Osteosclerosis - what is it? Subchondral osteosclerosis: causes, symptoms and features of treatment

click fraud protection

Osteosclerosis is the so-called pathological change in the structure of bones. It occurs in diagnoses of elderly people, professional athletes and not only. What provokes such processes in the body?

What is osteosclerosis?

Osteosclerosis - what is it? This disease of bone tissue, which is manifested by an increase in the density of bone structure, as well as narrowing of the medullary canal in the volume. With a severe form of the process, the bone marrow canal is completely closed, the bone acquires a uniform structure.

osteosclerosis what is it?

Develops as a result of a violation of blood supply, the presence of a tumor or a chronic infection. X-ray is the only way to determine the disease for diagnosis. On the roentgenogram, the affected areas of the bone are darker than in a healthy bone. When looking at diseased bones in the image, they look strong, but this impression is deceptive. Osteosclerosis reduces the elasticity of bones, their quality and mechanical functions, increasing fragility.

instagram stories viewer

Types of osteosclerosis

There are osteosclerosis by localization:

  1. Local. A small osteosclerosis site is mainly a bone fracture site.
  2. Limited. It develops on the border between the healthy bone and the focus of chronic inflammation, for example, with syphilis or osteomyelitis.
  3. Common - captures the bones of one or more limbs.
  4. System. It is found in diseases of different nature, including genetic ones. The whole bone mass is affected.

bone osteosclerosis

Osteosclerosis is divided into three main types depending on the cause of its occurrence:

  1. Physiological. It develops in childhood, in the process of formation and growth of the skeleton. The reason - congenital malformations of bone tissue.
  2. Post-traumatic. It is observed in the pathology of healing of bone fractures, as well as in inflammatory processes that alter the structure of bone tissue.
  3. Reactive. The emergence of osteosclerosis is a reaction to tumor processes, and can also be the result of toxic effects on the body.

Depending on the origin of the disease:

  • is congenital;
  • purchased.

Causes of the genetic nature of

You can say about a disease like osteosclerosis, that this is a pathological phenomenon that deforms the healthy structure of the bone. He is not an independent disease, but acts as a manifestation of other diseases. It can be caused by hereditary diseases:

  1. Meloreostosis( Leri's disease).Congenital pathology of the skeleton, manifested by an increase in bone density. Foci of osteosclerosis are also found in the ribs, vertebrae, and lower jaw. Manifestations: increased fatigue, pain, weakness, impossibility of flexion and extension of joints.
  2. Marble disease( osteopetrosis).This is a serious genetic pathology. It can manifest right after birth, or about ten years. It is accompanied by hydrocephalus( hydrocephalus of the brain), malformations of the organs of hearing and vision, enlarged liver and spleen. Children suffer from a severe form of anemia, systemic osteosclerosis, lag behind in mental and physical development, have frequent fractures.
  3. Osteopoxia. Genetic disease of the skeleton, which is accompanied by numerous foci of osteosclerosis. Does not manifest any symptoms, is found after fluoroscopy.
  4. Dysosteosclerosis. Appears at an early age. The main symptoms: lag in growth, dysplasia, systemic osteosclerosis, paralysis, blindness.
  5. Pycnogenesis. A serious disorder occurs at an early age. Characteristic signs: children are lagging behind in physical development, have shortened hands, a skeleton of the face, teeth, systemic osteosclerosis develops, frequent pathological fractures occur.
  6. Paget's disease( deforming osteitis).It is accompanied by the destruction of bone tissue. Bone acquires a mosaic structure, with foci of osteosclerosis and osteoporosis, very fragile and prone to fractures.

subchondral osteosclerosis

Reasons for the acquired nature of

  • Infections of bones. Inflammatory processes of bone tissue caused by infection are often accompanied by local osteosclerosis, which develops on the border of the affected and healthy areas. It manifests itself in such diseases as chronic osteomyelitis Garre, syphilis, abscess of Broddy, tuberculosis of bones.
  • Bone injuries, heavy stress on the joints or spine.
  • Effects on the body of toxic substances.
  • Cancerous tumors that produce bone metastasis.

So, osteosclerosis - what is it? This is a pathology of bone tissue that accompanies various bone diseases, whether congenital or acquired.

Symptoms of osteosclerosis

There are no obvious symptoms in osteosclerosis. A person can feel fatigue, fatigue when walking, but it can be signs of any illness, so you can diagnose osteosclerosis of the bones only by taking an X-ray. An alarm sign can be frequent fractures of the limbs. Most often, the disease is detected accidentally in the diagnosis of other diseases. If a person suffers from any disease of the musculoskeletal system, he is often accompanied by osteosclerosis.

Subchondral osteosclerosis

Subchondral osteosclerosis is the most common form of tissue consolidation. This is one of the main manifestations of such diseases of the musculoskeletal system, such as osteochondrosis and arthrosis. The consolidation of bones occurs on the borders with the affected areas of the inflammatory process. The area of ​​his defeat is the spine, most often the cervical and lumbar parts, and the joints are knee, hip, fingers.

osteosclerosis of the joints

The term subchondral means "subchondral".Bone tissue under the damaged cartilage becomes denser, grows, over time osteophytic growths are formed. In the initial stage, they do not manifest themselves, in severe form cause pain when flexing, and ultimately can make it impossible to bend and unbend the joint. If the pathological processes occur in the spine, they mean osteosclerosis of the end plates, which are located between the vertebral disk and its body.

Causes of subchondral osteosclerosis

Since subchondral osteosclerosis is a concomitant manifestation of arthrosis and osteochondrosis, the causes of their occurrence are the same:

  • Unhealthy diet and overweight.
  • Age changes.
  • Congenital predisposition.
  • Great physical activity in the process of work or playing sports, often injuring the joints.
  • A sedentary lifestyle, staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time.
  • Endocrine system disorders.
  • Vascular diseases, blood supply disorders.
  • Pathologies of the development of the skeleton or muscle mass.
  • Failures in the endocrine system.

osteosclerosis of articular surfaces

Symptoms of subchondral osteosclerosis

Symptoms of subchondral osteosclerosis depend on the disease that caused it, the nature of the lesion, the severity and complications, if any. At an early stage, he has no obvious manifestations. If the process is localized in the joints, it can cause deformity of the limbs. Osteosclerosis of the vertebra is not evident until it causes osteophytes( a pathological growth on the bone tissue), then pain and neurological disturbances occur, due to the difficulty of the motor process and the pinched nerves. Patients feel constant pain in the neck or lower back. In a severe, neglected form, he becomes the cause of vertebral fractures, provokes a loss of efficiency.

Joints

Osteosclerosis of articular surfaces extends to the bone plates located under the cartilage of the joint. The most common cause of development are permanent joint injuries or physical exertion causing arthrosis, and as a result, osteosclerosis. Another common cause is old age. Cartilage tissue wears out over time, and this leads to densification of the joint part of the bone.

osteosclerosis site

Osteosclerosis of the joints does not manifest itself at an early stage, but with the development of pathology and an increase in the affected surface, pains are experienced during exercise, walking, which disappear if the joint is at rest. In a more severe stage, the pain sensations are constant and do not disappear when the load decreases.

Treatment of subchondral osteosclerosis

To treat first of all you need diseases that caused the development of osteosclerosis, and do it in the initial stage of the disease. Treatment of neglected diseases will not yield results, but will only allow to suspend or slow down the destruction. The problem is that such diseases do not cause any special discomfort to the patient, so he does not hurry to go to the doctor. But the sooner the disease is diagnosed, the easier it is to cope with it. Speaking about osteosclerosis itself, treatment of it involves taking anti-inflammatory and analgesic( if necessary) drugs. The doctor can prescribe additional medicines in accordance with the symptoms, for example, relieving muscle spasms.

After the removal of pain, the treatment includes physiotherapy, massage therapy. Also used therapeutic gymnastics, which must be strictly according to the rules, smoothly, without loading the patient's joint, but giving a full range of movements. If the course of osteosclerosis was prolonged and already caused such a complication as osteophytes, it is impossible to get rid of them( only the surgical method is possible), therefore the treatment is aimed at preserving joint mobility.

osteosclerosis treatment

Prevention of bone disease

The best treatment is prevention. And that it was fruitful, you need to know everything about osteosclerosis, what it is and what is called. The main rules of prevention:

  • Exercise. Passive way of life has a harmful effect on the joints and spine, as well as excessive loads. But correctly selected exercises improve the work and the very structure of bone tissue, stabilize the blood supply, prevent joint cartilages from becoming thinner and losing their main function - movement. For example, running is the prevention of arthritis, and therefore, of osteosclerosis. In addition, an active lifestyle will not allow the emergence of excess weight, which is a great enemy for the joints and spine, and health in general.
  • Food is very important. All products used affect the body positively or negatively. They can increase or decrease the number of free radicals that destroy joints, remove or provoke inflammatory processes.
  • Listen carefully to your body. With any unpleasant sensations, do not wait until it passes, but go to the doctor, if necessary, undergo a checkup so as not to start an irreversible destructive process.