Walking upright allowed a man to free his hands to perform labor operations - this is undoubtedly a plus. At the same time, the load on the spine has increased, which leads to the development of serious diseases, and this is a huge negative. Osteochondrosis is one of the most common pathologies of the spine. It affects 60% of the world's population over the age of 35. Surgery is one of the treatments, but an alternative is possible in the early stages of the disease. You can treat osteochondrosis at home. Effective treatment measures are wide and profitable.
What is osteochondrosis
Dysfunction and destruction of intervertebral discs and spinal tissues is a disease of the musculoskeletal system called osteochondrosis. Osteocytes are bone cells, chondrocytes are cartilage cells. Based on these names, the origin of the term "osteochondrosis" is clear. Degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine have a negative impact on the general condition of the body.
As the disease progresses, muscle atrophy, nerve impulse transmission is disrupted, physiological systems and individual internal organs are damaged. The appearance of pain in the back and neck is the first sign of the disease. Depending on the location of the lesion focus, osteochondrosis is:
- Cervical. The main symptoms are: pain in the shoulders, arms, neck; dizziness, tinnitus, spots in front of the eyes.
- Chest. Characterized by dull pain or lumbago in the chest area.
- Lumbosacral. There is pain in the hip joints, lower back, sacrum. The functionality of the lower extremities is limited.
- It develops in several parts of the spine at once. Accompanied by severe pain.
Effective treatment of osteochondrosis at home is possible with timely diagnosis. Passes 4 degrees (or stages):
- The pathological process begins with dehydration of the central part of the intervertebral disc (nuclear pulposus). As a result, the structure is reduced, cracks appear on the outer part of the disc (annulus fibrosus). This stage is almost invisible to the patient. Mild anxiety manifests itself in an anxious posture or during active physical activity.
- Due to the collapse of the intervertebral disc, the distance between adjacent vertebrae is reduced. The garden and muscles shake. The vertebrae gain extra mobility. For this reason, IDPs. This condition is called spondylolisthesis. With a strong load, the patient feels discomfort, sometimes pain in the localization of the pathology.
- The formation of prolapses (hernias), disc protrusions (uneven protrusions), subluxations of the intervertebral joints and osteoarthritis are the main pathological changes in the third stage of the disease. The patient's movements are limited, numbness, nausea in the legs. There is pain, the localization of which depends on the location of the center of the disease.
- In order to eliminate excessive mobility of the vertebrae, the body forms neoplasms of bone tissue (osteophytes) in the spine. Their formation occurs in a chaotic manner, depending on their location, can damage the spinal cord and nerve endings of neighboring vertebrae. The process of obvious structural changes (fibrous ankylosis) begins in the intervertebral joints. The vertebral-motor segment appears "walled". At this stage, the symptoms of osteochondrosis are practically not felt.
The risk of developing the disease increases with age. After 40 years, irreversible changes begin in the body. Osteochondrosis affects 80% of people over the age of 60. This is due to a decrease in the level of metabolic processes, physical activity, chronic diseases and other causes. The risk group consists of young people aged 20-30 who lead a sedentary lifestyle, are overweight and have a weak muscular system. There is a direct link between pathological changes in the spine and body function.
Reasons
Medicine has not determined the exact cause of the disease. Improper distribution of load when performing upright walking, labor operations, physical exercises, static body positions (sitting on your feet) increases the risk of developing osteochondrosis. According to most doctors, the occurrence of pathological processes in the spine is triggered by a number of factors:
- disorders of metabolic processes;
- dehydration of the body;
- genetic predisposition;
- hormonal deficiency;
- sufficient physical development;
- degenerative processes of the muscular system;
- posture problems;
- straight legs;
- toxic damage to the body;
- infectious diseases;
- trauma, spinal and musculoskeletal system disorders in general;
- pregnancy;
- age-related changes;
- harmful working conditions;
- overweight;
- poor nutrition;
- incorrectly arranged bed;
- bad habits;
- frequent stress.
Treatment methods
Osteochondrosis therapy is long-term. This includes a number of events lasting 1-3 months. Until then, you need to add a rehabilitation period, the duration of which is about 1 year. The success of treatment depends largely on the patient. Strictly follow the doctor's recommendations. The prognosis for recovery with partial observation is minimal.
Self-medication complicates the treatment of osteochondrosis. The clinical picture of the disease is not clear, the patient begins to independently choose drugs to reduce the condition. He continues to lead a normal life by preventing painful feelings, and the disease progresses at this point. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, it is necessary to consult a doctor, conduct an examination, confirm the diagnosis and begin therapeutic measures.
Treatment of osteochondrosis is carried out in two ways: conservative treatment and surgery. In both cases, the general recommendations are diet and rehabilitation. Conservative treatment aims to relieve pain, restore spinal function and prevent structural changes in the intervertebral joints. The set of activities includes:
- drug treatment;
- physiotherapy;
- physiotherapy exercises;
- massage (paravertebral);
- manual treatment;
- to use a needle application;
- spinal traction.
The decision on surgical treatment of the disease is made by the medical board in the absence of the results of conservative treatment or in case of serious damage to the joint structures of the spine. It is important to see a doctor in time and not start the disease. Effective treatment is possible at home. This is confirmed by long-term experience in the treatment of the disease.
How to treat osteochondrosis at home
Given the nature of the disease and the duration of recovery, the issue of effective treatment of osteochondrosis at home is relevant for most patients. It is important to think that this is an unusual disease, and it is impossible to achieve a positive result with medication alone. A number of measures that can be performed at home according to the doctor's instructions should be used regularly.
Medications
Medications are prescribed in the acute form of the disease. Osteochondrosis is a systemic disease. Adverse effects affect the condition of the body as a whole, so drug treatment solves a number of tasks:
- painkiller;
- eliminate inflammation;
- recovery of metabolic reactions;
- improve blood circulation in the affected areas;
- restore cartilage tissue;
- restore joint mobility;
- Eliminate the depression caused by severe pain.
Drug treatment involves several groups of drugs.
group |
Activity |
Pharmacological forms |
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory |
Inflammatory and analgesic (inhibit prostaglandins) |
Capsules, tablets, gels, ointments, stains, injections |
Analgesics, Anesthetics |
Painkiller |
Pills, injections |
vasodilators |
Improving the nutrition of damaged tissues, accelerating their recovery |
Injections, tablets, gels, creams, ointments |
Glucocorticosteroids |
Heavy artillery, strong anti-inflammatory |
Tablets, injections, ointments |
Muscle relaxant (muscle relaxant) |
Relaxing and soothing effect on muscles. |
Pills, injections |
Chondroprotectors (glucosamine, chondroitin) |
Stabilize the process, prevent further destruction |
Capsules, tablets, gels, ointments, injections |
Sedatives |
Eliminate depression, increase stress resistance, improve sleep quality, stabilize emotional state |
tinctures, tablets |
Vitamins (antioxidants) |
Restoring the sensitivity of the affected nerve endings, reducing pain |
Pills, injections |
Vitamin and mineral complexes |
General body strengthening |
Pills |
Sports
A sedentary lifestyle has a detrimental effect on the condition of the body. Effective treatment of the spine at home involves special exercises. There are author's complexes of physiotherapy exercises, you can use the recommendations and develop an individual training program.
Physical training is the main treatment for osteochondrosis. Bending, twisting, bending, swinging movements on the back are recommended. It is useful to use yoga exercises to hang on a bar and stretch the spine. Enough attention should be paid to strengthening the back muscles - pull up, lift with a push. There are a number of rules you need to keep in mind to avoid harming your health:
- medical gymnastics should start with warming up;
- twisting should not be done for severe back pain;
- Jumping and running are undesirable, it is better to replace them with walking, swimming, cycling or skiing; For cervical osteochondrosis,
- circular rotation of the head is not always recommended.
When choosing gymnastics, you should take into account age, difficulty of training, physical fitness. You need to do physiotherapy exercises at least 3 times a week. The proposed complex will help treat cervical osteochondrosis at home (all exercises are performed 10 times):
- Sit in a chair, straighten your back, turn your head smoothly to the right and left, respectively.
- The starting position is the same. Place your right palm on your right cheek and slowly turn your head to the left. Repeat the exercise in the other direction.
- Sit up straight, hold your hands behind your head, slowly lean forward. Press the back of your head with your hands, slowly lower your head, touch your chest with your chin, feel the muscle tension.
- Sit up, hold the edge of the chair with your hands behind your back, slowly lower your head back, spread your shoulder blades, and return to the starting position.
- Raise your shoulders, try to reach your ears with them, lower your shoulders.
Back pain predominates. Regular gymnastics, which is not complicated by lumbar osteochondrosis, will benefit more than regular use of painkillers (repeat exercises 5-10 times):
- Stretching the back muscles- Lie on your back, raise your arms, extend your fingers down.
- lifting the pelvis- lie on your back, bend your legs, arms to the sides, lift your pelvis (breathe), lower (breathe).
- Embryo Pose- Lie on your back, pull your knees to your chest, squeeze with your arms (breathe), pull your head to your knees (breathe).
- Put the "cats"- stand up on all fours as you exhale, roll your back as you breathe out, bend over and raise your head as you breathe out.
Treatment of osteochondrosis with folk remedies
Folk remedies for osteochondrosis have proven themselves well. They are effective and safe. There are many recipes for the preparation of medicinal tinctures, ointments, rubs, decoctions. If you want, you can cook them yourself. Herbal medicine eliminates the causes of the disease, herbs contain large amounts of nutrients and have a general strengthening effect. Herbal medicines are affordable. There are known methods of treating the disease with bee stings and bee products.
Compresses
Compresses help reduce pain, swelling and inflammation. Home treatment of the spine and spine will be effective if warm-up procedures are used for two weeks. They improve blood circulation, reduce pain and relieve muscle spasms. It's easy to make a horseradish and apple compress:
- horseradish contains mustard oil (warming effect), apple has a lot of organic acids (anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect);
- Rub a small horseradish root and an apple in a fine grater;
- squeeze a little water;
- Arrange a cake;
- place on inflamed area;
- cover with polyethylene, towel;
- Wrap with a warm cloth;
- Put it on every night until the severe pain disappears.
Infusions and solutions
Effective treatment of osteochondrosis at home involves not only the use of external substances, but also internal effects on the body. For this purpose, medicinal infusions and decoctions are used. They relieve pain, inflammation and calm the nervous system. In folk medicine, infusions of parsley leaves and seeds, a decoction of pine cones are used to treat the spine. Cinquefoil is effective, plays an analgesic role, repairs damaged tissues.
Tincture recipe:
- Mix 200 g of chopped cinquefoil root and 100 g of Potentilla erect;
- Pour the vegetable mixture into 1 liter of vodka;
- Insist 3 weeks;
- tension;
- Take 1 tablespoon 3 times daily before meals;
- The course of treatment is 1 month.
Applications
Warm-up procedures include applications. Such treatment of the spine with folk remedies helps to restore the functionality of the neuromuscular elements in the affected joints of the spine. For application, a gauze napkin is moistened with a solution of the drug and applied to the affected area, kept for 30-40 minutes. The procedure can be performed several times a day. How to apply honey with aloe:
- natural honey has a unique medicinal composition, aloe is a natural antibiotic, a biological stimulant;
- Prepare a drop of 100 grams of honey, 50 grams of aloe leaves (should be passed through a meat grinder) and 100 ml of vodka;
- Insist 1 week;
- moisturize with a natural cloth tincture;
- apply to inflamed area; Put polyethylene and a towel on top of
- ;
- cover with a woolen scarf; Perform the
- procedure twice a day.
Wipe
For effective treatment of osteochondrosis at home can be rubbed and prepared ointment. The rubbing procedure is similar to a massage performed 2-3 times a day. Stimulates blood circulation, eliminates inflammation and pain. Turpentine, kerosene, badger oil, internal oil, herbs (plantain, sage, juniper) are used in the preparation of medicinal rubbers.
Burial leaf juniper ointment recipe:
- 1 teaspoon juniper needles, 6 teaspoons chopped bay leaf, 12 teaspoons melted butter, mix thoroughly; Apply
- mixture to the inflamed area;
- rub in the ointment with light movements;
- Wrap your waist with a warm woolen cloth;
- Rub in the afternoon and before bed.
Healing Baths
Baths with herbal solutions are effective during rehabilitation. This procedure is not recommended in acute conditions. Therapeutic baths dilate blood vessels, relax muscles and have a beneficial effect on the lumbar joints. Chamomile, lemon balm, string, thyme, horsetail, thyme and other herbs are used to prepare the mixture. Medicinal raw materials can be prepared independently or purchased at a pharmacy.
Medicinal bath decoction is prepared as follows:
- Take 250-300 g of dry plant material or prepare a mixture of herbs;
- Boil for 20 minutes in water for 5 minutes; Strain
- and add to the prepared hot water;
- Bathe 10-15 minutes before bedtime.