Osteochondrosis is an unpleasant disease that can cause serious discomfort. It causes pain in the back, stiffness of movements, and does not allow you to calmly perform any work or rest. For prevention and treatment, doctors often recommend exercises for the spine for osteochondrosis of the thoracic region . If you follow the algorithm and program and perform them regularly, you can significantly improve your back condition.
Exercises for the spine for osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
Features of osteochondrosis of the thoracic region
The human thoracic spinal column consists of 12 vertebrae. From the point of view of anatomy and physiology, this is the least mobile part of the spine, but is well protected due to the powerful muscle corset surrounding it. This is why osteochondrosis very, very rarely affects the thoracic region. Typically this disease is localized in the neck or lower back.
Structure of the thoracic spine
On a note! Now osteochondrosis in the thoracic region has become more common. This is due to low physical activity of a person.
Osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine
Osteochondrosis is a degenerative-dystrophic disease of the spine. It is associated with dysfunction of the intervertebral discs. The main reason for the development is disruptions in the processes of nutrition of spinal tissues, both bone and disc. An additional negative factor is excessive load on the spinal column and insufficient development of the back muscles. The most susceptible to osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine are drivers, office managers, freelancers, artists, etc.
Osteochondrosis
Prevention
Prevention helps to get rid of many unpleasant manifestations of this disease.:
- Be sure to monitor your posture when sitting. Provide foot support.
- Take a break and stretch. You can do special gymnastics for the neck.
- It is important to learn to walk upright.
- Take a relaxed position while sleeping.
- Balanced diet.
Osteochondrosis affects the lumbar region, depriving the spine of flexibility. To prevent the disease, you need to do Alexandra Bonina’s gymnastics. It will maintain the flexibility of the spine, strengthen the muscle corset and restore normal blood circulation.
Symptoms
This disease is characterized by the presence of such a symptom as palpable pain in the upper back. By nature, the syndrome is divided into two types - dorsago and dorsalgia.
Upper back pain
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Table. Types of pain in osteochondrosis of the thoracic part.
View | Description |
Dorsalgia | In this case, pain is felt in the area of the intervertebral discs. It is weakly expressed, but is felt for a long time. There are problems with mobility in the lumbar-thoracic and cervicothoracic spine. |
Dorsago | With this nature, the pain is strong, pronounced, acute, often paroxysmal. The mobility of the back is severely limited, and there may be difficulty in inhaling and exhaling. |
In general, the symptoms of the development of pathology are pain in the chest, back, also felt in the heart and upper lateral abdomen. The syndrome intensifies during movements of almost any intensity, with deep breathing, at night. The patient may also complain of periodic numbness in the area of the shoulder blades or left arm.
Chest pain is one of the symptoms
On a note! Sometimes pain with such osteochondrosis can be confused with intercostal neuralgia, characterized by pain in the scapula area. In general, this disease is not difficult to confuse with a number of other pathologies, including gastritis, appendicitis, and renal colic. Only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis.
In the thoracic region, the spinal cord canal is very narrow. And at the slightest disturbance in this part of the back, compression of the spinal substance and pinching of nerve endings can occur. The danger is that in this way you can easily get problems with a number of internal organs - heart, kidneys, pancreas, etc.
Anatomy of the spine
Treatment
Only proper treatment will help you cope with pain and discomfort. Usually it is prescribed by a doctor only after a thorough diagnosis and an appropriate diagnosis has been made - it is important to make sure that it is osteochondrosis that is being dealt with.
Treatment of this pathology consists of using a number of medications, attending physiotherapeutic procedures and physical therapy classes. Acupuncture, which is often prescribed by doctors, will help restore back mobility and eliminate spasms. The circulatory system begins to work better, thereby improving the quality of nutrition of the spinal tissues.
Exercise therapy as a treatment method
A special place in the treatment of osteochondrosis is occupied by physical therapy or exercise therapy, as it is commonly called in its abbreviated version. In itself, it is, rather, not a method of therapy, but a good addition to the main treatment program. It is aimed at training and forming a muscle corset, and strong and strong back muscles will help avoid relapses of the disease.
Exercise therapy improves the mobility of the thoracic part of the spinal column, pumps muscles, and improves the functioning of the respiratory system. It can also eliminate some of the main symptoms of the pathology and restore the correct curves of the spine.
Physiotherapy
Attention! Physical therapy exercises will help prevent the appearance of compression of nerve endings. The main thing is to do them correctly.
List of other sports doctor courses
The sports doctor has five main treatment courses, as well as a small set of exercises.
- Secrets of a healthy neck.
- A healthy spine in two weeks.
- Morning exercises.
- Secrets of the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis.
- Seven basic exercises for the treatment of thoracic osteochondrosis.
You don’t have to do everything in a row; it’s enough to start with one course.
Morning exercises
This course teaches a person to perform exercises without harming the body, in what sequence is correct, and what duration is necessary. In addition, it teaches how to warm up before exercise.
Without a theoretical basis, it will not be possible to perform gymnastics correctly . Charging helps:
- Provide a person with energy.
- Smoothly put your body back into action.
- Protect joints and spine from overload.
- Provide an influx of endorphins.
- Suppresses appetite and speeds up metabolism.
There are four starting positions for charging.
Training rules and preparation for them
Physical therapy is not a sport or even a regular physical activity. Exercises performed according to such programs have a special effect that improves the condition of the back. However, if they are done incorrectly, you can get quite serious complications of the condition. It is important to follow certain rules:
- a set of exercises should be selected only by the attending physician who is well acquainted with the medical history. He must take into account the stage of the disease, its severity and many other factors, including the physical fitness and general condition of the patient’s body;
Physical exercise - exercises are not recommended during exacerbations . First, the doctor must ensure that severe pain is eliminated, and only then can you begin training;
- You only need to do the exercises until discomfort appears . It is important to monitor how you feel and, if necessary, reduce the intensity of the load or not try to perform an exercise that causes pain.
Don't do exercises that hurt
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In order for exercise to bring maximum benefit, you need to prepare for the workout. To do this, you can take a warm shower to relax the muscles, then have a light massage of the back and limbs to also relax the muscle corset. Warm-up is no less important during exercise therapy than when performing a regular set of workouts. In the case of osteochondrosis, it consists of walking with full feet, alternately on toes and heels until a warm sensation appears.
If you want to learn in more detail how to perform adaptive gymnastics for beginners according to Bubnovsky, and also consider the indications and technique, you can read an article about this on our portal.
Available contraindications
If during a medical examination you were found to have:
- problems with the heart and blood vessels,
- liver and gallbladder diseases,
- cerebrovascular accidents,
then you urgently need to start treatment for these particular diseases. Otherwise, you risk having complications from these organs. However, exercise therapy exercises in themselves have never harmed a person’s overall well-being if they are performed correctly and on a regular basis.
The benefits of exercise therapy are much more obvious than the absence of any physical activity. Always remember this!
Exercises recommended by experts
Let's look at what exercises doctors recommend doing for osteochondrosis of the thoracic region. They can be divided into two groups - those that are performed during an exacerbation, and those that are suitable during the remission stage. In the acute stage, most exercises are aimed at improving blood flow and increasing muscle tone. Basically, during an exacerbation, a person is prescribed bed rest. But even in this state, it is recommended to carefully contract the shoulder muscles, work with fists, slightly bring the shoulder blades together, tense the abs and legs.
During an exacerbation, a person is advised to go to bed
Advice! To make training more convenient, you can place a small soft cushion in the area of your shoulder blades.
Exercises are performed for 7-8 seconds each. If a feeling of warmth appears, then the patient is doing everything right.
Exercise in remission
Doctors recommend performing the following exercises during this period.
Step 1. Twisting in the chest area. You need to stand on a flat surface and straighten your back, stretch your arms to the sides so that your body together with them forms the letter “T”. There is no need to raise your shoulders, but you need to slightly squeeze your shoulder blades. In this position, several twists are performed to the left and right in the waist area, but the hips must remain in place. At the end point of each twist, you need to fixate for 20-30 seconds, then return to the primary position. It is important to ensure that the abdominal muscles, neck, knees and hips are not tense.
Massage
Massage for osteochondrosis is most relevant for the collar area with cervical osteochondrosis. For thoracic osteochondrosis, massage is prescribed and performed at discretion, depending on the severity.
It is important for massage aimed against osteochondrosis that it must be performed by a certified specialist.