. In addition, patients with spondylitis have problems with motor activity due to a feeling of “stiffness” when turning the body or bending over.
Symptoms of spondylitis are sometimes confused with symptoms of other diseases
Other symptoms of the disease:
- burning or tingling - these sensations spread from the lower back to the very legs;
- limited mobility of the spinal column;
- loss of sensation in the lower extremities;
- gait undergoes changes;
- problems with the genitourinary system (frequent urination) or bowel movements (constipation).
- difficulty sleeping, including chronic insomnia;
- shortening and curvature of the spine in advanced stages of spondylitis.
If you want to find out in more detail what symptoms spinal spondylitis has, and also consider alternative treatment methods, you can read an article about it on our portal.
results
For 12 months, all patients received NSAIDs in therapeutic doses according to ASAS recommendations. The clinical characteristics of patients after 12 months are presented in Table. 2. After 12 months of observation, the number of patients with AS increased to 48, i.e., 7 (25%) patients with nr-axSpA developed reliable radiologically detected SI, and they moved to the AS group. Initially, 2 (28.5%) of them had signs of active SI detected by MRI, 4 (57.1%) had signs of chronic SI, and 1 (14.4%) had no pathological changes detected by MRI. Among 20 (75%) patients with nr-axSpA who did not develop radiologically defined SI during this period, detectable MRI signs of fatty degeneration without active osteitis were present in 6 (30%), while in 9 (45% ) are signs of active SI.
Table 2. Clinical characteristics of 69 patients with AS and nr-axSpA after 12 months of follow-up
Peripheral arthritis, enthesitis, and laboratory parameters did not differ significantly between groups at 12 months of follow-up, nor did disease activity as measured by BASDAI and ASDAS CRP. It should be noted that in general, disease activity during NSAID therapy decreased by 1.5 times in both groups, but high functional impairment (BASFI >4 points) remained in patients with AS, while in the nr-axSpA group, high BASFI scores did not registered.
Types of lumbar spondylitis
Symptoms of spondylitis vary depending on the causative agent of the disease. The speed of development of the disease varies: spondylitis can grow secretly and slowly, proceed in a protracted form and at the same time worsen from time to time, or it can progress rapidly.
Any type of spondylitis causes severe pain to the patient
- Aseptic spondylitis . Known as traumatic spondylitis. It appears after physical damage to the lumbar spine. Occurs in men whose age is thirty years and older.
- Tuberculous spondylitis . It can occur in the thoracic and lumbar spine. This type of disease is more common in children under eighteen years of age. Poor blood supply and weak immunity are the main reasons for the development of tuberculous spondylitis.
- Ankylosing spondylitis . Better known as ankylosing spondylitis. This is a chronic disease, and unlike other types, it spreads beyond the spine and affects the joints. Symptoms include fever, muscle spasms, and lack of appetite. It is a common cause of disability.
- Brucellous spondylitis . It is much less common than other species. Occurs when infected with brucellosis. The third and fourth lumbar vertebrae are affected.
- Septic spondylitis . It is considered the most dangerous of all types and is also known as purulent spondylitis. This type of disease develops so quickly that fistulas and disruptions of the central and peripheral nervous system appear within a few hours. Purulent spondylitis affects the mobile vertebrae of the lumbar region.
Let's talk about the most common type - aseptic spondylitis.
Aseptic spondylitis and its features
Aseptic spondylitis (Kümmel's disease) begins to progress after a vertebral injury. The danger is that the pain may not manifest itself for a long time - in fact, the disease is in a latent form. Pain syndromes appear again over time (after a couple of years) due to injuries or infections, and then the disease again goes into a latent form, without stopping to develop.
Due to the destruction of spongy tissue, blood flow disturbances appear in the vertebrae, followed by inflammation of the lower back, and then a compression fracture of the vertebrae is possible.
Aseptic spondylitis, unlike other types of disease, occurs in anyone who injures the spine
The destruction of bone tissue leads to disability for life.
During treatment, it is necessary to reduce the load on the spine, so the doctor prescribes bed rest. The patient must wear a plaster corset for a long time and take medications regularly.