Back and neck pain is one of the most common unpleasant symptoms that almost every modern person has encountered at least once.
If osteochondrosis was previously considered an age-related disease, today it is increasingly being diagnosed in young people. This is due to a sedentary lifestyle and a habit of napping while performing sedentary work.
It is important to identify the disease in time, as it is much easier to treat cervical osteochondrosis in the early stages of its development than in advanced cases.
Manifestations and causes of the disease
Manifestations of the disease develop gradually. Their intensity increases as the condition of the spine deteriorates. At first, they may only bother a person occasionally, but over time they become permanent.
Main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis:
- the pain gets worse when you turn and tilt your head;
- neck crisis;
- headache;
- visual acuity decreases;
- Muscle stiffness and tension in the affected area.
With a worsening of osteochondrosis, a person complains of:
- shooting pain;
- dizziness;
- djegia;
- increases neck muscle tone.
Depending on which vertebra is involved in the pathological process, pain and sensory disturbances can affect different areas of the body. They can cross the shoulder girdle, be felt in the back of the chest, and appear in the muscles of the arms and even the fingers. Many patients want to know if cervical osteochondrosis can be cured permanently. There can be no definite answer here, as it all depends on the stage of the disease and the degree of degenerative changes. But it is possible to alleviate the condition during a deterioration and prevent the deterioration of health. And folk remedies will help here.
Reasons for developing osteochondrosis:
- the habit of napping while walking;
- incorrect body position when reading books, working on the computer;
- spinal cord injuries and injuries;
- not so active lifestyle;
- exhausting physical activity;
- using extremely soft mattresses and pillows during rest;
- long-term weight bearing;
- flat feet;
- metabolic disorders in the body;
- lack of vitamins and minerals;
- scoliosis;
- mbipesha;
- genetic predisposition;
- pregnancy.
When choosing options for treating cervical osteochondrosis, you should consider the severity of the symptoms. Before starting therapy, you should definitely contact a neurologist to establish an accurate diagnosis and agree on a treatment plan. In some situations, only folk remedies can be dispensed, and sometimes they must be used in combination with classical therapy.
Treatment with oils and balms
When applied externally, traditional medicine should reduce pain and inflammation, and help normalize muscle movement. Ointments and balms should be used in conjunction with other methods of treatment, as it is quite difficult to cure osteochondrosis of the cervical spine only with their help. Rather, they are the tools of rapid and rapid therapy.
Here are some easy homemade recipes:
- Garlic ginger ointment.In equal amounts, mix the garlic clove and fresh chopped ginger root. For plasticity, add a little olive or sesame oil to this mass. Put the makeup on your neck before you go to bed. It is recommended to repeat the procedure every day until the unpleasant symptoms disappear. Leave the oil for exposure for 30 minutes, after which it should be washed with warm water.
- Laurel leaf ointment.To 60 ml of melted butter, add 5 g of crushed juniper leaves and 6 tsp. dried laurel leaf. This oil should be used to rub the painful area of the neck in the morning and in the evening.
- Sage ointment.it is necessary to melt 3 tbsp in a water bath. lVaseline and add 2 tbsp. chopped sage herb, 2 tbsp. plantain leaves, . cup each vegetable oil. It is recommended to rub the neck with oil three times a day, after which the treated area should be insulated with a woolen scarf for several hours.
Using compresses
For many back problems, external treatments bring considerable relief to the patient. They should act quickly, as it is desirable to cure osteochondrosis of the neck as soon as possible in order to avoid complications. Self-made compresses relieve pain and restore normal rigid muscle movement. They can also have a warming effect, due to which the active substances can enter the bloodstream faster.
At home, you can use the following recipes:
- Compression of burdock.2 tbsp. crushed dried leaves of a plant, you need to pour 400 ml of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. After straining, a bandage soaked in a warm solution should be placed on the painful area, covered with cellophane, cotton wool and woolen cloth. The procedure takes 15 minutes. After that, the bandage should be removed and a warm scarf wrapped around the neck to warm up.
- Compress with eucalyptus and honey.30 g of eucalyptus leaves should be finely chopped and filled with 400 ml of boiling water. Cook them on low heat for 5 minutes. After cooling, add honey (5: 1) to the strained solution. This solution should be used for compresses every day before bedtime. Leave it for therapeutic effects for 30 minutes.
- Horseradish compress.Fresh leaves of the plant should be immersed in boiling water for a few minutes to soften them. When warm, they should be placed around the neck and covered with plastic wrap and a warm cloth on top. The procedure is best done at bedtime, leaving the leaves on the skin overnight. In the morning they should be removed, washed with warm water and lubricated with baby cream to protect it from drying out.
- Compress with mustard and aloe.In equal parts, you should take and mix thoroughly aloe juice, dry mustard and vodka. In the resulting solution, you need to moisten gauze, put it on the neck and insulate this place with cling film and a woolen scarf. Allow the compress to heat overnight.
For maximum effect, cervical osteochondrosis compresses should be combined with other treatment methods - decoctions, oils and baths. With an integrated approach, the unpleasant symptoms will subside very quickly and then they will not remember themselves for a long time.
Domestic products
In case of exacerbation of this disease, decoctions, alcoholic tinctures and water infusions should be used to relieve swelling and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Since the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies must be complex, they must be used in parallel with external rubbing and compresses. It is also important during a deterioration to minimize stress in the cervical region, sleep on your back or side on an orthopedic pillow and a firm mattress.
For internal use, you can prepare the following traditional medicine:
- Cedar tincture.A half-liter jar should be filled with crushed and peeled pine nuts. From above they should be poured with vodka in order to cover the nuts with a layer of 5 cm. The product should be soaked for 7 days in a cool, dark place. After that, the tincture should be filtered and taken 15 ml three times a day.
- A decoction of canteen and wind steel.These ingredients should be mixed in the same amount, 2 tbsp. the resulting collection, pour 400 ml of boiling water. The mixture should be cooked on low heat for 15 minutes, after which it should be introduced for 1 hour in a warm place. It is recommended to take the soup three times a day, 200 ml before meals.
- Herbal collection.it is necessary to mix goat willow bark, buckthorn grass and birch leaves in a ratio of 5: 1: 4. Pour 30 g of this mixture into 500 ml of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. After complete cooling, the broth should be filtered and drunk in a glass in the morning and evening before meals.
Alternative help
Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease with a prolonged course. Importers's important to understand this, as it sometimes takes a long time to treat the cervical spine. The main task during an exacerbation is to alleviate the patient's condition. In many cases, this can be done without medication, using popular methods.
Coniferous baths help reduce pain. Put 1 kg of needles and branches of coniferous trees (pine, spruce, juniper) in an enamel pot, fill them on top with water and boil on low heat until the volume of water is halved. After that, the broth should be soaked for 12 hours in a warm place. 1. 5 liters of filtered coniferous infusion taken should be added to the general bath. Its temperature should not be hot (about 37 ° C), as osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can only be treated with moderately warm solutions. Too much hot water can make the pain worse.
After consulting a neurologist, in the absence of contraindications, you can perform light gymnastics to eliminate neck discomfort. The head should be gently bent down and forward, and then left and right. You can place your hands on the back of your head and try to move your head in that direction with resistance. The same should be done on the forehead. Such a simple treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home normalizes muscle tone and relieves spasms. In time, this gymnastics should last about 15 minutes a day. The movements should be gentle, they should not be performed forcefully or if they cause severe pain.