Pinched nerve in the thoracic spine

The term “pinched” accurately describes an ailment in which the nerve root is literally squeezed between individual vertebral discs or vertebrae. A similar phenomenon immediately responds to pain. The condition may be completely different. Some suffer from constant, others from aching pain. Some can not even straighten their backs, suffer from lumbago and numbness of the hands.

Various pain symptoms are caused by a specific pinched nerve, which may be responsible for the following functions:

  • vegetative;
  • sensitivity;
  • motor.

People suffering from osteochondrosis and periods of exacerbation of neuralgia are aware of the acute burning painful sensation that occurs from a pinched nerve in the thoracic region. Analgesics are practically powerless. It is quite difficult to relieve pain and alleviate your condition with such ailments. Symptoms of seizures are often similar to heart failure and are manifested by the following symptoms:

  • The inactivity of the spine in the thoracic region, but the preservation of the motor function of the cervical spine. Pinching in the latter occurs much less frequently. It is more characteristic of other parts of the spine, surrounded by nerve endings that are highly sensitive to any imbalance.
  • Intercostal neuralgia can trigger a sharp movement, weight lifting, an awkward turn of the upper body. It is not necessary to take a bar of unusual weight in order to have an attack. Weight may be similar to that with which the athlete is constantly working. This also applies to life situations that have nothing to do with training.

Determining the specific source of the problem is difficult not only for the average person, but also for a specialist. A visual examination does not always allow even a doctor to determine whether the pain is caused by heart failure or neuralgia. To correctly diagnose, an examination is prescribed. It eliminates heart problems.

Content

  • 1 Signs and symptoms of pinched nerve
  • 2 What causes ailment?
  • 3 Treatment
    • 3.1 Therapeutic gymnastics
  • 4 How to prevent pinched nerve?
  • 5 Summary

Signs and symptoms of pinched nerve

The most vulnerable are vegetative and sensitive nerves. When one of them is clamped, there is a pulsating and periodically tingling pain in the heart region. It becomes difficult to breathe. If you try to take a deep breath of air, the pain sensation will intensify sharply. Symptoms are similar to a heart attack, but the cause is neuralgic. And if you take heart medications, relief will not come.

In the chest area there is a strong stiffness. It becomes more pronounced when a person tries to make any movement. The localization of pain is felt observed from the ribs to the spine. Sometimes it is accompanied by a violation of the heart rhythm. This often leads to an erroneous diagnosis when neuralgia is mistaken for a heart attack or ischemia. A pinched nerve, in contrast to disturbances in the work of the heart, is accompanied by prolonged painful sensations that do not stop medication.

If the nerve is strongly transmitted, stomach pains that resemble gastroenteritis, colitis, and ulcers may be added to the remaining symptoms. You can exclude these ailments yourself. It is enough to take an antispasmodic. If it helps to alleviate the condition, then the problem is gastroenterological in nature. Otherwise, the pain is caused by neuralgia. The occurrence of unpleasant sensations in muscle tissue further worsens a person’s well-being. This is caused by a response. Muscles, if the nerve is pinched, frantically contracted, repeatedly intensifying pain.

Pinching may be sporadic. In other words, instead of prolonged pain, a person is tormented by attacks that differ in the nature of the symptoms and duration. Often, neuralgia can occur at night, when the body is at rest. The nerve often turns out to be pinched at the moments of adoption of a relaxed position, when the muscles do not overstrain.

What causes ailment ">

At risk are people of advanced age. Natural processes of aging in the body do not pass without a trace for bone tissue, spine, nervous system. This in no way means that young people do not suffer from this disease. There are other reasons that provoke pinching of the nerve roots.

Often, neuralgia develops against the background of vegetovascular disorders affecting not only the chest area. Almost everyone has this dystonia, which significantly expands the potential risk group. A similar violation manifests itself as weather dependence, that is, a reaction to changes in weather conditions, severe headaches.

Autonomic nerves are characterized by increased sensitivity to any moral and psychological overload. People who consider themselves to be completely healthy often suffer from headaches and intercostal pain after suffering severe stressful situations.

The most common cause of pinched nerves in the chest area is an exacerbation of a disease such as osteochondrosis, as well as increased muscle tone caused by a back problem. These two factors most often lead to the ailment in question.

Exacerbation of osteochondrosis provokes the convergence of the vertebrae against the background of deformation changes in bone tissue, which gives an impetus to clamp the nerve endings. Hypertonicity leads to cramping and does not allow the muscles to relax, which entails harmful consequences. Both phenomena are most often manifested in people who deal with significant physical exertion.

Tightening a nerve ending is not just a pain, but also much more serious consequences. There is a violation of normal blood circulation, which negatively affects the vascular system, does not allow the body to receive a sufficient amount of important enzymes transported by blood. Nerve transmission can also occur due to the presence of a hernia in the chest.

Nerves can be pinched when taking an uncomfortable posture due to prolonged stress on the dorsal region. The development of an intervertebral hernia precedes the problem. People suffering from osteochondrosis need to start treatment in a timely manner. Otherwise, pinching will begin to occur regularly.

Treatment

It is prescribed exclusively after an accurate diagnosis and identification of the root cause, due to which damage or squeezing of nerve endings occurred. Regardless of what gave an impulse, there are some common actions that are characteristic for the treatment of this neuralgic problem.

The main goal of therapy is the release and restoration of the function of a clamped nerve. Manual therapy helps a lot. To achieve relief, by weakening muscle tone, acupressure can be a gentle massage. One session is enough for some to relieve pain.

It is impossible to talk about a full recovery if the pain receded. She may return again, but already in a more advanced stage. The cause of the pinching must be eliminated. Otherwise, it will be repeated again.

People with osteochondrosis need to constantly monitor their condition. You can not leave the disease unattended. Be sure to make an appointment with a neurologist to undergo an examination. If this is not done, pinched nerve can occur absolutely at any time.

Of the medicines most often prescribed antispasmodics and drugs aimed at strengthening the walls of blood vessels and improving blood circulation. The first allows the muscles to relax, which relieves pain. If the case is truly running, the patient is prescribed to wear a fixative corset.

After removing the pain, light gymnastics and manual therapy are prescribed. Both measures allow the spine to restore its lost functions, return to its natural state, and prevent muscle cramps. Patients who have been diagnosed with a hernia should discuss with the doctor the possibility of an operation to remove. Without surgery, pinching and chest pain can be regular.

You can not get rid of pinching the nerve endings in the chest if the root cause has not been eliminated. Drowning out the pain syndrome, only delay the onset of more serious consequences. If you do not approach the treatment correctly and in a timely manner, it can lead to paralysis and disability. This also applies to osteochondrosis. Progression of the disease leads to irreversible wear out of bone tissue.

When your back hurts, rest and therapy are needed. Medical procedures, if you follow the advice of specialists, should be done twice a year. Often, once a year is enough to maintain the normal condition of the spine, so as not to suffer from pain anymore.

Physiotherapy

Promotes the rapid elimination of pinching of nerve endings in the chest area. Special exercises can be done with the chronic course of the disease, and with exacerbation. The main thing is, if pain occurs during execution, stop the activity and take a comfortable pose.

The therapeutic complex includes the following exercises:

  1. Sit on a chair. Straighten your back. Hands put on the back of the head, make a deflection. The spine is pressed against the upper part of the back, bending backward and leaning forward. Repeat the movement 4 times. When bending back, breathe in, and when leaning forward, exhale.
  2. Get up on all fours, fix the position of the spine. The head is kept straight, which helps to align the spinal column. They begin to bend and arch the back. The cervical region should continue the spine. It is recommended to do from 5 to 8 repetitions per 1 cycle. Each deflection must be accompanied by a return to the original position.
  3. Lie on your stomach. Hands resting their palms on the floor, put next to the torso. Raise your upper body. Feet remain on the floor, not raised. The number of recommended repetitions is 5-8. The head at the highest point cannot be thrown back too much. The thoracic region should be stretched precisely due to arching.
  4. Lie on your back. Head, neck and body are raised, legs are torn off the floor surface. At one time you need to do from 8 to 10 repetitions.

The complex is quite simple, but effective.

How to Prevent Pinched Nerve "> Summary

Be sure to remember that pinched nerve in the thoracic spine has similar symptoms with disturbances in the work of the heart muscle. In order to timely carry out complex therapy and get rid of the disease, it is necessary to undergo an examination.

The lack of improvement after taking heart medications allows you to independently determine the need for contacting a specialist. They do not stop the pain. And if so, you should go to the doctor’s office.

In order to prevent the risks of pinching the nerve endings in the chest area, it is necessary to create conditions in which the muscles do not overstrain. Since this often leads to the emergence of neuralgic pathology.

It is possible to cure pinching only when they not only release the nerve, but also completely restore its normal function. There is no one universal treatment method. Proper therapy involves a combination of medicines, gymnastics, massage and other procedures. Otherwise, the problem will only be replaced by moments of relief, and attacks will be repeated.

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