Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can ruin a person's life. The result of the development is a sharp and aching pain in the neck, shoulder blades, clavicle. Squeezing the spinal canal and squeezing the arteries often causes headaches, migraines, and impaired neck mobility. Home treatment of the disease requires a complex approach, as it is not so easy to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis.
Why the disease occurs: basic preconditions
Osteochondrosis is accompanied by degenerative changes in the joints of the cervical spine. Due to osteochondrosis, the joints wear out faster, lose mobility, and bone growths consisting of salts - osteophytes - form in the body of the cervical vertebrae. As a result, the protrusion of the vertebrae develops with the compression of nerves and blood vessels, narrowing of the spinal canal, destruction of joints, the formation of intervertebral hernias.
Inpatient and home treatment of osteochondrosis begins with identifying and eliminating the cause of the disease. These can be:
- Lack of physical activity.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Uneven distribution of load on the cervical spine muscles.
- Abuse of harmful (salty, fatty, fried, smoked) foods.
- Metabolic diseases due to chronic diseases.
- Scoliotic lumbar deformity.
A specialist will be able to accurately determine the cause of osteochondrosis after collecting a history of the disease.
How cervical osteochondrosis manifests itself: early symptoms
The list of early signs of the disease will help to recognize the development of cervical osteochondrosis at home:
- Reduced performance.
- Anxiety in the neck when turning the head.
- Restriction of neck movement to one side.
- Characteristic crisis when turning the neck.
- Frequent headaches.
- Painful and spasmodic pain in the muscles of the neck.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis increase with the development of the disease:
- The pain is at rest.
- shoots are felt in the scapula and clavicle.
- It is difficult to move the neck forward or backward.
- Dizziness occurs due to cerebral hypoxia.
In the absence of appropriate treatment, the symptoms of osteochondrosis progress:
- Language matching occurs.
- Sensitivity of the upper limbs is impaired.
- Hand paresthesias occur.
- The neck loses mobility completely.
The first signs of cervical osteochondrosis require urgent medical attention to make an accurate diagnosis and choose treatment tactics. The patient can observe it at home.
Basics of diagnostics: who to contact
If you develop cervical spine osteochondrosis at home, you should contact a neurologist, orthopedist or vertebrologist. Examination and confirmation of the diagnosis of "osteochondrosis" occurs after:
- Get a medical history. The doctor will learn all the details of the patient's lifestyle.
- Internal and palpation examination. Pain and mobility disorders of the vertebrae, the presence of tissue edema and the preservation of sensitivity have been identified.
- Carrying out diagnostic researches. These include X-rays of the spine. If necessary, an MRI or computed tomography scan is performed to assess the condition of the cervical spine, to confirm or rule out the formation of a hernia.
During the examination, the doctor will make a diagnosis and offer the patient a number of measures to treat the disease at home.
How to treat cervical spine osteochondrosis at home?
With the early diagnosis, the right choice of treatment, as well as the patient's responsible attitude to therapy, cervical and thoracic osteochondrosis can be successfully treated at home.
The main measures of treatment at home are aimed at eliminating the cause of cervical osteochondrosis:
- Physical inactivity indicates a gradual increase in physical activity at home. When sitting at a desk or computer for long periods of time, frequent breaks are scheduled for physical activity.
- In case of postural disorders and uneven loads on the cervical muscles, special fasteners, correctors and corsets are used to ensure a symmetrical body position.
- In case of overweight and malnutrition, the patient's lifestyle is adjusted and a diet is prescribed.
- Cervical osteochondrosis, caused by metabolic disorders in the background of chronic diseases, is eliminated by treatment of the underlying disease.
The main treatment at home is to strictly follow medical prescriptions for medications - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, chondroprotectors. The patient should follow the recommended regimen and clearly maintain the duration of treatment until the desired result is achieved.
Home treatment of cervical spine osteochondrosis involves adjusting the patient's diet and drinking regimen. One condition is the use of two liters of clean water per day, except for drinks and liquid foods. Home-cooked meals for the patient should be nutritious and balanced. The diet should include:
- Sources of fiber for the normalization of metabolic processes: large amounts of vegetables and fruits.
- Sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids to improve metabolism: nuts, vegetable oil, oily fish.
- Low-fat protein sources: poultry, legumes, eggs.
- Sources of calcium and potassium in easily digestible form: cottage cheese, leafy greens, dairy products.
Of course, home treatment will have to eliminate fatty, fried, smoked, salty foods from the diet.
Home treatment may require inpatient rooms specializing in physiotherapy. You should not ignore them. The electrophoresis session ensures that the drugs are delivered directly to the tissues affected by osteochondrosis, which cannot be obtained at home. Physiotherapy recommended by a doctor should be attended to regularly, it is important to undergo a full treatment recommended by a doctor.
In the early stages of treatment at home, the patient may be advised to rest in bed until the pain syndrome resolves. It is important to keep in mind that bed rest with cervical osteochondrosis can not last more than 2-3 days. At the end of this period, the patient should gradually become more active and increase physical activity, even if all treatment is carried out at home.
For more effective treatment of osteochondrosis at home, it is recommended to buy a special orthopedic pillow. It is able to effectively relieve tension in the neck muscles while the patient is sleeping.
Traditional medicine recipes
Doctors do not prohibit the combination of drugs at home with the use of proven drugs with popular experience. Regulation, adherence to safety rules and elimination of the risk of damage to the skin of the neck are important conditions.
Natural compresses for cervical osteochondrosis allow you to get rid of painful sensations, and infusions help to normalize metabolic processes, remove excess salt deposits from the body. Below are proven folk recipes for home treatment of cervical spine osteochondrosis.
Pour a teaspoon of dandelion roots in a glass of boiling water. The remedy is insisted for 15 minutes, then filtered and taken orally. The tool cleans salt deposits.
Pour 5 tablespoons of dry nettle leaves in a liter of boiling water. Insist for an hour. After filtering, add to the bath. The course of treatment is a daily bath for 2 weeks. Some doctors recommend beating the localization of pain with fresh nettle branches.
Garlic and ginger are mixed in equal proportions. Dilute with vegetable oil to obtain gruel. Rub the composition on the neck muscles for 20 minutes. The remaining funds are removed with a napkin.
Horseradish leaves are steamed with boiling water for one minute and then applied to the cervical spine. Leave a compress on overnight, warm with a towel.
Using only folk remedies for osteochondrosis at home is ineffective. Most likely, you will only be able to reduce the symptoms, but you will not be able to cure the disease. Treatment with folk remedies is best agreed with the doctor.
Massage for cervical osteochondrosis
Comprehensive treatment for cervical osteochondrosis at home, recommended by doctors, includes massage. It is better to entrust the execution to a qualified specialist. If you do not have such an opportunity to treat osteochondrosis of the neck, self-massage, which the patient can do at home at any time, will help. Basic rules:
- The effect on the cervical muscles is not with the palms, but with the pads of the fingers.
- Movements must be strictly around and from top to bottom.
- It is forbidden to press and rub the cervical vertebrae too quickly.
- Massage using oil to gently glide fingers.
Honey massage at home is a good help for cervical osteochondrosis. Approximately one teaspoon of honey is rubbed on the surface of the cervical vertebrae and muscles, the dough is gently kneaded with your fingers until it becomes viscous, then washed with warm water.
Medications: Eat and Stain at Home
Medical treatment of cervical osteochondrosis should be chosen by a physician. Often, a whole complex of injectable, oral and topical medications is used.
- Injection forms. They are prescribed at home in the early stages of treatment to eliminate acute inflammation. These are chondroprotectors, muscle relaxants, B vitamins. Home use lasts up to 10 days.
- Preparations for internal use. It is the most convenient way to treat cervical osteochondrosis at home. Anti-inflammatory painkillers, muscle relaxants, chondroprotectors are prescribed. Treatment with drugs of the latter group is long. The minimum course of treatment is 3 months.
- External opportunities. These are ointments and gels based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for chondroitin sulfate to relieve pain or speed up cartilage recovery.
Complex treatment at home helps to get rid of cervical osteochondrosis faster than using only one group of drugs. It is almost impossible to treat cervical spine osteochondrosis with external substances alone.
Physiotherapy exercises: application and results principles
Home therapy for cervical osteochondrosis is based on specific exercises for the cervical muscles. Exercises are carried out according to the following rules:
- The list and scope of exercise is determined by the doctor.
- All exercises are performed smoothly and slowly to eliminate the risk of injury.
- Do not start gymnastics treatment for acute pain in the cervical spine.
- The load is gradually increasing.
- The patient regularly exercises at the same time several times a day.
Exercises for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis are very simple. Doing them properly at home will speed up recovery and help relieve pain. Treatment of cervical spine with exercise therapy includes:
- Turn your head to the extreme point.
- Tilt your head to the sides, back and forth.
- Circular movements of the neck and shoulders.
The gymnastics course lasts until the end of treatment and complete elimination of symptoms. If the patient continues to exercise, he will be able to prevent the recurrence of the disease. Results of home treatment of osteochondrosis with gymnastics:
- Elimination of hypertonicity of cervical muscles.
- Elongation of bonds.
- Increase vertebral mobility.
- Painkiller.
- Increased neck movement.
- Normalization of cervical spine blood circulation.
Covers a large list of home treatment, therapeutic and prophylactic measures against cervical osteochondrosis. The most important condition is that the treatment at home gives positive results as soon as possible and is monitored by an experienced specialist so that the patient can forget about the unpleasant symptoms forever.