Self-medication is a surefire way to harm your own body. But this does not mean that the treatment of osteochondrosis at home is impossible. Treatment of the disease should be started after consulting a doctor.
If all the doctor's recommendations are followed, patients can restore cartilage tissue and the natural anatomical structure of the spinal column, and prevent the development of complications.
Home Treatment Principles
It should be understood that getting rid of the symptoms of pathology does not mean eliminating osteochondrosis. The disappearance of the signs gives only a short respite before the onset of the next attack. Pain relievers do not cure osteochondrosis. They only eliminate discomfort, spasms and pain.
Dystrophic changes in the spine occur due to:
- disturbed blood flow;
- deficiency of nutrients in cartilage;
- stagnation in tissue structures;
- oxygen starvation of cartilaginous tissues.
To understand how to treat osteochondrosis at home, you need to know the mechanism of pathology development. After 25 years, cartilage loses its ability to receive nutrition from the bloodstream.
The blood vessels passing through the cartilaginous structures are closed. Cartilage nutrients are extracted from the surrounding tissues through reverse osmosis. With reduced motor activity, cartilage tissues do not receive enough substances necessary for normal functioning.
Degenerative processes occur in them. Cartilage loses its elasticity, microcracks appear in them. This leads to the destruction of the integrity of tissue structures, inflammation, edema and pain.
Here's how to cure osteochondrosis at home, doctors advise:
- stick to a diet;
- engage in medical gymnastics;
- take medications;
- adjust the mode of work, rest and sleep;
- create the right sleeping place with a hard surface (an orthopedic mattress and pillow are ideal).
Defeating osteochondrosis helps the patient's persistence, a systematic approach to treatment. Success is guaranteed with full compliance with all medical recommendations, the correct application of medical methods.
Drug therapy
Medicines help suppress the symptoms of osteochondrosis. Home treatment of the disease without medication is impossible. Until the pain goes away, it is forbidden to engage in physiotherapy exercises, physiotherapy procedures and massage. This is the basic rule for the treatment of osteochondrosis in the acute stage.
To relieve exacerbation, the attending physician prescribes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and inflammation. The pills have serious side effects. Their use is possible only after a meal with plenty of water. For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, medications are administered parenterally (injections are given).
- Muscle relaxants relieve swelling and pain, reduce hypertonicity of the back muscles. They are taken at the same time as diuretics.
- Sedative medicines. They drink decoctions, herbal teas and pharmaceutical preparations based on soothing herbs (chamomile, motherwort, mint). They eliminate neurotization caused by unbearable pain. If osteochondrosis of the spine is severe, treatment is carried out with the use of tranquilizers, antidepressants. They normalize the psychological state of a person.
- Complex preparations with B vitamins. The use of multivitamins accelerates the regeneration of nerve fibers. The course of treatment with vitamins is 21 days.
- Local preparations with anti-inflammatory effect. Ointments and gels are rubbed into the affected areas. They fight pain and inflammation. They are used until the pain syndrome completely disappears.
- Warming rubbers and balms based on bioactive substances that have a moderate irritant effect. The healing effect is given by bee and snake poisons, menthol, which are part of medicines. Means eliminate swelling and pain, improve blood flow, restore tissue nutrition.
- Applications with a medicinal solution. Medicines, penetrating deep into the tissues, suppress inflammation.
Traditional methods of treatment
It is impossible to get rid of osteochondrosis with drugs alone. Treatment must be supplemented with folk remedies that the attending physician will recommend.
Common methods of treatment at home with folk remedies:
- Applications with potatoes and honey. Potatoes are turned into gruel, combined with honey in equal quantities. The agent is spread on a napkin and fixed on the lesion. The application is put on for 1 hour. The procedure is suitable for short-term pain relief.
- Horseradish leaf appliques are a good way to show you how to get rid of soreness. The sheet is steamed in boiling water. Apply with the inside to the sore spot, wrap it in a warm cloth, go to sleep. By the morning, the pain syndrome recedes.
- Treatment of osteochondrosis at home is carried out by taking medicine from pine buds. I harvest the raw materials in the spring, they pluck those buds that are less than 2 centimeters in length (only they are enriched with the necessary bioactive substances). The kidneys are washed, dried and turned into gruel. Mixed with sugar. For 2 parts of the gruel from the kidneys, take 1 part of sugar. The mixture is refrigerated for 14 days. The criterion for the readiness of the product is brown. They are treated for 21 days, taking 1 teaspoon of the medicine.
- Bath. A steam room helps to get rid of osteochondrosis. Warm up in the steam room with breaks. They go into it 3 times for 5 minutes. The procedure is done every other day. The course of treatment is 10 sessions. The bath relieves pain.
- Nettle seed oil helps to treat osteochondrosis at home. Mix 100 ml of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of plant seeds. The mixture is allowed to infuse for 14 days. The oil is filtered, poured into a dark glass bottle. Rubbing is done with oil. The procedure relieves pain.
- Tincture of vodka, honey and aloe is another popular way to relieve pain in osteochondrosis. For cooking, take vodka, honey and aloe in a ratio of 3: 2: 1. By combining the components, let them brew for several hours. Compresses are made with this tool at night.
- Healing baths suppress pain, remove toxins, increase blood flow, and relieve inflammation. For the treatment of osteochondrosis, salt, turpentine and mustard baths are taken. Baths with pine needles, oak bark, sage, juniper help fight the disease.
Hardware methods for treating osteochondrosis at home
Despite such a variety of home methods for treating osteochondrosis, consult a doctor before you independently fight the disease!
The pharmaceutical industry produces devices for the treatment of osteochondrosis at home. The devices act on the diseased areas with an impulse or vibration generated by electric currents or a magnetic field. The devices allow you to carry out medical procedures at home.
In addition to drug therapy, folk methods and hardware techniques, osteochondrosis is treated at home, performing therapeutic exercises, doing massage (classic, cupping, acupressure). Symptoms will pass quickly and treatment will be effective if therapeutic and traditional methods are combined with a diet.
The diet must be enriched with healthy food: fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fish, dairy products. With osteochondrosis, spicy and fatty dishes, broths on meat, alcoholic beverages, coffee, pork are contraindicated.
Complex treatment helps to get rid of osteochondrosis, to forget about pain. Use your doctor's advice to restore spine function and health.