In the initial stage, cervical chondrosis rarely manifests itself with any negative symptoms. According to statistics, only 10% of people experience degenerative processes with all available symptoms, so it is difficult to recognize osteochondrosis in time and start treatment. Traditional medicine can slow down the progression of the disease in stages 1 and 2, so it is recommended to use it as an auxiliary method.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
To choose home treatment, you need to know the exact cause of the pain. Hardware diagnostics will help: X-ray, MRI, ultrasound.
The main danger of cervical osteochondrosis is for the brain, because the nervous tissue experiences a lack of oxygen due to the disruption of the vertebral arteries. Very severe pain with dizziness and even loss of consciousness is possible.
In addition to hypoxia, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine also manifests itself:
- numbness of the arms, as well as the muscles of the shoulder girdle, shoulder blades;
- lack of coordination, unstable gait;
- if hypoxia affects the cerebellum, hearing and vision may be impaired;
- weakness, fatigue.
Weak cerebral circulation is accompanied by irritability. If osteochondrosis is not treated, a person can have an ischemic stroke.
A creaking sound is heard when turning and tilting the head. This happens due to bone growth - osteophytes located along the edges of the vertebrae.
Sometimes the pain is not only in the neck, but also in the chest. Such 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. Folk remedies are selected depending on the inciting factor.
Causes of disc deformation:
- Obesity. The load on the spine and all the joints in the body increases. Buying herbal tinctures will help normalize metabolism and save a person from extra pounds.
- Thick blood and lymph. There are herbal infusions that cleanse the blood of toxins and salts, as well as rubs that stimulate lymphatic movement. As a result, accumulation of salts in intervertebral discs is stopped and their elasticity is restored.
- Due to changes in hormonal levels, women may experience bone osteoporosis during puberty. Herbal supplements containing estrogen-like substances can compensate for hormone deficiency.
Traditional methods can be used to treat after spinal cord injury, boost immunity and regulate endocrine disorders.
Doctors do not recommend self-diagnosis and use folk recipes at your own discretion. It is necessary to conduct an examination, determine the cause of the disease, and only then begin targeted treatment. At the initial stage, it is advisable to use all available methods - traditional medicine, drugs, physiotherapy, massage, exercise therapy. You can maintain the achieved effect with the help of herbs, home-made ointments, water procedures and physical exercises.
Rubbing and compresses
There are many options for preparing a rub for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck. These can be alcohol-based medications or oil rubs.
Alcohol based recipes:
- Chopped horseradish and alcohol diluted to 40 degrees (vodka will do). Mix both components and leave for 2-3 days. Rub it on the painful 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 for 2 weeks, then rub it on the back of the neck. Course - 2 weeks.
- Take 10 drops of iodine and camphor for 200 ml of vodka, mix everything. Grind 10 tablets of metamizole sodium into powder and add to the grind. Use as a pain reliever during exacerbation of osteochondrosis.
- Rub with honey, vodka, aloe juice. Take enough vodka and aloe juice for 2 tablespoons of honey to make a thick mixture. It can be rubbed on the neck at night and then washed off. It is also used as a compress.
- 100 ml of vodka or alcohol, 3 egg whites, 1 tablespoon of mustard powder. Mix everything, rub it on the skin, then wash it off.
It is not recommended to use 96% alcohol as it can cause skin burns. If there are moles on the neck, alcohol rubs should be used with caution.
Rubbing without alcohol:
- Half a glass of unsalted lard, 30 g of propolis. Combine the components, then apply to the skin before going to bed, wrap with a warm cloth.
- Prepare 1 tablespoon each of sage and plantain. Melt 40 g of petroleum jelly and mix with 50 ml of olive oil. Pour over the herbs. Leave for 2 weeks. Rub the skin of the neck 3 times a day, then wrap it with a scarf.
- A teaspoon of red hot pepper, a cup of camphor, a cup of medical bile. Mix everything and after lubricating the skin with vegetable oil, rub your neck.
The simplest, but most effective recipe is to mix 3 tablespoons of sea salt in a glass of warm water. Apply a moistened gauze to the affected area. It relieves pain and improves mobility. With its regular use, the symptoms of osteochondrosis are eliminated.
Compresses can be made from the following ingredients:
- Refined kerosene. Moisten the pot, apply it to the neck, wrap it with a film and a warm scarf. The procedure is performed at night for 2 weeks.
- 2 tablespoons of honey for 1 freshly grated potato. The mixture is applied to the neck under a heating cloth. The course is one week.
All leaves of horseradish and burdock should be washed with boiling water or steamed, then pulled around the neck and wrapped with a scarf.
Herbal tinctures and decoctions
The effectiveness of tinctures is higher than that of tea, because substances from medicinal plants are subjected to long-term extraction from several hours to several days:
- Anesthetic infusion of pine buds. Raw materials must be collected in April, then finely chopped and covered with granulated sugar in the proportion of 1/2 - one cup of kidney beans and 2 cups of sugar. Within 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 in most cases, the pain in the vertebrae disappears after 2-3 days.
- Parsley root is boiled for an hour and a half, then taken three times a day on an empty stomach, one tablespoon. The product helps to remove salts from the body. At first, a negative reaction from the kidneys is possible, because the excess will be excreted through them.
- Garlic in lemon juice is a means to stimulate the immune system and increase the protective properties of the body. Crush 200 g of peeled garlic cloves, squeeze the juice from 4 lemons, mix everything and add a glass of water. Leave for 2 hours, after which you can drink half a glass once a day after a meal.
- A tool that eliminates inflammation and swelling in the neck with osteochondrosis. One tablespoon of mint and chamomile is boiled in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes. Drink half a glass twice a day on an empty stomach for 21 days.
- Pour boiling water over 1 tablespoon of cinquefoil - 1 glass. 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 tool.
Therapeutic baths
Hot baths with additives for neck osteochondrosis help well. Such procedures help to relax the muscles. They should be done 2-3 times a week. Duration at least 15 minutes.
Before taking a bath, you can add concentrates:
- Dissolve 2 kg of sea salt in 2 liters of hot water and pour into the bath.
- In the acute period, add 50 ml of turpentine to the water to relieve inflammation. Immerse completely, including the neck area.
- A bottle of pine extract should be diluted in water. Sometimes fresh pine needles are collected and boiled in a large pot for an hour, then filtered and poured into the bath.
- Chamomile concentrate helps relieve inflammation and relax muscles. For this, a package of dried flowers is boiled in 2 liters of water for half an hour, kept for an hour, filtered and added to the water.
Herbs and hot baths should not be taken if you have cancer. The same applies to the tendency to hypertension and 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 make sure that there is no inflammatory process. You can try using a heating pad. If the pain has subsided, heat will be helpful. Some people find cold compresses helpful during flare-ups, while hot compresses only make the pain worse.
Contrast procedures are not recommended, for example, immersion in ice water after a steam bath.
Warm procedures work especially well in autumn and winter, because people with osteochondrosis are sensitive to cold and weather changes.
Homemade ointments
Home-made ointments are as effective as those purchased at the pharmacy. It is recommended to try a mixture of yeast cones and rendered fat. For this, it is necessary to crush the collected cones and heat the oil to a liquid state. Mix pine nuts and oil in a ratio of 2/1.
If you can find juniper nearby, you need to collect needles from it and grind it using a coffee grinder. You need 1 teaspoon.
Then chop the dried bay leaf - you need 6 teaspoons. Mix both the powders and add 100g of homemade butter. After applying the ointment, it acts quickly and relieves pain in the neck or other parts of the spine.
Sea salt
Sea salt has a rich mineral content, so it helps to restore the cartilage lining between the vertebrae.
Recipes with sea salt are the simplest and cheapest:
- Take 2 tablespoons of dry mustard powder for 3 tablespoons of salt, add half a glass of water and heat the mixture on the stove. Dip a small waffle towel in the liquid and apply it to the painful area of the spine. While the compress is working, the person should be covered with a warm blanket. The treatment period is 1 month, but compresses should be done 3 times a week for 30 minutes.
- Mix 3 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of sea salt, add water and knead the dough to make a flat cake. Put it on your neck and wrap it with a scarf for 3 hours. Apply the compress every day before going to bed for a week.
Sea salt can be added to the bath three times a week, or you can use special preparations based on salt with chondroitin and glucosamine. In this case, the active ingredients will penetrate the skin.
What else can help?
In addition to herbs, tinctures, ointments and compresses, it is important to increase the mobility of the cervical spine to increase muscle tone. Through them, all substances will penetrate the cartilage tissue and restore it.
If a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, osteochondrosis will develop and traditional medicine will be powerless.
Cervical chondrosis can be massaged, but in order not to aggravate the situation, it is advisable to entrust it to specialists, especially if there are protrusions or tears in the cervical spine. Before going to a massage therapist, you will need to take an X-ray or get a referral from a vertebrologist, neurologist or orthopedist.
Osteochondrosis is a disease that develops over a long period of time, so if it is detected at an advanced stage, you cannot hope for a quick recovery with the help of traditional medicine. Thus, the patient loses time and the disease progresses at this time. In the initial stage, the symptoms of chondrosis can be eliminated within 1-2 years using all available methods, including traditional methods. An advanced process will take longer to treat.