Self-medication is a sure way to harm your body. But this does not mean that treating osteochondrosis at home is impossible. Treatment of the disease should begin after consultation with a physician.
If all the doctor's recommendations are followed, patients can restore cartilage tissue and the natural anatomical structure of the spine and prevent the development of complications.
Principles of home treatment
It should be understood that getting rid of the symptoms of pathology does not mean eliminating osteochondrosis. The disappearance of the marks gives only a short pause before the start 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;
- lack of nutrients in cartilage;
- stagnation in tissue structures;
- oxygen starvation of cartilage tissue.
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 food from the bloodstream.
The blood vessels that pass through the cartilaginous structures are closed. Cartilage nutrients are extracted from the surrounding tissues through reverse osmosis. With reduced motor activity, cartilage tissue does not receive enough substances necessary for normal functioning.
Degenerative processes occur in them. Cartilage loses its elasticity, microcracks appear in them. This leads to destruction of the integrity of tissue structures, inflammation, edema and pain.
Here's how to treat osteochondrosis at home, doctors advise:
- stay on a diet;
- engage in medical gymnastics;
- take medication;
- adjust the way of work, rest and sleep;
- create the right place to sleep with a firm surface (an orthopedic mattress and pillow are ideal).
Overcoming osteochondrosis helps patient perseverance, a systematic approach to treatment. Success is guaranteed in full compliance with all medical recommendations, the correct implementation of medical methods.
Drug therapy
Medications 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 massages. This is the basic rule for treating acute phase osteochondrosis.
To alleviate the deterioration, the attending physician prescribes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and inflammation. The tablets 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 syndrome, reduce hypertension of the back muscles. They are taken at the same time as diuretics.
- Sedatives. They drink decoctions, herbal teas and pharmaceutical preparations based on sedative plants (chamomile, lump, mother). They eliminate the neuroticism caused by unbearable pain. If spinal osteochondrosis is severe, treatment is carried out with the use of sedatives, antidepressants. They normalize a person's psychological state.
- Complex preparations with vitamin B. The use of multivitamins accelerates the regeneration of nerve fibers. The course of vitamin treatment is 21 days.
- Topical 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 is completely gone.
- Heating gums and balms based on bioactive substances that have a moderate irritating effect. The healing effect is given by bee and snake venoms, menthol, which are part of the medicine. Remedies eliminate swelling and pain, improve blood flow, restore tissue nutrition.
- Applications with medicinal solution. Medications, penetrating deep into tissues, suppress inflammation.
Traditional methods of treatment
It is impossible to get rid of osteochondrosis with medication alone. Treatment should be supplemented with folk remedies that will be recommended by the attending physician.
Common methods of treatment at home with folk remedies:
- Applications with potatoes and honey. Potatoes are grilled, combined with honey in equal amounts. The agent is spread on a napkin and fixed to the lesion. The application is put for 1 hour. The procedure is suitable for relieving short-term pain.
- Horseradish leaf applications are a good way to show you how to get rid of grief. The leaf evaporates in boiling water. Put the inside on the sore spot, wrap in a warm cloth, go to sleep. By morning, the pain syndrome recedes.
- Treatment of osteochondrosis at home is carried out by taking medication from pine buds. I harvest the raw materials in the spring, they pluck those buds with a length of less than 2 centimeters (only they are enriched with the necessary bioactive substances). The kidneys are washed, dried and returned to scratch. Mixed with sugar. For 2 parts of the kidney grill, take 1 part of the sugar. The mixture is refrigerated for 14 days. The criterion for product readiness is coffee. They are treated for 21 days, taking 1 teaspoon of medicine.
- Bathroom. A steam room helps to get rid of osteochondrosis. Warm up in the steam room on vacation. They enter 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 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. Friction 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. Combining the ingredients, let them set for a few 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 disease.
Hardware methods for treating osteochondrosis at home
Despite such a variety of home methods for treating osteochondrosis, consult a doctor before fighting the disease independently!
The pharmaceutical industry produces equipment for the treatment of osteochondrosis at home. The devices operate in diseased areas with a pulse or vibration generated by electric currents or a magnetic field. The equipment allows you to perform medical procedures at home.
In addition to drug therapy, folk methods and equipment techniques, osteochondrosis is treated at home, performing therapeutic exercises, doing massage (classic, cup, acupressure). Symptoms will pass quickly and treatment will be effective if therapeutic and traditional methods are combined with a diet.
The diet should be enriched with healthy food: fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish, dairy products. With osteochondrosis, spicy and fatty dishes, soups in meat, alcoholic beverages, coffee, pork are contraindicated.
Complex treatment helps to get rid of osteochondrosis, to forget the pain. Use your doctor's advice to restore spine function and health.