Cervical osteochondrosis is the cause of acute pain, which is poorly controlled by medications. The use of folk remedies allows you to get rid of unpleasant symptoms in this disease and will not harm the body. They are used along with conservative therapy, physiotherapy, massage, as a supplement and increase the chances of recovery.
Features of an unconventional approach
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine with folk methods is carried out under the supervision of a specialist. The disease itself is considered dangerous, therefore, without qualified medical care, it progresses rapidly and leads to a number of complications. An unconventional approach is used by doctors in case of detection of serious contraindications or acute intolerance to anti-inflammatory drugs. Thus, the main features of the treatment are:
- The minimum number of side effects and availability to all segments of the population.
- The proven recipes contain only natural ingredients, which increases the safety of their use.
- High efficiency of treatment with the right approach.
- The possibility of combining traditional therapy, massage, exercise therapy, physiotherapy with traditional medicine techniques.
- Low likelihood of side effects, subject to the dosage and duration of the course.
- Successful relief of inflammation and pain syndrome, elimination of muscle spasms, stabilization of the central nervous system.
- The ability to cook everything yourself from high-quality ingredients, the whole process is easy and does not require special knowledge and training.
- Treatment is carried out at home.
Traditional methods allow you to get a stable remission and stop the progression of the disease, increase immunity, and improve the general condition of the patient. Due to the naturalness of the composition, there is a low likelihood of side effects or the development of complications.
The main methods and means of treatment
Cervical osteochondrosis is manifested by a number of unpleasant symptoms. Many patients complain of decreased vision or hearing, the appearance of tinnitus, increased fatigue, muscle, toothache and headaches, the inability to fully perform simple exercises due to stiffness. To combat them, a variety of methods and recipes of traditional medicine are used, namely:
- ointments,
- rubbing,
- tinctures,
- decoctions,
- compresses,
- baths.
All ingredients for proven recipes can be found in any drugstore, and they are usually cheap. This applies not only to herbal preparations, but also to bee products (bee venom, propolis, bee bread), snake venom, aromatic oils and others.
Compresses can be applied for several hours or overnight, depending on the substance chosen.
Best compresses for neck pain
Treatment of cervical chondrosis with folk remedies is better to start with the use of different types of rubbing and compresses. Local exposure will warm up the area, reduce the manifestation of pain, improve blood circulation and relieve inflammation. Do the procedure several times a day, usually no more than five. In this case, the specified exposure time must not be exceeded. The best recipes for compresses are:
- It is necessary to find fresh horseradish leaves, pour boiling water over them. After the solution has cooled down a little and infused, gauze is moistened in it and applied to the sore spot. It is better to do all this not at night. Thanks to the special components, such an effect relieves pain well.
- Take fresh cottage cheese, knead it well and add a little vinegar. The resulting mass is evenly applied to the neck area. On top of the compress, you need to put on a scarf or put a warm cloth. All this is kept for at least 12 hours, so it is most often recommended to do it at night.
- Ordinary turpentine has proven itself well in the fight against cervical osteochondrosis. Water is added to 200 g of rye flour and a hard cake is made. It is infused for two days, after which turpentine is applied to the sore spot, covered with dough and wrapped in a scarf. While the discomfort is bearable, all this must be held, then removed, the place is rinsed with warm water.
- Effectively relieves inflammation and pain with honey and potatoes. To do this, peeled tubers are rubbed on a coarse grater, mixed in half with a natural beekeeping product, and all this is applied to the sore spot. On top of this you need to put paper and a clean rag. Hold for 2 hours, then rinse with water and dry the place. Rub fir oil into the skin.
Eggs, vodka, aloe juice with honey, garlic and kerosene are also used as the main ingredients for compresses for osteochondrosis. With some products, it is especially important to observe the dosage and duration of exposure, as if used carelessly, they can cause burns.
Rubs for the neck with osteochondrosis
Alternative methods of treatment also suggest using good rubbing together with compresses. They can be composed of a wide variety of components to address pain, pinching, or other pathological conditions in the neck. The following recipes are very popular for this:
- Take half a packet of natural butter (72%), mix with a tablespoon of flour, beaten egg and 25 g of vinegar. The mixture should be of a uniform consistency, after which it is sent to a dark place for infusion. The resulting composition is washed into the painful area, covered with a film for a couple of hours, and then washed off with warm water.
- Grated radish is rubbed on a coarse grater, in the end you should get about half a glass. Vodka and honey are added in the same amount, ordinary salt is added to them, 2 tablespoons are enough. After obtaining a homogeneous mass, the composition can be used as grits. The mixture perfectly warms up and relieves painful sensations.
- For severe pain, it is good to use a mixture of ethanol, iodine and camphor alcohol. They are mixed in a ratio of 300 ml: 10 ml: 10 ml, respectively. To the resulting composition, 10 tablets of analgin are added in crushed form.
If there is a cut or open wound at the site of the rubbing, they cannot be used. Better to use compresses or other proven techniques. Their application is also unacceptable in the presence of chronic pathologies of the skin, the exacerbation of which can provoke such treatment.
Popular ointments
It is impossible to cure osteochondrosis with ointments alone, but they are an important component of complex therapy. Different formulations are able to anesthetize the problem area, relieve inflammation and improve the general condition. The following proven recipes are very popular:
- Take half a pack of high quality butter (you can replace it with pork fat), add peppermint herb, coriander fruits and birch buds to it. Apply the resulting ointment to the problem area 23 times a day.
- In little or fat add St. John's wort, the root of the snake mountaineer, birch buds. Insist the resulting mixture a little and use only as directed.
- Take calendula flowers, mint herb, hop seed, meadowsweet flowers, eucalyptus leaves and mix it all with fat. Apply the resulting composition to the painful area.
- Take 6 large leaves of laurel, mix it with juniper needles (about 1 teaspoon), add 70 g of butter. Grind the mixture well, preferably in a blender until a homogeneous consistency is obtained and rub into a sore spot. The composition perfectly relieves pain and soothes the affected area.
Ointments can also be used as compresses by wearing a scarf over them. It is important to fix everything firmly with a bandage, and so that the fabric does not absorb the mixture, they put a plastic wrap on it.
Decoctions from useful plants
Traditional medicine offers not only a local effect on a sore neck, but also the intake of many homemade medicines by mouth. If ointments, compresses and rubbing help to locally solve the problem of inflammation and pain, then decoctions, infusions perfectly stimulate the immune system, improve metabolism from the inside.
The most popular recipes are:
- Take about 400 g of cranberries and peeled cloves of garlic, a little medium is enough. Grind them thoroughly or chop finely, leave in a clean container for a day. After that, add 800 g of honey to the composition, mix until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. The medicine is applied in a teaspoon 3 times a day.
- Take sunflower root (finding it out of season is problematic), rinse thoroughly and dry, chop. It will be enough 150 g, which are added to 3 liters of water. All this is put on fire and brought to a boil. The resulting broth is infused for two days, after which it is taken in a tablespoon 30 minutes before meals. It is advisable to prepare a new portion of the medicine in advance so as not to interrupt the course.
- Take 250 g of peeled needles, pour one liter of water. Put all this on fire and cook for half an hour. Clean the resulting broth from the branches and divide into equal parts so that 6 servings are formed, which must be drunk within three days at intervals of 8-12 hours.
- Dandelion root (about 15 g) is cleaned of dirt, dry shoots and poured with half a liter of boiling water. The resulting solution is infused for an hour, after which it is filtered and taken in a tablespoon before meals.
Such decoctions well remove salts from the body, it is easy to understand this by the changing color of urine. At the beginning of the process, it becomes almost orange, after which it becomes more transparent, as soon as all the harmful components have left the body. But one should not forget that for the period of treatment, spicy and salty foods are strictly prohibited.
Decoctions work well with other more conservative methods and help support the body in the fight against pathology. Healing herbs such as burdock, wheatgrass, string, violet and plants are also used.
Healing baths
With cervical osteochondrosis, warm water, to which various components have been added, relieves tension, pain and spasms well. The procedure is carried out using a temperature in the range of 37–39 ° С; a higher rise in the thermometer is unacceptable. It should be remembered that this is a medical procedure, so it is important not to overdo it. As a useful supplement, you can use:
- birch leaves,
- horse chestnut,
- chamomile,
- bischofite,
- needles branches.
The time spent in the water is 10–20 minutes, even if the procedure is carried out for preventive purposes. Due to the optimal temperature and the presence of phytocomponents in the water, muscle tissue relaxes, inflammation decreases, pain is practically not felt. Such baths are also useful for dizziness, frequent pain and for raising the mood, improving the psycho-emotional state.
Herbal teas
You can verify the effectiveness of this or that remedy by studying the reviews of other patients with a similar ailment. Usually, patients share recipes, which remedies helped the best, which turned out to be completely ineffective. One of the most popular treatments is herbal teas. The following fees are used in the fight against osteochondrosis:
- Calendula + chamomile + strawberry + birch leaf + St. John's wort.
- Licorice root + yarrow + peppermint + marigold.
- Lingonberry + thyme + plantain + lemon balm + rosehip + saber.
- Nettle + chamomile + dried flowers + calendula + dandelion.
- Strawberry + motherwort + pine buds + linden flowers + lavender.
Herbal preparations can be selected independently, assembled from different plants, or you can buy ready-made collections.
Such fees are sold in pharmacies or phyto-shops, and usually, when brewing, there is no need to select the dosage yourself, it is shown on the package. In most cases, a teaspoon for 350 g of boiling water is enough. Drink the drink without adding sugar. Collections are especially effective at the initial stage of the disease.
Other treatments
Traditional medicine uses a variety of ways to combat pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Not only food and herbs are used, but also dirt, paraffin, wax and other compounds. As practice shows, they also relieve pain well, eliminate inflammation, improve blood flow and allow you to extend the period of remission.
Healing mud is used in many different types. Usually, the procedures are carried out in a sanatorium or special medical offices. The exposure time is determined individually. The technique is also well suited for preventive purposes.
Mud treatment is also an unconventional way to combat osteochondrosis.
Possible mistakes
Folk methods, despite their safety and naturalness, can be harmful if used incorrectly. Treatment should be carried out under the strict supervision of specialists, since self-medication often leads to a rapid progression of pathology. To prevent this from happening, you must avoid the most common mistakes:
- It is not allowed to use heating pads or hot compress in the acute phase. Temporary relief does not mean relief, since exposure to heat only leads to the spread of inflammation and aggravation of tissue damage.
- If the patient often has pressure surges, baths and steam rooms are contraindicated for him with cervical osteochondrosis. Even people without hypertension cannot walk in them during the period of colds, when the body temperature is greatly increased.
- Traditional medicine recipes that have proven themselves effectively for excreting salts will not give results when vertebrae grow.
- In the area of the pathological process, self-massage or other direct effects cannot be carried out, they will only worsen the state of health and lead to complications.
These are the most common mistakes of patients who self-medicate at home or using traditional medicine recipes. Therefore, it is better to deal with the pathology of the cervical vertebrae together with the attending physician.
How to prevent aggravation?
The fight against cervical osteochondrosis can last for a long time, and the patient is required not only to comply with all the doctor's prescriptions, but also to exclude all factors provoking an exacerbation. You can protect yourself from deterioration in the following ways:
- In everyday life, it is necessary to avoid stress on the spine, do not make sharp head turns, squats, bends or a rapid change in posture.
- Dress warmly, according to the weather, in order to prevent hypothermia of the neck and shoulder girdle, always wear a scarf.
- Constantly do the exercises provided for in physiotherapy exercises, do not miss classes, follow the technology and sequence of actions.
- If the professional activity is related to sitting in one position or at the computer, then every 1. 5 hours you need to take a short break and a simple warm-up to restore blood circulation in the neck.
- Refuse alcohol and smoking, as they reduce the body's defenses, provoke complications and deterioration.
- Treat acute respiratory diseases and viruses in time, follow all doctor's prescriptions.
- Control body weight, exclude unhealthy foods and overeating in the evening.
- Refuse hot baths or baths.
- Purchase a high-quality orthopedic mattress with a sufficient degree of firmness.
And also, patients should visit a massage therapist for a course of treatment in the neck area, it is usually prescribed for 10 days. It is equally important to refuse to carry weights, no more than 5 kg in one hand, otherwise there is a risk of provoking deformation processes in the spine.
Cervical osteochondrosis is the destruction of cartilage tissue, which entails a number of unpleasant consequences. If you do not start the fight in time, it leads to pinching of nerve endings, squeezing of blood vessels, and a decrease in performance. It is possible to treat pathology not only with medicines, but also with folk remedies. For this, the most effective methods and recipes are selected that are safe and will not cause an allergic reaction.