About 80% of middle-aged people suffer from back problems. The most common disease of the spine in medical practice is cervical osteochondrosis.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is associated with deformation of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs caused by destructive processes in the bone and cartilage tissues. The development of the disease is facilitated by lack of physical activity, or vice versa - muscle overload, the habit of often taking the wrong body position, hypothermia, physical inactivity, problems with posture, sleeping in an uncomfortable bed and a number of hereditary factors. The immediate cause of the disease is the increased level of salts in the blood lymph, which, in turn, cause changes in the amortization of the spine, loss of elasticity of the cartilage. Problems with the cervical spine can occur with obesity and metabolic disorders, which entail an imbalance of mineral compounds in the bone tissue.
It is better to entrust the process of diagnosing and treating the disease to specialists in the field of medicine, but at the initial stages of the manifestation of the disease, you can try the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home.
Manifestation of cervical osteochondrosis
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis most often appear already at the stage when irreversible changes in the structure of the vertebrae have occurred and the physiological functionality of the intervertebral discs is lost. The space between them decreases, the nerve roots and the vertebral artery passing through the cervical spine are compressed, sensitivity and characteristic unpleasant symptoms appear.
Signs of illness to watch out for:
- Pain in the neck, shoulder and forearm, arms.
- Dizziness states.
- Migraine.
- Noise in my head.
- Insomnia.
- Numbness in upper limbs.
- Burning in the interscapular part of the back.
- Blood pressure surges.
- Feeling of weakness, increased fatigue.
- Heart rate abnormalities.
- Limited movement when turning the head, tilting the neck.
- Hearing and visual impairment.
Information about what cervical osteochondrosis is, symptoms and treatment at home will help to suspect the presence of this disease in the early stages and take independent measures in time to prevent its further development.
Therapy without leaving home
It is impossible to get rid of osteochondrosis if it is not treated. Moreover, therapeutic measures in this case will be aimed not so much at eliminating the clinical signs of the disease, as at combating the causes of the disease. Good results can be achieved with an integrated approach to healing, combining the use of medications, physical therapy, massages and alternative treatment.
Folk remedies for cervical osteochondrosis are an addition to traditional treatment, help to significantly alleviate the patient's condition and are welcomed by most doctors.
All of these methods have common goals:
- pain relief and relieve spasms;
- strengthening of muscle tissues;
- normalization of blood flow to the brain;
- and the main task of folk treatment is to warm up the affected area of the body.
At the same time, none of the existing recipes of traditional medicine is able to cope with the accumulation of salt deposits in the bone tissue. This must be taken into account in order to understand that folk remedies are good as preventive measures or in tandem with medication, but not as independent therapeutic methods.
Healers in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis use many folk recipes. All of them are based on the use of essential oils, plants, animal fats, roots and poisons. In certain proportions, they are combined with alcohol, vodka or moonshine, turpentine and iodine tincture, which makes it possible to obtain effective analgesic, anti-inflammatory and warming agents that can be used both externally and internally.
Three groups of medications for cervical osteochondrosis can be conventionally distinguished, which have been used in folk medicine for centuries - decoctions and infusions, rubbing and compresses. The most popular and available are:
Herbal medicine
- Bay leaf infusionis a proven prophylactic remedy of traditional medicine. It is necessary to put the main ingredient on the bottom of the pan and pour cold water at the rate of twelve grams of leaf per 0. 3 liters of liquid. Boil for five minutes, then cool and infuse for three hours, then pass through cheesecloth. Take between each meal for four days, then take a week break and start over.
- Coniferous broth. Pour two hundred and fifty grams of fresh spruce or pine needles with one liter of water, boil for half an hour. The resulting volume of broth is enough for three days, provided it is consumed twice a day, thirty minutes after eating. The course of treatment is one month.
- A decoction of sunflower roots- a remedy for formed and stagnant salts in the joints. The main ingredient for this recipe is prepared in the fall, collecting, washing, drying and grinding the plant. Mix one hundred and fifty grams of roots with 2. 7 liters of water, boil for half an hour. The resulting amount of broth will be sufficient for use for up to three days. You need to drink in large sips thirty minutes after eating. The duration of the course is one month.
Within a few days it will be possible to personally assess the effectiveness of the broth - by the shade of urine. If its color has changed to orange, it means that the process of removing salts has actively begun. As the course continues, the color of the urine will gradually lighten.
Rubbing
- Red pepper:finely chop the pods, add 0. 2 liters of sunflower oil, cover tightly and leave in the dark for five days. Rub the resulting composition into the painful area twice a day to warm up and improve blood circulation.
- Butter and egg ointment:One hundred milliliters of vegetable oil + one chicken egg + twenty grams of flour + one tablespoon of vinegar essence, mix together and leave for two days in a dark place, fromtime removing the formed film on the surface of the composition. Rub the finished ointment in the evening into the places where the manifestation of the pain syndrome is recorded.
- Ginger Ointment:Chopped one ginger root + three cloves of garlic + thirty grams of butter mix, add your favorite essential oil for a pleasant aroma and apply to the affected neck area in the evenings to relieve pain as needed.
- Pharmacy:One hundred and fifty milliliters of medical alcohol + five milliliters of iodine + five milliliters of camphor alcohol + five tablets of analgin, mix until smooth, rub into the painful areas of the neck, carefully avoiding contact with damaged skin.
Compresses
- Kerosene:Moisten a cloth for compress in household kerosene liquid, apply to the affected area and cover with polyethylene for 2-3 hours. The warming effect of the compress will help to urgently eliminate pain and relieve spasm.
- Potato:Mix raw potatoes with honey in a 1: 1 ratio, put on a cloth and place in the neck area. A three-day course is recommended for treatment.
- Sour cream with comfrey:Place a mixture of 50 grams of sour sour cream and comfrey on a cloth and put on the painful zone for 40 minutes. The course is 10 days.
- Honey:Mix honey and fine salt 1: 1, put on a cloth made of natural fibers, lay on the painful area of the neck, wrap with a scarf. Repeat daily until the patient's condition relieves.
- Horseradish:dip the horseradish leaf in boiling water, cool slightly and apply to the painful area of the body, cover with a warm cloth, repeat up to five times. The principle of action is similar to treatment with mustard plasters, the sensations are painful and unpleasant. There is a risk of burns.
It is worth noting that some of the components used in folk recipes for cervical osteochondrosis should not be combined with medications! There are drugs that provoke severe allergies or poisoning. As a rule, they contain poisonous fruits of plants or herbs.
Therefore, having decided to supplement the traditional treatment with “grandmother's” methods, you should inform your doctor about this in order to receive individual recommendations and choose a safe set of procedures.
Remedial gymnastics
Improving physical education - exercises for cervical osteochondrosis at home will bring undoubted benefits in the treatment process. It is allowed to use various devices and simulators to increase the effect of the procedures. Correctly selected physical exercises will help to quickly weaken or even relieve the patient from debilitating pain, stretch the ligamentous apparatus, and relax the cervical muscles. Individual recommendations for performing gymnastics for cervical osteochondrosis at home can be obtained from your doctor, but there are also universal training methods. For example, therapy of cervical osteochondrosis according to Bubnovsky.
Professor Bubnovsky's method is widely used in kinesitherapy for the treatment of many diseases without surgery and drugs and gives very impressive results.
To solve problems associated with the cervical spine, the doctor offers a simple set of exercises 20 times for each of the points:
- Tilts the head up and down alternately.
- Leaning head slowly to the left and right.
- Circular rotation of the head.
- Lowering the head to the position where the chin touches the chest.
- Raising the shoulders up and fixing the position for 10 seconds.
- Sitting on the floor with bent knees and touching them with the forehead while fixing the position for 1 minute.
Massage and self-massage
Massage for cervical osteochondrosis, as an effective means of relaxation, helps to relax muscles, relieve tension and relieve the body from stiffness.
To get a quality service, you can contact a professional massage therapist, but if you wish, you can also learn the secrets of self-massage.
It's simple - there are no universal techniques, there are only three rules of massage for yourself:
- Use only fingers to massage the neck.
- Guide movement from center to periphery.
- Move at a smooth pace and soft rhythm.
Of course, it is impossible to cure osteochondrosis with massage, but if done correctly and regularly, it will help relieve symptoms, improve the patient's well-being and mood.
Applying Applicators
A variant of an alternative method of treating cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies is the use of applicators. From the eighties of the last century to this day, this technique has many fans. An applicator is a specially designed device that presents an object with a needle-like surface. Among patients with cervical osteochondrosis the most common applicators are Lyapko and Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov's development is a plastic product in the form of a rug with sharp knobs on the surface. Lying down on such a device, the patient undergoes massage and acupuncture therapy on the reflex zones. The Lyapko applicator is its improved version, in which, in addition to reflex and acupuncture effects, a galvanic-electric effect is used due to metal needles built into the tubercles. Such therapy at home allows you to activate blood circulation in the problem area, accelerate metabolic processes in the body, enhance the elimination of toxins, reduce muscle tone, but it alone is not enough for the successful treatment of osteochondrosis.
Treating osteochondrosis of the neck at home is both simple and very difficult at the same time. On the one hand, all therapies are available to most people and are relatively easy to repeat. On the other hand, they require a certain amount of time, patience, self-control and regularity of repetition. And whatever the expectations from alternative therapy, it is worth remembering: if, within one week from the start of treatment with home remedies, the symptoms of osteochondrosis have not disappeared and have not become less intense in manifestation, you must definitely consult a doctor so as not to aggravate your already serious situation. health.