The spine is susceptible to a large number of diseases (hernias, displaced intervertebral discs, scoliosis, radiculitis, etc.). All of them are accompanied by either pain or other unpleasant sensations.
The Medicenter multidisciplinary clinic offers several treatment options for a wide variety of spinal diseases:
- interstitial electrical stimulation (ITES);
- physiotherapy;
- paravertebral blockades;
- massage;
- transcranial electrical stimulation (TES);
- acupuncture.
Infusion therapy (intravenous, intramuscular injections), hirudotherapy, vacuum and manual therapy can be used as auxiliary techniques. Each type of treatment is aimed at combating a specific disease, so before starting treatment, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination and find out the exact diagnosis.
Center for Neurology in St. Petersburg
Many spinal problems are associated with neurological pathologies. When complaining of back pain, doctors first check the state of the nervous system and in 75% of cases they find the cause there. This may be inflammation of the spinal roots, irritation of the nerve endings of the spinal tissues, etc.
In such cases, specialists rarely resort to only one treatment method; usually therapy includes a set of measures: from pharmacology to medical massage. Our neurologists select the treatment program individually for each patient. If you suffer from a chronic disease, then experts will tell you what to do to avoid exacerbations.
Objectives of the Center
- Using a synergistic effect when combining the scientific and clinical potential of the specified departments of St. Petersburg State University and specialists in various fields (cardiorheumatology, pulmonology, neurology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, immunology and allergology, psychiatry, epidemiology) - to clarify the etiology, pathogenesis and development of effective methods for the treatment and prevention of health disorders in persons who have had a new coronavirus infection.
- Development of domestic and international cooperation in biomedical and clinical research of post-infectious autoimmune and immunopathological syndromes and diseases.
- Development of an individualized treatment plan for each patient in a short time within the framework of outpatient consultations, a clinical examination by a team of specialists and a one-day hospital stay.
- Creation of a telemedicine consultation center to work with patients outside St. Petersburg.
Post-Covid syndrome
is a condition that occurs in the form of long-term pathological symptoms after a new coronavirus infection, persisting for three months or more.
VTES technique
Interstitial electrical stimulation (ITES) is currently one of the most effective techniques in the treatment of the spine. The multidisciplinary medical center is one of the few clinics in St. Petersburg that provides the exclusive VTES technique. Our specialists completed an internship with the creator of the methodology, Professor A. A. Gerasimov, and received personalized certificates confirming their qualifications.
VTES is a type of physiotherapy in which not soft tissues, but bone and periosteum are stimulated by electric current. During the procedures, metabolism in bone tissue improves, blood flow increases, and the transmission of impulses along nerve fibers improves. The process of cartilage destruction stops, swelling and inflammation are relieved. And most importantly, the pain disappears.
VTES has no analogues not only in Russia, but also abroad and is fundamentally different from other methods of neurological treatment. The method is recommended by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and is successfully used by medical and health resort institutions in Russia and the CIS.
Patient reviews: which is better, surgery or conservative treatment?
If conservative measures are correctly selected, the patient, especially with stable protrusion and hernia, will have a few days of significant pain disappearance, range of motion will be restored, and neurological symptoms will gradually begin to regress. But at the same time, the morphological substrate, that is, the hernial protrusion, does not disappear anywhere.
After a course of effective treatment, the doctor must warn you that you need to take care of your back, avoid straining, carrying heavy loads, you need to wear a rigid corset during planned physical activity, you need to maintain normal body weight, engage in physical therapy, and follow other instructions. But, despite this, statistics show that regularly a patient with an intervertebral hernia of the lumbar spine needs not so much a full course of conservative treatment as surgical intervention.
At the same time, from an economic point of view and taking into account the radical nature of surgical treatment, it is much better to choose a modern and minimally invasive surgical intervention. So, if a patient undergoes complex treatment of an intervertebral hernia four times over the course of 2 years without surgery in St. Petersburg, then in the end he can pay a quarter of a million rubles or even more for this. At the same time, modern minimally invasive endoscopic or laser intervention can be performed at a high level for a much smaller amount. You can even perform intervertebral disc replacement using the same funds, and then forget about the hernia forever.
Medicines for the treatment of the spine
Due to the fact that spinal problems include many different diseases, there is no single effective medicine for all cases. Therapy always includes a set of drugs that are selected to combat various manifestations of the disease.
To combat pain, analgesics (both tablets and ointments) are prescribed. To combat inflammation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (pantohematogen, karipazim, etc.) are prescribed. If pain manifests itself in the form of spasms, then antispasmodic drugs (drotaverine, sirdalud and even Botox) are used. Collagen is suitable for strengthening joints. And for general strengthening of the body, antioxidants and drugs that improve blood microcirculation are prescribed.
Causes of spinal diseases
One of the most common diseases of the ligamentous apparatus of the spine is osteochondrosis. This degenerative-dystrophic pathology develops due to disruption of metabolic processes in the intervertebral discs, which occupy a third of the total volume of the ridge and adjacent structures. It is osteochondrosis that we owe to the heaviness in the back, tension or numbness of the muscles, tinnitus, lumbago, nagging pain when bending over, turning the head and raising the arms.
There are many different factors that can trigger the development of the disease:
- abnormalities in the structure of the spine,
- hereditary predisposition,
- sedentary lifestyle,
- excessive dynamic and static loads,
- excess body weight,
- back injuries,
- poor posture,
- chronic stress,
- flat feet and more.
Beginning to develop at a fairly young age, osteochondrosis is often complicated by protrusion. In turn, excessive compression of the intervertebral disc can lead to intervertebral hernia. This is a fairly serious problem caused by rupture of the fibrous ring and protrusion of the nucleus pulposus beyond its physiological location. In the absence of timely and adequate help, such a condition can lead to irreversible damage to the nervous structures, leading to disruption of the pelvic organs, weakness in the limbs and even paralysis.
That is why the specialists of our medical center for the treatment of the spine in St. Petersburg strongly recommend that you consult a doctor as soon as possible with disturbing symptoms.
Medical massage
Unlike a regular relaxing massage in a salon, medical massage is performed using special techniques, the effectiveness of which has been tested and confirmed. To become a certified specialist, a doctor must complete an advanced training course and receive a certificate in the specialty “medical massage.”
This massage is actively used for a variety of diseases of the spine. It improves blood circulation, increases muscle tone, and relieves fatigue. Metabolism accelerates and oxygen flows to damaged areas of the spine and surrounding soft tissues.
Massage is often used both as an independent therapy and as an auxiliary technique in the treatment of neurological diseases of the spine (including chronic ones).
When you contact one of the Medicenter clinics with back pain, you can be sure that our specialists will correctly diagnose and prescribe treatment that will definitely help.
Pathogenesis
The mechanism of occurrence of post-Covid syndrome is poorly understood and is presumably related to the morphological structure and properties of the virus and its effect on human tissues and organs.
One of the reasons is the tropism of the virus to the vascular endothelium of nervous, renal, and pulmonary tissue and the ability to cause chronic vasculitis in it with the development of thromboembolism, tissue hypoxia and organ ischemia.
The development of a pathological immune response cannot be ruled out, leading to the development of chronic autoimmune inflammation that affects human organs and systems.
Separately, one should take into account the influence of the SARS-CoV2 virus on the development of autonomic dysfunction, which is clinically manifested in dysfunction of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory and nervous systems.
How stress leads to chronic back problems
Neurological pain is a consequence of problems with nerve fibers. Painful sensations arising from the disease can take the form of:
- inflammation;
- pinching;
- irritation;
- damage.
Stress increases pain, since the nerve endings at this moment become irritated and become more sensitive to external influences. Stress and shock also provoke other disorders - hormonal and metabolic. The production of endorphin, dopamine and other hormones, the so-called “happiness hormones,” decreases. Their deficiency affects emotions: any irritation, even minimal, is perceived more intensely and sharply.
Continuous irritation of nerve tissue is called neuralgia. Its most common cause is stress, but it can occur not only due to shocks. Hypothermia, improper functioning of the immune system - all this also causes neuralgia. However, shock can aggravate any negative process.
For example, stress actively affects the immune system. The body's defense level sharply decreases, which triggers a number of pathological processes. Foci of inflammation appear in the nervous tissue - small, but provoking severe painful sensations. Chronic diseases of the spinal column are also getting worse. Inflammation in tissues is called neuritis. A separate type of neuritis is solaritis, a condition in which inflammatory processes affect all the nerves of the solar plexus.
Stress is the cause of muscle hypertonicity. Such a spasm in itself is unpleasant and painful, but another nuisance is also possible: nerve tissue is pinched by this spasm. If the root is affected, it causes intense pain and leads to tissue damage. Radiculitis, plexitis, ganglionitis, osteochondrosis - all these diseases are highly likely to worsen under stress.
A separate case is psychosomatics. This means that there is no real reason for the pain, but the patient still feels it. The cause of psychosomatic pain can be injury, depression, as well as prolonged pain caused by other reasons.
Treatment of post-Covid syndrome
If the attending physician suspects that the patient has post-Covid syndrome, a consultation at the center is recommended. If tests for the SARS-CoV2 virus are negative, the attending physician sends patients or a package of documents to the selection committee at the specified center. The selection committee coordinates an outpatient consultation at the Center and prepares primary related documentation. If indicated, after an outpatient consultation, the patient may be recommended to be hospitalized for one day to conduct further studies and receive therapy. The attending physician of the Center invites patients for further treatment and rehabilitation. If necessary, dispensary observation is established, health education is carried out, increasing patients' awareness of this disease and increasing motivation for treatment and rehabilitation.
Treatment includes symptomatic pharmacotherapy, physical rehabilitation and exercise therapy, and physiotherapy.
Spinal traction mechanism
During the procedure, the patient lies on a special couch. Its spinal column is extended in the longitudinal direction, which helps to increase the distance between the vertebrae and return them to their original position. Uniform extension occurs along the line of natural curvature of the entire spine, without creating areas with insufficient or excessive extension. The pinched nerve roots are released, due to which acute and chronic pain can disappear, as well as the patient’s range of motor activity can expand.
Treatment of scoliosis - doctor in St. Petersburg
Scoliosis is not easy to treat. Professor Zhulev, one of the best specialists in St. Petersburg, will be able to choose the most effective method of combating this disease, taking into account the patient’s personal characteristics. An experienced, highly qualified doctor specializing in diseases of the spinal column knows how to correct curvature with a minimum duration of therapy. In the early stages, many prefer not to notice alarming changes that occur asymptomatically. But with the development of scoliosis, other organs begin to suffer; its consequences can be unexpected and very painful, worsening all aspects of the quality of life. Why wait for them? It is better to prevent their onset by promptly seeking help from a highly qualified neurologist. And even if the asymmetry has already reached a serious stage, the doctor will help you get rid of the pain syndrome and return you to a stable posture, preventing a number of dangerous diseases caused by scoliosis.
Symptoms
There is no single picture and clinical manifestations of post-Covid syndrome. Some patients experience the same symptoms as during the illness, while others develop new symptoms. The most common symptoms include:
- constant fatigue,
- disturbance of circadian rhythms (sleep and wakefulness),
- periodic low-grade fever or hypothermia,
- pain, congestion, heaviness in the chest,
- cough and shortness of breath,
- irritability, tearfulness, anxiety,
- headache,
- heart pain, heart rhythm disturbances,
- hyper- or hypotension,
- hair loss,
- impaired skin sensitivity,
- hearing and smell impairment,
- indigestion,
- loss of concentration and memory.
Why do intervertebral hernias occur?
Spinal hernias can occur as a result of previous injuries (blows and falls). Quite often the cause of the disease is spinal curvature and osteochondrosis. Factors suggesting the development of the disease can be very different. Among them, experts highlight a sedentary lifestyle, uneven loads, frequent hypothermia, tall height, excess weight, bad habits (in particular, smoking), and incorrect posture. Women and patients over thirty years of age are also at risk.