According to the results of scientific research, about 30% of the inhabitants of our country sometimes feel tingling, heaviness, and even shooting in the left side of the chest. However, doctors do not find any pathologies in the work of the heart and blood vessels. MedAboutMe will tell you about the causes of this unpleasant, heart-like pain and how to get rid of it.
Causes of pain in the heart
There are many cases in the history of medicine when a person feels pain in the region of the heart, and an electrocardiological examination does not show any disturbances in the heart activity. It has been established that all chest pains that are not due to cardiovascular diseases are of a neurological nature. Take, for example, manifestations of osteochondrosis. The most painful of its types is considered the chest. In the chest there is a very large number of nerve fibers, as well as large plexuses, as a result of irritation of which pain syndrome occurs. In other words, the narrowing of the intervertebral discs leads to compression of the nerve endings and, as a consequence, the appearance of pain that mimic the heart pain. No wonder this type of osteochondrosis was called a chameleon disease.
How to distinguish neurological pain from cardiac?
It is possible to distinguish neurological pain from cardiological pain without resorting to laboratory tests. And it is not so difficult.
In the case of thoracic osteochondrosis, the pain in the heart does not disappear for several hours, and sometimes days. At the same time its intensity can vary. With angina pectoris, heart pain is short-lived and lasts for 3-5 minutes, especially after taking nitroglycerin. Neurological pain does not depend on the degree of physical exertion and makes itself felt during a deep breath, sharp turns or changes in body position. Sometimes even such an innocuous movement, as the abduction of a hand to the side, can respond with aching pain, extending to the neck, arm, or the left half of the chest. And, finally, the most important difference is that it is possible to relieve neurological severe pains with the help of analgesics, whereas such drugs are not able to get rid of the heart. And vice versa, medications that relieve the pain of the heart, can not remove the neurological.
Causes of illness
We have already spoken about the symptoms of thoracic osteochondrosis, now we will understand its causes. The most common factor in the development of the disease is the uneven distribution of physical activity in the vertebral parts, which leads to the development of pathological processes in the cartilage cells.
First of all, people with metabolic disorders, as well as an insufficient amount of calcium and phosphorus in the body, belong to the risk group. It is various hormonal disorders and poor blood circulation that cause malnutrition in the tissues of intervertebral disks. The cause of the development of the disease and the appearance of pain in the heart can also be:
- spinal curvature and contusions;
- excessive exercise;
- long-term stay in not very comfortable postures;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- genetic predisposition.
Disease treatment
Improper treatment of osteochondrosis or its complete absence can provoke the development of intercostal neuralgia, accompanied by severe pain, in which case surgical treatment may be required. Therefore, in case of detection of signs diseases It is not necessary to self-medicate, it is better to consult a doctor who will diagnose and prescribe the necessary treatment. As a rule, first of all, the patient is prescribed the use of painkillers – Analgin, Pentalgin, Baralgin. However, long-term treatment with analgesics will not bring health benefits; therefore, other, less harmful methods can be used to relieve or reduce pain.
- Take an ordinary rolling pin or another round smooth stick in your right hand, and preferably a massage roller, and very gently tap the right side of your body for five minutes on the shoulder, shoulder blade and spine. Then do all this with the left half of the body;
- put the rolling pin on a flat surface, lay your back on it and try to move, rolling it back and forth for about ten minutes.
Regular classes will help reduce severe pain and, if not eliminate, then reduce the use of pain medication.
With regard to drug treatment, in order to relax the muscles, usually prescribes the reception of muscle relaxants – tizanidine, Sirdalud, baclofen, clonazepam. In especially severe cases, the patient is given novocainic or lidocaine blockades.
A good result is given by the use of ointments containing bee and snake venom, which promote muscle relaxation and increase the elasticity of ligaments. For greater effectiveness after applying the ointment, the chest is tied with a fluffy scarf or a warm scarf.
Preventing severe pain
As we have said, one of the main reasons for the development of thoracic osteochondrosis is a sedentary lifestyle, leading to the appearance of pathological changes in the spine.
For prophylaxis this disease does not necessarily exhaust yourself with hours of training. It is enough just a day and a half to two hours to walk in the fresh air. It is good to add to this the implementation of exercises that help maintain the normal state of the entire spine:
- stand up straight, take a slow breath, put your legs together, arms down. Raising your arms above your head – exhale. Sinking back – slow breath. Dropping hands, leaning forward, lowering the head and shoulders – exhale. Do ten repetitions;
- sitting on a chair facing the back, wrap your hands behind the back of your head – inhale. As much as possible, bend back, sticking to the back of the chair – exhale. Do ten repetitions;
- in a position on all fours (“cat”), bend your back as much as possible, stay in that position for a few seconds, and then return to the original position. Do ten repetitions;
- lying on your stomach, stretch your arms along your body, crouch, lifting your head and legs. Make eight repetitions.
Gym time does not matter. The main thing – to do it regularly, and then no osteochondrosis is not terrible.