Cervical osteochondrosis is a widespread disease that affects about 80% of people around the world during a certain period of life.
The incidence of cervical osteochondrosis is increasing.
The progression of the disease can lead to a generalized form of osteochondrosis, that is, affect the entire spine, but more often it remains localized in one area (cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine).
Every patient should know cervical osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment at home, so as not to allow the ailment to develop, lead to complete immobilization, than to ruin life completely.
Cervical osteochondrosis: symptoms
In order to understand the symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis, it is useful to know a little about the anatomy of the neck. The vertebral artery, through which oxygen and vital nutrients enter all parts of the brain, passes through the spine in the neck.
Osteochondrosis is caused by deformations of the intervertebral discs and cartilage with a concomitant reaction in the vertebral body. With this disease, degenerative changes of the disc occur, its height decreases and the physiological functions of the discs are lost. As a result, instability and changes in the vertebral joints occur. As the disease progresses, the reaction occurs in the end plate of the vertebral body, the spine bends, causing a narrowing in the spinal canal.
In most cases, initially cervical osteochondrosis does not cause any symptoms. With the development of the disease, the space for the spinal cord, nerve roots and vertebral artery narrows. When these sensitive elements are compressed, only then the symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis begin to develop:
• pain and stiffness in the neck;
• regular dull, constricting headache, aggravated by movement, and not passing from analgesics;
• numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arms or legs;
• violation of coordination;
• dizziness;
• ringing and tinnitus;
• memory loss;
• emotional changes;
• violation of the control of the intestines or bladder.
Cervical osteochondrosis: diagnosis of possible diseases at home
Back pain can occur for various reasons, cervical osteochondrosis is just one of them. In some cases, pain in the dorsal region is associated with:
• muscle overload;
• forced posture;
• hypothermia;
• compression of the nerve root (radiculopathy);
• spinal stenosis;
• oncopathology and benign tumors;
• diseases of internal organs (heart, liver, stomach, or kidneys);
• joint pathology;
• vertebral fracture;
• infections.
The difference between osteochondrosis is that pain is more often manifested in the right half of the chest, over the shoulder and in the right hand, and the pain itself has a multiple, acute and short duration, or prolonged bouts of dull pain that do not disappear after taking NSAIDs and analgesics.
Since the treatment of the above conditions can radically differ, it is better to entrust the doctor to diagnose cervical osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment at home.
Cervical osteochondrosis: treatment at home: treatment (drugs and folk remedies)
Therapy depends on the severity of the symptoms. The aim of the treatment is to alleviate pain and maximize the preservation of the natural movements of the spine, preventing permanent injuries to the spinal cord and nerves.
Medications
With cervical osteochondrosis, depending on the cause and form of the disease, doctors recommend:
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - ibuprofen, naproxen sodium (Anaprox) reduce pain and relieve inflammation;
• corticosteroids - prednisone helps relieve pain;
• muscle relaxants - cyclobenzaprine (Amrix, Fexmid) and metocarbamol (Robaxin) relieve muscle cramps in the neck;
• anticonvulsants - gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) are sometimes prescribed to dull pain due to damaged nerves;
• antidepressants;
• ointments - distracting and warming ("Fastum-gel", "Espol", "Capsicam", "Finalgon"), anti-inflammatory ("Nurofen", "Voltaren Emulgel", "Ibuprofen") and combined ("Fitobene", " Dolobene ").
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapist teaches patients exercises that help stretch and strengthen the muscles of the neck and shoulders. Stretching exercises, including using balances, expand the space inside the spine and release the nerve roots.
Regular exercise and maintenance of activity speeds up the recovery process.
Massage for cervical osteochondrosis at home
Even in especially severe cases, when the patient is unable to perform physiotherapeutic procedures on his own, soft massage helps. It can be performed at home, and it gives a real effect.
Massage mat, whisk, chair, rolling pin, bamboo broom and tape for self-massage - all these improvised tools are used if the patient has cervical osteochondrosis, all the symptoms and treatment at home, for massage.
The basic principles of massage for cervical osteochondrosis:
• light impact, no need to apply force;
• direction of movement from the spinal column;
• smoothness and softness of movements;
• Massage only with your fingers.
Some use cans for massage, believing that this improves blood circulation. The skin before the procedure is necessarily lubricated with massage oil or petroleum jelly, and after attaching the can to the skin, no more than seven minutes should pass.
Masseurs from ancient times use honey for their procedures. An approximate principle is this: warm your neck with a heating pad for 15 minutes, then apply a tablespoon of honey and gently knead your neck and shoulders until your hands stick to your body. Honey should turn white, and the skin will hurt slightly. The neck warmed in this way is covered with a film and wrapped in a woolen scarf. Wash off honey only in the morning.
Folk remedies for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis
It is definitely impossible to write off folk remedies - cervical osteochondrosis with its symptoms can be treated at home with the help of essential oils, herbs, fats, roots and poisons. They are combined with alcohols, iodine and turpentine, and get quite effective anti-inflammatory and warming agents for use both externally and internally.
Phytotherapy of cervical osteochondrosis
Celery Remedy. Grate celery root on the finest grater, squeeze the juice. Take celery juice with cervical osteochondrosis, symptoms and treatment at home three times a day in a tablespoon before meals.
A less concentrated version of the medicine is 1 ml of boiling water per 1 tablespoon of juice, leave for a couple of hours and take the solution in a tablespoon one hour before meals 4 times a day.
You can also use the root itself instead of juice - pour 3 grams of root 0.5 liters of boiling water, insist a couple of hours until it cools completely and drink 20 ml before each meal.
Bay leaf remedy. In an enameled pan, pour 12 grams of bay leaf 300 ml of cold water, boil for five minutes. Let it brew for three hours, strain. During the day between meals, drink the infusion in small sips. Drink the rest before going to bed. Reception of funds continue for four days, take a break for a week and repeat the course. For prevention, repeat the course every spring.
Fitosbor from cervical osteochondrosis. Grind and mix 100 grams of chamomile, parsley, hop and oregano, add 100 grams of nettle leaf and 200 grams of burdock root. Brew in a thermos, pour 1.5 liters of boiling water. Leave for three days. Drink the filtered solution in a tablespoon twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Store in a cool dark place.
Grinding
Red pepper based product. Finely chop two hot red chilli peppers, pour them into a tightly closed container and pour 200 ml of vegetable oil. Close tightly with a non-metallic lid. Leave in a dark, warm place for five days. Rub into the affected area with gentle movements twice a day. You don’t need to take a lot of money right away, since it can burn very much. The effect of the product is warming, blood circulation improves.
Butter based. Mix the egg with a tablespoon of vinegar, add a tablespoon of flour and 100 grams of softened butter. Leave the product for a couple of days in a dark place, remove the film formed on the surface of the mixture and rub it into the skin in the region of cervical osteochondrosis during massage. Store the finished mixture for no longer than 3 days.
Compresses
Burdock and horseradish leaves have proven themselves as compresses. They are scalded with boiling water, imposed on the damaged place and kept for several hours, wrapped in a cotton cloth. Repeat every day 10 times. Repeat 2-4 times a year.
Cervical osteochondrosis: is treatment at home effective?
The effect of the comprehensive treatment of osteochondrosis at home with the correct implementation of the techniques will be, often quite quickly. The condition of the spine improves, the intervertebral discs maintain their integrity and shape longer. But there is one condition: the diagnosis of cervical osteochondrosis must be made by a qualified doctor. Methods of treatment (including non-traditional ones) are also discussed with him.
If cervical osteochondrosis with symptoms can be treated at home with rubbing, compresses, physiotherapy or herbal remedies, it is strictly forbidden to perform apitherapy, acupuncture, spinal stretching and deep massage at home. These techniques are used only under medical supervision.
After a week of treatment at home, the symptoms of osteochondrosis should subside. If this does not happen, you need medical help, you may urgently need to have an operation, and you will forget about cervical osteochondrosis for a long time!
