Cervical osteochondrosis is one of the most common in the modern world. Despite the fact that modern medicine is always looking for new ways to treat and prevent many diseases, osteochondrosis is a diagnosis that can be made one way or another by 8 out of 10 people in the world.
The development of the disease is facilitated by a sedentary lifestyle and insufficient attention to the first signs of the disease. How to treat cervical osteochondrosis and whether it can be done with the help of folk remedies, we will find out in this article.
Description of the pathology
Cervical osteochondrosis is a long-lasting disease, the main symptom of which is the destruction of the intervertebral discs. The connective tissue wears out and breaks down and loses its elasticity. The disease is accompanied by severe pain, a deterioration in the patient's physical and mental condition.
If left untreated, the disease will lead to disability and disability. Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is a complex and lengthy process. In the course of treatment, it is important to carry out a complex action on the causes of the disease.
Conventional medicine offers a variety of proven remedies for treating this disease.
Advantages and disadvantages of traditional medicine
The use of various folk methods of treating cervical osteochondrosis has both positive (plus) and negative (minus) sides. Cervical osteochondrosis is a pathology that is becoming more and more common in the modern world.
Advantages:
- can be used by patients for whom treatment with official drugs is contraindicated;
- they are financially available;
- natural ingredients are used;
- do not cause side effects;
- have high efficiency when used correctly and in a timely manner;
- the ability to quickly relieve pain at home;
- User friendliness.
Disadvantage:
- improper use can worsen the condition;
- in advanced cases of the disease does not show the desired effect, the patient may lose time;
- the use of some of these products could cause severe burns or poisoning;
- some folk remedies are incompatible with each other.
The ways of using folk remedies are many. To treat diseases of the spine at home are used:
- Herbal medicines: leaves, flowers, rhizomes of herbs and trees, oils from a variety of plants. Folk remedies can be used both internally and externally.
- Components of animal origin: waste products from bees, animal bile, bee and snake venom, eggs.
- Chemicals that can be bought in pharmacies: various tinctures based on alcohol, iodine, analgin, camphor, turpentine, etc.
Folk remedies are divided into those that are used inside and those that are used outside.
Brews and Fees
Of the existing folk remedies, the most popular are decoctions for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis. Properly prepared decoctions will relieve pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, normalize metabolism. Various types of plants are used for the preparation of decoctions. Below are the most popular recipes.
Sunflower
Sunflower rhizomes are used to prepare the broth. The roots must be stored in autumn. After collection, rinse, dry, grind, store in a dry place. For a decoction, 150 grams of roots are poured with two liters of hot water, put on a gentle fire, boiled for half an hour and cooled. It is necessary to use the broth three times a day, it is advisable to wait 20-30 minutes after the end of the meal. The course of treatment is a month.
Needles
Fresh needles are collected directly from the trees, taken in the amount of 250 grams, pour 1 liter of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. To use it twice a day, it is advisable to leave eight hours between meals after waiting 30 minutes after a meal. Treatment with a decoction should be carried out within a month.
For a decoction of dandelion, the roots are harvested, dried and crushed. Roots 15 g are poured with 250 ml of hot water and placed in a steam bath for 15 minutes. After half an hour of settling, the broth must be filtered, then the original volume of 250 ml is restored with boiled water. Dandelion root for boiling
Eat a third of a glass three times a day before meals. It is important to remember that decoctions promote the elimination of salts from the body, but they cannot affect damaged cartilage tissue. It is therefore important to combine this treatment with others.
Anoint
Ointments made from the components available at home are also widely used as one of the methods of alternative treatment for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. These remedies are very effective and have almost no side effects.
Butter and egg
To prepare this ointment you need to take:
- flour - 20 gr;
- egg - 1 piece;
- Sunflower oil - 100 ml;
- Vinegar - 20 ml.
Mix all ingredients, put in a dark place. After two days, the ointment can be used. The resulting ointment is rubbed into the sore area, wrapped with paper or polyethylene, a warm scarf or handkerchief is tied and put to sleep.
Ginger ointment
Using ginger for osteochondrosis allows you to relieve severe pain and inflammation within an hour of using it.
To prepare ginger ointment you will need: ginger ointment will help with severe pain
- fresh cow oil - 30 gr;
- Garlic - 3 cloves;
- Ginger root (unpeeled) - 50 gr;
- essential oil - 2-3 drops.
Chop garlic, grate ginger. Soften butter, mix with essential oil, add to garlic and ginger. Mix everything well, apply to the inflamed area, isolate, leave to warm up overnight.
Mustard and egg mixture
To get the mixture, you need to take:
- Egg whites - 3 pcs . ;
- Mustard powder - 50 gr;
- Camphor alcohol - 50 ml;
- Vodka - 60 ml.
Mix the components well with a mixer or in a shaker and remove in a dark place for 12 hours. The mixture is used in the form of a compress, which is applied to the affected area and allowed to dry completely. It is used twice a day for 12 days.
Honey recipes
Honey-based folk remedies are widely known and applicable for cervical osteochondrosis. Honey compresses are particularly popular.
Honey compress recipe # 1:
- Vodka - 150 ml;
- honey - 100 gr;
- Aloe juice - 50 ml.
The components are mixed, applied to the fabric or several layers of gauze, applied to the affected area, a warm scarf is tied over it. It is used twice a day for two weeks. Honey is widely used in the treatment of pathologies.
Honey compress recipe # 2
Apply a thin layer of honey (honeycomb is better) to the painful area and wrap it tightly with parchment paper or polyethylene. Hold for two hours, then rinse with warm enough water. You need to do such compresses within a week.
Honey compress recipe # 3
Mix fine salt and honey (take the components in equal parts), apply on a wide bandage folded several times, apply the bandage to the damaged area, use a scarf for insulation. The procedure should be done every night before bedtime. Ten days are enough to take effect.
Medicinal baths
To treat osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, traditional methods are also used for therapeutic baths. Warm water with a medicinal decoction acts on the skin and, as a result, the muscles, warms them, increases blood circulation, relieves swelling and relaxes them. Herbal preparations are used, sold in pharmacies and self-collected combinations. Herbal preparations are used for therapeutic baths.
It is necessary to pour boiling water into an enamel bowl, put grass (300-400 grams) there and let it brew. The temperature of the water in the bathroom must be kept as close as possible to body temperature. The bath time is 25-30 minutes. It is not recommended to stay in water that has cooled down for a long time. Patients with high blood pressure should bathe with caution. After bathing, you need to rub yourself well with a towel and rub the sore area with a warming ointment. A similar procedure must be done every evening for two weeks.
The following plants are recommended for bathing:
- May birch leaves;
- Needles made of pine, cedar, fir;
- Chamomile flowers;
- Calamus root;
- Feverfew.
9 folk remedies for osteochondrosis
The existing folk remedies are diverse and multifunctional. Below are nine other tested folk remedies for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Kerosene compress
If the pain from cervical osteochondrosis is severe, a compress with kerosene is a quick-acting pain relief agent. For such compresses, you can use ordinary household kerosene. The fabric is abundantly moistened with kerosene and applied to the desired location. Wrap the top with polyethylene and leave for 2-3 hours. It should be noted that kerosene has a strong and unpleasant smell, so it is better to make the polyethylene layer more dense. Kerosene compresses help relieve pain very quickly
Pine bud infusion
Pine buds for this tincture should not be longer than 2 cm, they must be collected in March-April. The collected buds (1 glass) are cut and placed in a glass container, covered with granulated sugar (2 glasses) and left to steep for two weeks. When the infusion is ready it will be light brown in color and thick in consistency.
Take the infusion three times a day, one tablespoon, without swallowing it immediately, but keep it in your mouth for a while. The duration of taking the pine bud infusion is 3 weeks, but its effects can already be felt on the third day after the start of the intake.
Potato compress
Grate raw potatoes and mix with honey in a ratio of 1: 1. Apply the resulting mass in the form of a compress on the neck with osteochondrosis, put paper or gauze on top, and then tie a scarf or cloth. Soak for two hours, rinse the product and rub vegetable oil: olives, fir, flaxseed.
Rubbing mother and stepmother
Flowers and stems of mother and stepmother in the amount of 20 grams, pour medicinal alcohol in the amount of 320 ml. Remove the resulting product in a dark, cool place for a month. After a month, strain and apply for therapy in the form of rubbing painful areas.
In the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies, plants are often used, which have a warming and anti-inflammatory effect.
Horseradish and elderberry rub
Grate horseradish rhizomes, squeeze juice from the resulting mass. Mix a volume of 1: 1 with vodka and pour the elderberry with this mixture. For 100 grams of berries, you need to take half a liter of the resulting mixture. Insist on the solution for a week. Horseradish rub rubbing the diseased areas to avoid the lymph nodes.
Radish compress
This is another excellent folk remedy in the form of a compress for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. The root crops are crushed and placed between two layers of gauze, put on the neck, and the top is covered with thick paper. This compress will warm up the sore area well, but care must be taken not to burn itself from the sap.
Sour cream compress with comfrey
Comfrey medicine or delphinium (its root part) is finely rubbed, sour cream is added in the amount of 50 grams, spread on a cloth and used as a compress or lotion on the neck. The exposure session lasts 40 minutes, the course of treatment 9-10 days.
The trick of such a recipe is not only to use a medicinal herb, but also sour cream, which should be of high quality. Ideally, this is a homemade product as it is maximally fortified with calcium. But most people spend on various topical remedies, which is worse, cheaper, etc. In addition to drugs and folk remedies, it is not worth saving.
Heating with ozokerite
Melt ozokerite or mountain wax in the amount of 30 grams until it is warm, but not hot, apply to the neck, leave for 1 hour. The duration of the treatment is 15 procedures. Ozokerite should be used with caution in diseases of the heart and vascular system.
When choosing traditional medicine for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis, it should be remembered that the most effective results will be obtained with a sufficiently long use of a given method. In addition, it is very important to follow a special diet rich in calcium. Avoid fatty, salty, spicy foods and alcohol. It is good to combine treatment with folk methods with physical therapy exercises, massage, pilates or yoga. It is also important to listen to your doctor's advice and use the right products for you.