Cervical chondrosis in the initial stage rarely manifests itself with negative symptoms. According to statistics, only 10% of people experience degenerative processes with all existing signs, so it is difficult to recognize and start treatment for osteochondrosis in a timely manner. Traditional medicine can slow down the course of the disease at stages 1 and 2, therefore it is recommended to use it as an auxiliary method.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis.
To choose a treatment at home, you need to know exactly the cause of the pain. Hardware diagnostics will help: X-ray, MRI, ultrasound.
The main danger of cervical osteochondrosis is for the brain, since due to the infringement of the vertebral arteries, the nervous tissue experiences oxygen starvation. Dizziness and even very intense pain with loss of consciousness may occur.
In addition to hypoxia, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine manifests itself:
- numbness of the arms, as well as the muscles of the shoulder girdle and shoulder blades;
- lack of coordination, unstable march;
- if hypoxia affects the cerebellum, hearing and vision may be affected;
- weakness, fatigue.
Poor cerebral circulation is accompanied by irritability. If osteochondrosis is not treated, a person can suffer an ischemic stroke.
When turning and tilting the head, a creaking sound is heard. This occurs due to bone growths - osteophytes located along the edges of the vertebrae.
Sometimes the pain occurs not only in the neck, but also in the chest. These symptoms can easily be confused with an angina attack.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis with traditional methods.
There are several reasons that can cause degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc. Depending on the provocative factor, home remedies are selected.
Reasons that lead to disk deformation:
- Obesity. Increases the load on the column and all the joints of the body. Taking herbal tinctures will help normalize metabolism and eliminate kilos of more than the person.
- Thick blood and lymph. There are infusions of herbs that clean the blood of toxins and salts, as well as rubbing that stimulate the movement of lymph. As a result, salts stop depositing on the intervertebral discs and their elasticity is recovered.
- Due to changes in hormonal levels, women may experience bone osteoporosis in adulthood. Herbal supplements containing substances similar to estrogen can compensate for the lack of hormones.
Traditional methods can be used to treat a column injury, increase immunity and regulate endocrine disorders.
Doctors do not recommend diagnosing yourself and using popular recipes to your own discretion. It is necessary to perform an exam, determine the cause of the disease and only then begin a specific treatment. At the initial stage, it is advisable to use all available methods: traditional medicine, medications, physiotherapy, massage and physiotherapy. You can maintain the effect achieved with the help of herbs, homemade ointments, water treatments and physical exercise.
Rub and compress
There are many options to prepare a massage for the treatment of neck osteochondrosis. These can be alcohol -based medications or oil massages.
Alcohol-based recipes:
- Chopped horseradish and alcohol diluted to 40 degrees (vodka will do). Mix both ingredients and leave for 2-3 days. Rub on the sore area for 2 weeks, then take a break for a week and repeat the course again.
- 200 g of crushed calendula flowers and the same amount of alcohol or vodka. Leave it on for 2 weeks and then rub it on the back of your neck. Course – 2 weeks.
- For 200 ml of vodka, take 10 drops of iodine and camphor, mix everything. Grind 10 metamizole sodium tablets into powder and add them to the grind. Use as a pain reliever during exacerbation of osteochondrosis.
- Rub with honey, vodka and aloe juice. Take enough vodka and aloe juice for 2 tablespoons of honey to make a thick mixture. You can rub it on your neck at night and then wash it. It is also used as a compress.
- 100 ml of vodka or alcohol, 3 egg whites, 1 tablespoon of mustard powder. Mix everything, rub on the skin and then rinse.
It is not recommended to use 96% alcohol as it can cause skin burns. Alcohol rubs should be used with caution if moles are present on the neck.
Alcohol-Free Rub:
- Half a glass of unsalted lard, 30 g of propolis. Combine the components, then apply to the skin before bedtime and wrap with a warm cloth.
- Prepare 1 tablespoon of sage and 1 tablespoon of plantain. Melt 40 g of Vaseline and mix with 50 ml of olive oil. Pour in the herbs. Leave for 2 weeks. Rub the skin of the neck 3 times a day and then wrap it with a scarf.
- A teaspoon of hot red pepper, a glass of camphor, a glass of medicinal bile. Mix everything and rub your neck after lubricating the skin with vegetable oil.
The simplest but most effective recipe is to mix 3 tablespoons of sea salt in a glass of warm water. Apply a moistened gauze pad to the affected area. Relieves pain, improves mobility. With regular use, the symptoms of osteochondrosis are eliminated.
Compresses can be made from the following substances:
- refined kerosene. Moisten the gauze, apply to the neck, wrap with film and a warm scarf. The procedure is done at night for 2 weeks.
- 2 tablespoons of honey per 1 fresh grated potato. The mixture is applied to the neck under a warm cloth. The course is one week.
Whole leaves of horseradish and burdock should be sprinkled with boiling water or steamed, then applied to the neck and wrapped with a scarf.
Tinctures and decoctions of herbs.
The effectiveness of tinctures is higher than that of tea, because the substances from medicinal plants are extracted over a long period of time, from several hours to several days:
- Anesthetic infusion of pine buds. Raw materials should be collected in the month of April, then finely chopped and covered with granulated sugar in a ratio of 1/2 cup of kidneys to 2 cups of sugar. After 14 days the mixture should turn brown. Take 5 ml three times a day; Keep the mixture in your mouth before swallowing. To completely eliminate neck pain, it is recommended to take the drug for 21 days, but most often the pain in the vertebrae disappears after 2-3 days.
- Parsley root is boiled for an hour and a half and then taken one tablespoon three times a day on an empty stomach. The product helps eliminate salts from the body. At first, a negative reaction from the kidneys is possible, since the excess will be excreted through them.
- Garlic in lemon juice is a means of stimulating the immune system and improving the protective properties of the body. Grind 200 g of peeled garlic cloves, squeeze the juice of 4 lemons, mix everything and add a glass of water. Leave it on for 2 hours, after which you can drink half a glass after meals once a day.
- A remedy against inflammation and relieves swelling of the neck with osteochondrosis. Boil a tablespoon of mint and chamomile in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes. Drink half a glass on an empty stomach twice a day for 21 days.
- Pour boiling water over 1 tablespoon of cinquefoil - 1 cup. Leave for an hour. Helps with rheumatism and osteochondrosis. The course of treatment is 2 weeks or until the symptoms of inflammation disappear.
An allergic reaction may occur when consuming some herbs. In this case, stop taking the tincture. It is recommended to try another remedy.
therapeutic baths
For osteochondrosis of the neck, hot baths with additives are of great help. These procedures help relax the muscles. They should be done 2-3 times a week. Duration of at least 15 minutes.
Before bathing, you can take concentrated supplements:
- Dissolve 2 kg of sea salt in 2 liters of hot water and pour into the bath.
- To relieve inflammation in the acute period, add 50 ml of turpentine to the water. Immerse completely, including the neck area.
- One bottle of pine extract must be diluted in water. Sometimes fresh pine needles are collected and boiled in a large container for an hour, then strained and poured into a bath.
- Chamomile concentrate helps relieve inflammation and relax muscles. To do this, boil a packet of dried flowers in 2 liters of water for half an hour, let it rest for an hour, filter and add to the water.
If you have cancer, you should not take herbs or hot baths. The same applies to hypertension and the tendency to allergic skin reactions.
Warming up
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home can be carried out using warming procedures. However, it is necessary to ensure that there is no inflammatory process. You can try using a heating pad. If the pain has decreased, heat will be beneficial. Some people find cold compresses helpful during an exacerbation, while hot compresses only make the pain worse.
Contrasting procedures, for example, immersion in ice water after a steam bath, are not recommended.
Warm procedures work especially well in autumn and winter, since people with osteochondrosis are sensitive to cold and weather changes.
Homemade ointments
Homemade ointments are as effective as those purchased at the pharmacy. It is recommended to try making a mixture of hop cones and rendered lard. To do this, the collected cones must be crushed and the fat heated to a liquid state. Mix the pineapples and fat in a 2/1 ratio.
If you can find juniper nearby, you should collect its needles and grind them with a coffee grinder. You will need 1 tsp.
Next, grind the dried bay leaf; you will need 6 teaspoons. Mix both powders and add 100 g of homemade butter. The ointment acts quickly after application, eliminating pain in the neck or other parts of the spine.
Sea salt
Sea salt has a rich mineral composition, so it helps restore the cartilage lining between the vertebrae.
Recipes with sea salt are the simplest and most economical:
- For 3 tablespoons of salt, take 2 tablespoons of dry mustard powder, add half a glass of water and heat the mixture over heat. Dip a small towel in the liquid and apply it to the sore spot on your spine. While the compress works, it is necessary to cover the person with a warm blanket. The duration of treatment is 1 month, but the compresses must be applied 3 times a week for 30 minutes.
- Mix 3 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of sea salt, add water and knead the dough until it forms a flat cake. Apply it to your neck and wrap it with a scarf for 3 hours. Apply the compress every day before going to bed for a week.
Three times a week you can add sea salt to the bath or use special preparations based on salt with chondroitin and glucosamine. In this case, the active substances will penetrate the skin.
What else can help?
In addition to herbs, tinctures, ointments and compresses, it is imperative to increase the mobility of the cervical spine to increase muscle tone. Through them all the substances will penetrate the cartilage tissue and regenerate it.
If a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, osteochondrosis will progress and traditional medicine will be powerless.
Massage can be performed for cervical chondrosis, but it is advisable to entrust it to specialists so as not to aggravate the situation, especially if there are protuberances or hernias of the cervical spine. Before going to a massage therapist, you will need to get an x-ray or get a referral from a vertebrologist, neurologist, or orthopedist.
Osteochondrosis is a disease that develops over the long term, so if it is detected at an advanced stage, one cannot expect a quick recovery with the help of traditional medicine. Thus, the patient loses time and the disease progresses at this time. At the initial stage, the symptoms of chondrosis can be eliminated within 1-2 years using all available methods, including traditional ones. Much more time will be needed to treat an advanced process.