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 every modern person has encountered at least once.

If earlier 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 in time, since it is much easier to treat cervical osteochondrosis at the initial stage of its development than in advanced cases.

Manifestations and causes of the disease

The manifestations of the disease develop gradually. Their 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 worsening 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 about:

• shooting pain;
• dizziness;
• burning;
• increased 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 pass to the shoulder girdle, be felt in the thoracic back, and appear on the muscles of the arms and even fingers. Many patients want to know if cervical osteochondrosis can be cured forever. There can be no definite 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 in health. And folk remedies will help here.

Reasons for the development of osteochondrosis:

• the habit of slouching while walking;
• incorrect body position when reading books, working at a computer;
• injuries and injuries of the spine;
• insufficiently active lifestyle;
• exhausting physical activity;
• using too soft mattresses and pillows during rest;
• long-term carrying of weights;
• flat feet;
• metabolic disorders in the body;
• deficiency of vitamins and minerals;
• scoliosis;
• obesity;
• genetic predisposition;
• pregnancy.

Choosing options for how to treat cervical osteochondrosis, you need to take into account the severity of the symptoms. Before starting therapy, you must 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 they should be used in combination with classical therapy.

Treatment with ointments and balms

When applied externally, traditional medicine should reduce pain and inflammation, and contribute to the normalization of muscle movement. Ointments and balms should be used in conjunction with other methods of treatment, since it is rather difficult to cure osteochondrosis of the cervical spine only with their help. Rather, they are the means of ambulance and express therapy.

Here are some easy-to-do homemade recipes:

1. Garlic ginger ointment.In equal amounts, mix the garlic gruel and chopped fresh ginger root. For plasticity, you need to add a little olive or sesame oil to this mass. Apply the composition to 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 must 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 pounded bay leaf. This ointment should be used to rub the painful neck area in the morning and evening.
3. Sage Ointment.It is necessary to melt 3 tbsp in a water bath. l. Vaseline and add 2 tbsp. l. chopped sage herb, 2 tbsp. l. plantain 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 insulated with a woolen scarf for several hours.

Using compresses

For many back problems, external treatments bring significant relief to the patient. They must act quickly, as it is desirable to cure the osteochondrosis of the neck as soon as possible in order to avoid complications. Self-made compresses relieve pain and restore normal mobility of stiff muscles. 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:

1. Burdock compress.2 tbsp. l. dry crushed 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 wool and woolen cloth. The procedure takes 15 minutes. After that, the bandage must be removed and a warm scarf wrapped around the neck to keep warm.
2. Compress with eucalyptus and honey.30 g of eucalyptus leaves must 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 strained solution. This solution should be used for compresses daily before bedtime. Leave it for therapeutic effects for 30 minutes.
3. Horseradish compress.The fresh leaves of the plant should be dipped in boiling water for a few minutes to soften them. When warm, they should be applied to the neck and covered with plastic wrap and a warm cloth on top. The procedure is best done before bed, leaving the leaves on the skin overnight. In the morning they must be removed, washed with warm water and lubricated with baby cream to protect it from drying out.
4. Compress with mustard and aloe.In equal parts, you must take and mix thoroughly aloe juice, dry mustard and vodka. In the resulting solution, you need to moisten the gauze, attach it to the neck and insulate this place with cling film and a woolen scarf. Leave the compress to warm up overnight.

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

Internal products

In case of an exacerbation of this disease, decoctions, alcohol 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 should be complex, they should be used in parallel with external rubbing and compresses. It is also important during an exacerbation to minimize stress on the cervical region, sleep on your back or on your side on an orthopedic pillow and a hard mattress.

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

1. Cedar tincture.Half a liter jar should be filled with crushed, unpeeled pine nuts. Top of them must be poured with vodka so that it covers the nuts with a layer of 5 cm. The product must be infused for 7 days in a cool, dark place. After that, the tincture must be filtered and taken 15 ml three times a day.
2. Decoction of St. John's wort and odorant steel.These components must be mixed in the same amount, 2 tbsp. l. the resulting collection, pour 400 ml of boiling water. The mixture should be cooked over low heat 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. 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 simmer for 10 minutes. After complete cooling, the broth must be filtered and drunk in a glass in the morning and evening before meals.

Alternative Help

Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease with a protracted course. This is important to understand, since sometimes it takes a very long time to treat the cervical spine. The primary task during an exacerbation is to alleviate the patient's condition. In many cases, this can be done without medication, by resorting to folk methods.

Coniferous baths help to reduce pain. Put 1 kg of needles and branches of coniferous trees (pine, spruce, juniper) in an enamel pot, fill them up to the top with water and boil over low heat until the volume of water is halved. After that, the broth must be infused for 12 hours in a warm place. 1. 5 liters of the obtained filtered coniferous infusion must be added to the general bath. Its temperature should not be hot (about 37 ° C), since osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be treated only with moderately warm solutions. Too hot water can cause pain worsening.

After consulting a neurologist, in the absence of contraindications, you can perform light gymnastics to eliminate discomfort in the neck. The head must be gently tilted down and forward, and then 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 must be done from the side of the forehead. Such a simple treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home normalizes muscle tone and relieves spasms. In time, this gymnastics should take about 15 minutes a day. Movements should be soft, they should not be performed with force or if they cause severe pain.