Self-medication is a sure 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 begin after consultation with a physician.
If all the doctor's recommendations are followed, patients can restore the 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 eliminating the symptoms of the pathology does not mean eliminating the osteochondrosis. The disappearance of the signs gives only a short break before the start of the next attack. Pain relievers do not cure osteochondrosis. They only eliminate discomfort, cramps and pain.
Dystrophic changes in the spine occur due to:
- impaired blood flow;
- nutrient deficiency in cartilage;
- stagnation in tissue structures;
- oxygen starvation of cartilage tissues.
To understand how to treat osteochondrosis at home, you need to know the mechanism of development of the pathology. After 25 years, cartilage loses its ability to absorb food from the bloodstream.
The blood vessels passing through the cartilage structures are closed. Nutrients are extracted from the surrounding tissues by reverse osmosis. With reduced motor activity, cartilage tissues do not receive enough substances necessary for normal functioning.
Degenerative processes take place in them. Cartilage loses its elasticity, microcracks appear in them. This leads to destruction of the integrity of tissue structures, inflammation, swelling and pain.
Here's how to cure osteochondrosis at home, doctors advise:
- stick to a diet;
- practice medical gymnastics;
- take medication;
- adjust the mode of work, rest and sleep;
- create the right place to sleep with a hard surface (orthopedic mattress and pillow are ideal).
Defeating osteochondrosis helps the patient's perseverance, a systematic approach to treatment. Success is guaranteed in full compliance with all medical recommendations, the correct application of medical methods.
Drug therapy
Medications help to suppress the symptoms of osteochondrosis. Home treatment of the disease without drugs is impossible. Until the pain disappears, 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 alleviate the exacerbation, the doctor prescribes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and inflammation. Pills have serious side effects. Their use is possible only after eating a lot of water. In diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the drugs 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 herbs (chamomile, motherwort, mint). They eliminate the neuroticism caused by unbearable pain. If spinal osteochondrosis is severe, treatment is carried out with the help of tranquilizers, antidepressants. They normalize a person's psychological state.
- Complex preparations with B vitamins. The use of multivitamins accelerates the regeneration of nerve fibers. The course of treatment with vitamins 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 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 venoms, menthol, which are part of the drugs. The funds eliminate swelling and pain, improve blood flow, restore tissue nutrition.
- Medicinal solution applications. Drugs, penetrating deep into the 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 the attending physician will recommend.
General methods of treatment at home with folk remedies:
- Applications with potatoes and honey. The potatoes turn into a pulp combined with honey in equal amounts. The agent is spread on a napkin and fixed on the lesion. The application is placed for 1 hour. The procedure is suitable for short-term pain relief.
- Horseradish leaf applications are a good way to show you how to get rid of soreness. The leaf is stewed in boiling water. Apply with the inside of the sore spot, wrap it in a warm towel, go to sleep. By morning, the pain syndrome subsides.
- Treatment of osteochondrosis at home is done by taking drugs from pine buds. I collect the raw materials in the spring, they tear off 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 turned into a pulp. Mixed with sugar. For 2 parts porridge from the kidneys take 1 part sugar. The mixture is stored in the refrigerator for 14 days. The criterion for product readiness is brown. They are treated for 21 days by taking 1 teaspoon of the drug.
- Bath. Steam bath helps get rid of osteochondrosis. Heat in the steam room with breaks. They enter it 3 times in 5 minutes. The procedure is done every other day. The course of treatment is 10 sessions. The bath relieves the pain.
- Nettle seed oil helps treat osteochondrosis at home. Mix 100 ml of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of vegetable seeds. The mixture was 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. Combining the components, let them boil 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 take salt, turpentine and mustard baths. Baths with pine needles, oak bark, sage, juniper help fight the disease.
Hardware methods for the treatment of osteochondrosis at home
Despite such a variety of home remedies for osteochondrosis, consult a doctor before fighting the disease on your own!
The pharmaceutical industry manufactures devices to treat osteochondrosis at home. The devices act on the affected areas with a pulse or vibration generated by electric currents or a magnetic field. The devices allow you to perform medical procedures at home.
In addition to drug therapy, folk methods and hardware techniques, osteochondrosis is treated at home by performing therapeutic exercises, massage (classic, shaping cups, acupressure). Symptoms will pass quickly and treatment will be effective if therapeutic and traditional methods are combined with diet.
The diet should be enriched with healthy food: fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fish, dairy products. With osteochondrosis, spicy and fatty foods, broths on meat, alcoholic beverages, coffee, pork are contraindicated.
The complex treatment helps to get rid of osteochondrosis, forget about the pain. Use your doctor's advice to restore spine function and health.