Radicular syndrome is a lesion of the spinal nerve in the root, in the place where the nerve is separated from the spinal cord and leaves the spine. Nerve roots are located in the intervertebral openings and lead to all organs and parts of the human body. Narrowing of the intervertebral openings can lead to infringement of the nerve root, resulting in a spasm of the surrounding tissues. This can happen as a result of exposure to many different diseases.
Symptoms of radicular syndrome
Radicular syndrome is accompanied by a number of the most unpleasant symptoms for a person.
The first major symptom is pain, which can be pulling, dull, burning or shooting. Typically, in a patient, the disease begins with shooting pain, eventually turning into burning or dull. Although other options for the development of radicular syndrome are not excluded.
In the area with the affected root, the patient may have paresthesia (a change in the perception of pain), in which there is a feeling of “goosebumps”, twitching or “cottoniness”.
As a result of circulatory disorders in patients, trophic changes, reflex reactions and innervations are observed. This usually occurs with a prolonged course of the disease and may be accompanied by muscle weakness, pallor of the skin, as well as a decrease in the amount of hair.
Depending on which root was clamped, the patient may have problems with limiting mobility, for example, difficulty turning the head, tilting, raising the arm or leg. Attempted movement is accompanied by a spasm.
Causes of Radicular Syndrome
In most cases, which make up about 60% of the disease, the causes are reflex disorders. In 30% of cases, the disease is caused by compression of the nerve root by the vertebrae, knots, intervertebral hernia, muscles or other tissues, and only 10% of cases of the Radicular syndrome are occupied by various other conditions: osteochondrosis, hypothermia, a sedentary lifestyle, spinal overload, infectious lesions of the spine, spinal hernia , vertebral fractures, congenital pathologies, hormonal changes, spondylarthrosis, tumors and cicatricial changes.
Treatment of Radicular Syndrome
The doctor prescribes the treatment of radicular syndrome after the cause of its appearance is established. The patient is shown bed rest, and the sleeping surface must be solid.
The patient is prescribed medication: to relieve severe pain – analgesics, to reduce inflammation – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Also, non-steroidal drugs can be prescribed in the form of injections, ointments or plasters.
To eliminate muscle spasm, the doctor prescribes muscle relaxants to the patient. But these drugs are sold strictly according to the doctor’s prescription and are not suitable for independent treatment, since they can cause significant harm to health if used improperly. To slow down the destruction of joints and cartilage, the doctor prescribes chondoprotectors, and to improve the metabolic processes, the patient is shown B vitamins.
In addition to drug treatment, people with radicular syndrome are shown various physiotherapeutic procedures: massage, physiotherapy, reflexology, therapeutic exercises. But you should know that such methods of treatment are contraindicated in cancer.
In some severe cases, in the absence of positive results from conservative treatment, the patient may need surgical intervention.