Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies can be used as an adjunct to the main therapy or after its completion, in the stage of stable remission.
Homemade rubs and tinctures work well for discomfort and not-so-severe pain, as well as relieving morning stiffness. They have a mild analgesic, decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect.
General rules
In order to make the effect of using traditional medicine as effective as possible, it is better to agree the prescriptions with your doctor in advance. This will serve as a guarantee of the safety and adequacy of home methods. Furthermore, even seemingly harmless herbal teas and compresses can distort the effect of drugs and increase the risk of adverse reactions.
Components with fairly high toxicity should be used with special care, eg kerosene, as well as unknown plants and herbs whose names are not found in medical reference books.
Homemade ointments and lotions are effective only for mild to moderate pain. They will help relieve pain caused by changes in the weather, strenuous physical exertion, or hypothermia. However, traditional treatment methods cannot restore damaged vertebrae and intervertebral discs.
Typical symptoms: how to recognize chondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is accompanied by symptoms that are difficult to miss. Even in the early stages, it can manifest itself:
- discomfort and pain in the neck, back of the head, arm and shoulder girdle. The exact location and intensity of pain depend on the location of the injury;
- decreased sensation and numbness, most often seen in the hands, and especially the hands;
- decreased strength and muscle tone.
In addition to the above, symptoms of autonomic disorders may appear: increased sweating, redness or paleness of the skin, muscle swelling, and chest pain. The latter are often mistaken for heart problems, so many patients seek the help of a cardiologist first.
If the vertebral artery is compressed, headaches and dizziness, ringing or ringing in the ears, a feeling of a lump in the throat, and difficulty swallowing occur. In rare cases, nausea and vomiting may occur.
How to treat
To cure osteochondrosis at home, various ointments, rubs, compresses, lotions, as well as infusions and decoctions for oral administration are used. Massage sessions and exercise will help increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
Before starting treatment, a tolerance test is recommended, especially if you are prone to allergic reactions. A pea-sized amount is applied to the elbow or wrist. If after an hour there is no redness, itching or other signs of allergy, the procedure can be safely performed.
Means for oral administration - decoctions or infusions - first take half a teaspoon. Therapy is continued in the absence of symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, flatulence, headache, or increased blood pressure.
Rapid Pain Relief Techniques
Several remedies can be used to quickly get rid of sudden pain that appears suddenly:
- rub sore spots with vodka or alcohol diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio;
- stick the pepper plaster for half an hour. If the pain persists, you can hold it for another twenty minutes and then remove it;
- make a compress on the neck with turpentine diluted in half with warm water;
- bathe with sea salt or medicinal herbs: chamomile, sage, mint. The bath water should not be hot;
- place a cabbage leaf lightly rubbed with laundry soap on the sore spot;
- apply mustard strips for ten to fifteen minutes;
- do a self-massage by pressing on the painful points for three minutes.
ATTENTION:in the popular treatment only pharmaceutical turpentine is used, not industrial. It can also be called "turpentine oil", which is prescribed for neuralgia, myalgia (muscle pain), lumbar lumbago and rheumatism.
Rub
For cervical chondrosis, various herbal and drug rubs are widely used. One of the best and most popular is a remedy with crushed analgesic tablets in the composition. There are several similar recipes, and here is one of them:
- Crush 5 tablets of anesthetic;
- pour about 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol into them;
- add 5 milliliters of camphor.
After mixing well, apply to skin on affected areas for 7-10 days.
WARNING:avoid the cervical lymph node area during rubbing.
Mother and stepmother
1/3 of a plant is placed in a dark glass jar, filled with vodka, and removed for infusion for a month. The container is shaken every day so the nutrients are released faster. It is not necessary to filter the product, it is used to rub when discomfort appears.
Horseradish and elderberry
In a half-liter glass jar, put a leaf and a chopped horseradish root, 3 tablespoons of elderberries and pour everything with alcohol, filling the jar up to the shoulders. Insist for a month, then use to rub. For severe burns, you can dilute the mixture with water. This tincture relieves painful sensations well, especially after hypothermia.
Compresses and applications
Medical applications and compresses for cervical osteochondrosis improve blood supply to the damaged segment, relieve stiffness and heaviness in the neck. They are prepared from herbs, flowers and rhizomes of various plants, as well as honey and vegetables.
Kerosene
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of kerosene in half a glass of hot water, moisten a bandage or rolled gauze several times in the solution. Squeezing slightly, place it on your neck and hold it there for no more than an hour. Then wash the skin with warm soapy water and rub with a towel.
Radish
Grate or chop larger than medium black radish. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and honey (preferably thick), stir well. Spread the resulting mass on the back of the neck, cover with polyethylene and cotton cloth. Keep for up to an hour, then wash the compress with warm water.
Horseradish leaves
This is one of the simplest popular recipes that calls for just one or a few horseradish leaves. They are blanched with boiling water and applied to the nape of the neck. The procedure is recommended to be carried out at night, so you need to carefully wrap the leaves with a scarf.
Honey with potatoes
2 raw potatoes, peel, grate or otherwise chop. Squeeze the juice a little and add 1 tablespoon of honey. Wrap the resulting mass in a bandage or gauze, put it on the neck and fix it with a bandage, putting cling film under it. The duration of the procedure is 2 hours. The course of treatment consists of 10-15 applications.
Ozokerite Wraps
Wraps with ozokerite, or mountain wax, relieve pain, have an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and light compression effect. This substance has a low thermal conductivity with a high heat capacity, which is why it deeply heats tissues and enriches them with oxygen and minerals.
Ozokerite is used successfully not only for cervical osteochondrosis, but also for thoracic osteochondrosis. First, a small amount of wax should be melted, about 30 g, and then poured into a container, on the bottom of which a film is placed in advance. Then wait until it cools to a comfortable temperature and wrap the neck in a film with melted warm wax. The duration of the procedure is 1 hour, the number of sessions is up to 20.
WARNING:the product should not be used in case of exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure.
Sour cream and comfrey
A large comfrey root is peeled and grated, then 1 tablespoon of low-fat sour cream is added. The mixture is evenly distributed around the neck and set as in the previous recipe. You should remove the compress after about an hour. Usually 10 procedures are enough to eliminate the uncomfortable sensations.
Honey and salt
The honey is mixed with salt in equal proportions and smeared with it on the neck, covering the upper part with cloth and cellophane. To enhance the effect, you can warm the compress with a warm scarf or a soft shawl.
Phytotherapy
Home remedies for cervical osteochondrosis also include rubbing infusions of crow's foot, celery, elderberry, and pine needles. It is very useful to rub the juice of banana, nettle, burdock and aloe in the neck area.
Infusions and decoctions
Pine shoots
It is best to consume most infusions 15-30 minutes before meals. The standard duration of a course of treatment is usually 3 weeks.
Pine buds are combined with sugar in a 2: 1 ratio and stored in a cool dark place for 2 weeks. Take ½ teaspoon. by absorption in the mouth three times a day. This is a very good tool that allows you to achieve a stable remission, even with advanced forms of the disease.
To prepare the drug, it is better to take kidneys of medium length, no more than 2 centimeters, since large kidneys contain less biologically active substances. They are harvested in early spring, washed, dried, and thoroughly crushed before use. The finished product turns brown and is stored for a long time due to phytoncides and other natural preservatives in the composition.
Pine cones and needles
1st. l. pour the cones and needles with half a liter of boiling water and keep in a water bath for about half an hour. Then cool the ready-to-use broth, filter and divide into three parts, each of which should be drunk in one day. To improve the taste and increase the efficiency, you can add 1-2 tablespoons. l. honey.
Cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, healers recommend treating various decoctions. They are prepared from yarrow, banana, sweet clover, rose hip, calendula, and licorice. Almost all recipes are the same: take 1 tablespoon for a glass of boiling water. l. vegetable raw materials. Decoctions are most often consumed in 1/3 cup up to 3-4 times a day.
Sunflower roots
In a small container - a saucepan or a saucepan - place 50 g of roots and pour a liter of water. After bringing the mixture to a boil, simmer for about 40 minutes. After cooling, take 1 tbsp. l. 3-4 times a day after meals. The course of treatment is one week.
Sunflower roots are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, but they are especially rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium.
WARNING:Sunflower root decoction can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Conifers
Pour a liter of boiling water over a glass of spruce or pine needles and cook for half an hour. Drink a decoction of 1, 5 tbsp. l. 30-40 minutes after eating, within a month.
Dandelion
1st. l. Prepare dandelion flowers in a glass of hot water. After cooling, use the broth as a compress, placing the flowers on cheesecloth or moistening it in a solution. Hold 15-20 minutes, the entire course consists of 10-12 daily procedures.
For ingestion, the same amount of flowers should be boiled for 15 minutes and then drunk before meals three times a day.
Another remedy for internal intake is prepared from young flowers (about a glass), which are made in boiling water, dried and crushed. Add the juice of half a lemon and half a glass of honey. Take 1 tablespoon. l. twice a day before meals. Store the sweet medicine in the refrigerator.
Monastic Tea
Prepare this tea in a thermos with 1 teaspoon of herbs:
- burdock;
- wheatgrass;
- violets;
- veronica;
- burdock;
- stripes.
Pour the ingredients with a liter of boiling water and leave for 3 hours. Drink as tea, half a glass twice a day, after meals. To enhance the taste, you can add honey or lemon slices to the drink.
Ointments
In case of osteochondrosis, the attending physician, as a rule, prescribes an ointment with anti-inflammatory, warming or analgesic effect. However, you can prepare it yourself at home using readily available herbs and foods. Any oil, butter or vegetable, is suitable as a base. You can add a selection of calendula, chamomile, eucalyptus, burdock, nettle, or thyme.
Egg and Mustard Ointment
Beat 3 egg whites with a mixer or whisk, add 50 grams of mustard powder and half a glass of butter. Mix everything and remove the ointment in a dark place for 12 hours, then lubricate the neck for pain and stiffness.
Egg vinegar
To prepare the ointment, combine 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. l. vinegar, half a glass of oil and 1 tbsp. l. flour. After mixing well, remove the dough in a dark place, and after 2 days remove the film formed on the surface. It is preferable to use the product at night, rubbing it on the neck before going to bed.
Ginger Ointment
The fresh ginger root is minced in the convenient way - on a grater, in a blender or in a meat grinder - transferred to a mortar with 2 minced garlic cloves and ground. Then butter is added. If desired, a drop of citrus essential oil can be added to enhance the aroma.
Bathrooms
Taking a warm bath at night helps you fall asleep quickly, strengthens the immune system, improves blood circulation and the nutrition of the vertebral structures. The effect of the procedure will be increased many times if you add salt, herbal tea or turpentine to the water.
A hay powder bath is an ancient treatment method that has practically no contraindications and is useful for both sick and healthy people.
1st. l. Dissolve the turpentine in half a glass of warm water and pour into a full bath. White and yellow turpentine will do. Bathe for 20-25 minutes, then be sure to rinse under the shower and scrub with a terry cloth towel.
Turpentine products, including baths, help reduce inflammation, activate blood circulation, and stimulate healing processes in damaged and worn intervertebral discs.
ATTENTION:Turpentine treatment should be regular, of course. Single procedures, baths or compresses, will give only a temporary and insignificant effect.
½ cup of sea salt, it can be mixed with additives, dissolved in a liter of hot water and added to the general bath. The duration of the procedure is half an hour.
The herbal tea is prepared in a thermos, which includes thyme, helenium, birch buds, eucalyptus leaves and pine needles. If you take 1 tbsp. l. herbs, then a liter of water is required. The mixture is infused for 3 hours, after which it is filtered and added to the bath. Take it for 30-40 minutes.
You can bathe with common table salt, based on 1 kg of salt per 20 liters of water. Such concentrated salt baths are taken 2 days in a row, then take a break for 1-3 days.