Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis and methods of its treatment at home.

Back and neck pain is one of the most common unpleasant symptoms that almost all modern people have encountered at least once.

If former osteochondrosis was considered an age-related disease, today it is increasingly diagnosed in young people. This is due to a sedentary lifestyle and the habit of slouching while doing sedentary work.

It is important to identify the disease early, since cervical osteochondrosis is much easier to treat in the early stage of its development than in advanced cases.

Manifestations and causes of the disease

The manifestations of the disease develop gradually. Its intensity increases as the condition of the spine worsens. At first, they can bother a person only occasionally, but over time they become permanent.

The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis:

• pain that worsens when turning and tilting the head;
• neck crunch;
• headaches;
• decreased visual acuity;
• Stiffness and muscle tension in the affected area.

With an exacerbation of osteochondrosis, a person complains of:

• throbbing pain;
• dizziness;
• burns;
• increased tone of the neck muscles.

Depending on which vertebra is involved in the pathological process, pain and sensory disturbances can affect different areas of the body. They can pass to the shoulder girdle, feel in the thoracic back, and appear in the arm muscles and even the fingers. Many patients want to know if cervical osteochondrosis can be cured forever. There cannot be a definitive answer here, since everything depends on the stage of the disease and the degree of degenerative changes. But it is possible to alleviate the condition during an exacerbation and prevent deterioration of health. And home remedies will help here.

Reasons for the development of osteochondrosis:

• the habit of stooping when walking;
• incorrect body position when reading books, working at a computer;
• injuries and injuries of the spine;
• insufficiently active lifestyle;
• strenuous physical activity;
• using too soft mattresses and pillows during rest;
• long-term transportation of pesos;
• flat feet;
• metabolic disorders in the body;
• vitamin and mineral deficiency;
• scoliosis;
• obesity;
• genetic predisposition;
• pregnancy.

When choosing options on how to treat cervical osteochondrosis, you need to 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 with and sometimes have to be used in combination with classical therapy.

Treatment with ointments 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, since it is quite difficult to cure osteochondrosis of the cervical spine with their help alone. Rather, they are the means of ambulance and rapid therapy.

Here are some easy homemade recipes:

1. Garlic and ginger ointment.In equal amounts, mix the garlic porridge and fresh minced ginger root. For plasticity, you need to add a little olive or sesame oil to this dough. Apply the composition on the neck before going to bed. It is recommended to repeat the procedure every day until the unpleasant symptoms disappear. Leave the ointment for exposure for 30 minutes, after which it should be washed off with warm water.
2. Bay leaf ointment.In 60 ml of melted butter, add 5 g of crushed juniper leaves and 6 tsp. dry crushed bay leaf. This ointment should be used to rub the sore neck area in the morning and at night.
3. Sage ointment.You need to melt 3 tablespoons in a water bath. l. Vaseline and add 2 tbsp. l. chopped sage herb, 2 tbsp. l. banana leaves, ¼ cup of any vegetable oil. It is recommended to rub the neck with ointment three times a day, after which the treated area should be isolated with a woolen scarf for several hours.

Use of compresses

For many back problems, external treatments provide significant patient relief. They must act quickly, as it is desirable to cure osteochondrosis of the neck as soon as possible to avoid complications. Self-made compresses relieve pain and restore normal mobility to stiff muscles. They can also have a warming effect, so that the active substances can enter the bloodstream faster.

At home, you can use the following recipes:

1. Burdock compress.2 tablespoons. l. crushed dry 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 applied to the painful area, covered with cellophane, cotton and woolen cloth. The procedure lasts 15 minutes. After that, the bandage should be removed and a warm scarf wrapped around the neck to keep warm.
2. Compress with eucalyptus and honey.30 g of eucalyptus leaves should be finely chopped and filled with 400 ml of boiling water. Cook them over low heat for 5 minutes. After cooling, add honey (5: 1) to the filtered solution. This solution should be used for compresses every day before going to bed. Leave it for therapeutic effects for 30 minutes.
3. Horseradish compress.The fresh leaves of the plant should be soaked in boiling water for a few minutes to soften them. When hot, they should be applied to the neck and covered with plastic wrap and a warm cloth on top. The procedure is best done before 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 prevent drying.
4. Compress with mustard and aloe.In equal parts, you should take and mix well the aloe juice, dry mustard and vodka. In the resulting solution, you need to moisten the gauze, apply it to the neck and insulate this place with cling film and a woolen scarf. Let the compress warm up overnight.

For maximum effect, compresses for cervical osteochondrosis should be combined with other treatment methods: decoctions, ointments and baths. With an integrated approach, unpleasant symptoms will disappear very quickly, and then they will not remember themselves for a long time.

Internal 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 should be used in parallel with external rubs and compresses. It is also important during an exacerbation to minimize stress in the cervical region, to sleep on your back or side on an orthopedic pillow and a hard mattress.

For internal use, you can prepare the following traditional medicine:

1. Cedar tincture.The half-liter jug ​​should be filled with crushed and unpeeled pine nuts. From above they should be poured with vodka so that it covers the nuts with a 5 cm layer. The product should be infused for 7 days in a cool, dark place. After that, the tincture should be filtered and taken 15 ml three times a day.
2. Decoction of St. John's wort and aromatic steel.These components should be mixed in the same amount, 2 tablespoons. l. the resulting collection, pour 400 ml of boiling water. The mixture should be simmered for 15 minutes, after which it should be infused for 1 hour in a warm place. It is recommended to take the broth three times a day, 200 ml before meals.
3. Herb Collection.It is necessary to mix goat willow bark, sea 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 keep it on low heat for 10minutes. After complete cooling, the broth should be filtered and drunk from a glass in the morning and in the evening before meals.

Alternative help

Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease with a long course. This is important to understand, 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, resorting to folk methods.

Coniferous baths help reduce pain. Put 1 kg of coniferous needles and branches (pine, fir, juniper) in an enameled pot, fill them to the top with water and simmer until the volume of water is reduced by half. After that, the broth should be infused for 12 hours in a warm place. 1. 5 liters of the filtered coniferous infusion obtained should be added to the general bath. Its temperature should not be high (about 37 ° C), since osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be treated only with moderately warm solutions. Water that is too hot can make the pain worse.

After consulting a neurologist, in the absence of contraindications, you can perform light gymnastics to eliminate discomfort in the neck. The head should gently tilt down and forward, and then to the left and right. You can put your hands on the back of your head and try to move your head in this direction with resistance. The same should be done from the side of the forehead. Such a simple treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home normalizes muscle tone and relieves spasms. Over time, this exercise should last about 15 minutes a day. The movements should be smooth, should not be done with force or if they cause severe pain.