Cervical chondrosis in the initial stage rarely manifests itself with any negative symptoms. According to statistics, only 10% of people experience degenerative processes with all existing signs, so it is difficult to recognize and start timely treatment of osteochondrosis. Traditional medicine can slow down the course of the disease in stages 1 and 2, so it is recommended to use it as an auxiliary method.
Symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis
To choose treatment at home, you need to know exactly the cause of the pain. Hardware diagnostics will help: X-ray, MRI, ultrasound.
The main danger of cervical osteochondrosis is for the brain, because due to damage to the spinal arteries, the nervous tissue experiences a lack of oxygen. Dizziness and even very severe pain with loss of consciousness are possible.
In addition to hypoxia, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine manifests itself:
- numbness of the hands, as well as of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, shoulder blades;
- lack of coordination, unsteady gait;
- if hypoxia affects the cerebellum, hearing and vision may be impaired;
- weakness, fatigue.
Poor cerebral circulation is accompanied by irritability. If osteochondrosis is not treated, a person can have an ischemic stroke.
A crunch is heard when turning and tilting the head. This is due to bone growths - osteophytes located on the edges of the vertebrae.
The pain sometimes occurs not only in the neck, but also in the chest. Such symptoms can easily be confused with an attack of angina.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis with traditional methods
There are several reasons that can cause degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc. Depending on the provoking factor, folk remedies are chosen.
Reasons that lead to disc deformation:
- obesity. The load on the spine and all joints in the body increases. Taking herbal tinctures will help normalize metabolism and get rid of extra pounds.
- Thick blood and lymph. There are herbal decoctions that purify the blood of toxins and salts, as well as rubs that stimulate the movement of lymph. As a result, salts stop being deposited in the intervertebral discs and their elasticity is restored.
- Due to changes in hormonal levels, women can develop bone osteoporosis in adulthood. Herbal supplements containing estrogen-like substances can compensate for the lack of hormones.
Traditional methods can be used to treat after spinal cord injury, increase immunity and regulate endocrine diseases.
Doctors do not recommend self-diagnosis and use of folk recipes at their discretion. It is necessary to conduct an examination, establish the cause of the disease, and only then begin targeted treatment. In the initial stage, it is recommended to use all available methods - traditional medicine, drugs, physiotherapy, massage, exercise therapy. You can maintain the achieved effect with the help of herbs, home-made ointments, water procedures and physical exercises.
Rubs and compresses
There are many options for preparing a rub for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck. These may be alcohol-based or fat-based medications.
Alcohol-based recipes:
- Chopped horseradish and alcohol diluted to 40 degrees (vodka will do). Mix the two ingredients and leave for 2-3 days. Rub into the painful area for 2 weeks, then take a break for a week and repeat the course again.
- 200 g of crushed marigold flowers and the same amount of alcohol or vodka. Leave for 2 weeks, then rub into the back of the neck. Course - 2 weeks.
- For 200 ml of vodka, take 10 drops of iodine and camphor, mix everything. Grind 10 tablets of metamizole sodium into powder and add to the grind. Use as a pain reliever during an exacerbation of osteochondrosis.
- Rub from honey, vodka, aloe juice. Take enough vodka and aloe juice for 2 tablespoons of honey to make a thick mixture. It can be rubbed into the neck at night, then washed off. It is also used as a compress.
- 100 ml of vodka or spirit, 3 egg whites, 1 tablespoon of mustard powder. Mix everything, rub into the skin, then rinse.
The use of 96% alcohol is not recommended as it may cause skin burns. Alcohol rubs should be used with caution if there are moles on the neck.
Rubbing without alcohol:
- Half a cup of melted unsalted lard, 30 g of propolis. Combine the components, then apply to the skin before going to bed, wrap with a warm towel.
- Prepare 1 tablespoon each of sage and plantain. Melt 40 g of petroleum jelly and mix with 50 ml of olive oil. Pour in the herbs. Leave for 2 weeks. Rub the skin of the neck 3 times a day, then wrap it with a scarf.
- A teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a cup of camphor, a cup of medicinal bile. Mix everything and rub your neck after lubricating the skin with vegetable oil.
The simplest yet effective recipe is to mix 3 tablespoons of sea salt in a glass of warm water. Apply moistened gauze to the affected area. Relieves pain, improves mobility. With regular use, the symptoms of osteochondrosis are eliminated.
Compresses can be made from the following substances:
- Refined kerosene. Moisten the gauze, apply to the neck, wrap with a film and a warm scarf. The procedure is carried out at night for 2 weeks.
- 2 tablespoons of honey per 1 fresh grated potato. The mixture is applied to the neck under a warming towel. The course is a week.
Whole leaves of horseradish and burdock should be dipped in boiling water or steamed, then applied to the neck and wrapped with a scarf.
Herbal tinctures and decoctions
The effectiveness of tinctures is higher than that of tea, because substances from medicinal plants are subjected to prolonged extraction from several hours to several days:
- Anesthetic infusion of pine buds. The raw materials should be collected in the month of April, then finely chopped and covered with granulated sugar in a ratio of 1/2 - a cup of kidneys to 2 cups of sugar. By 14 days, the mixture should turn brown. Take 5 ml three times a day, hold the mixture in your mouth before swallowing. To completely eliminate pain in the neck, it is recommended to take the drug for 21 days, but most often the pain in the vertebrae disappears after 2-3 days.
- Parsley root is boiled for an hour and a half, then taken three times a day on an empty stomach by a tablespoon. The product helps to remove salts from the body. Initially, a negative reaction from the kidneys is possible, since the excess will be excreted through them.
- Garlic in lemon juice is a means of stimulating the immune system and increasing the protective properties of the body. Grind 200 g of peeled garlic cloves, squeeze the juice of 4 lemons, mix everything and add a glass of water. Leave for 2 hours, then you can drink half a glass after meals once a day.
- A remedy against inflammation and relief of neck swelling in osteochondrosis. Boil a tablespoon of mint and chamomile in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes. Drink half a cup on an empty stomach twice a day for 21 days.
- Pour boiling water with 1 tablespoon of gentian - 1 cup. Leave for an hour. Helps with rheumatism and osteochondrosis. The course of treatment is 2 weeks or until the symptoms of inflammation disappear.
An allergic reaction may occur when consuming some herbs. In this case, stop taking the tincture. It is recommended that you try another drug.
Therapeutic baths
With osteochondrosis of the neck, hot baths with additives help well. Such procedures help to relax the muscles. They should be performed 2-3 times a week. Duration minimum 15 minutes.
Before taking a bath, you can make concentrated supplements:
- Dissolve 2 kg of sea salt in 2 liters of hot water and pour into the bath.
- To relieve inflammation in the acute period, add 50 ml of turpentine to water. Immerse yourself completely, including the neck area.
- A bottle of pine extract should be diluted in water. Sometimes fresh pine needles are collected and boiled in a large pot for an hour, then strained and poured into the bath.
- Chamomile concentrate relieves inflammation and relaxes muscles. To do this, boil a package of dried flowers in 2 liters of water for half an hour, leave for an hour, filter and add to the water.
If you have cancer, herbs and hot baths should not be taken. The same applies to hypertension and the tendency to skin allergic reactions.
I'm warming up
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home can be carried out using warming procedures. However, you need to make sure that there is no inflammatory process. You can try using a heating pad. If the pain has subsided, then heat will help. Some people find that cold compresses are helpful during a flare-up, while warm compresses only make the pain worse.
Contrast procedures, such as immersion in ice water after a steam bath, are not recommended.
Warm procedures work especially well in autumn and winter, as people with osteochondrosis are sensitive to cold and weather changes.
Homemade ointments
Homemade ointments are just as effective as store-bought ones. It is recommended that you try to make a mixture of hop cones and melted butter. To do this, the collected cones must be crushed and the fat heated to a liquid state. Mix pine cones and fat in a ratio of 2/1.
If you can find a juniper nearby, you need to collect needles from it and grind it with a coffee grinder. You will need 1 tsp.
Then grind the dried bay leaf - you need 6 tsp. Mix the two powders and add 100 g of homemade butter. The ointment works quickly after application, eliminating pain in the neck or other parts of the spine.
Sea salt
Sea salt has a rich mineral composition, so it helps to restore the cartilage lining between the vertebrae.
Recipes with sea salt are the simplest and cheapest:
- For 3 tablespoons of salt, take 2 tablespoons of dry mustard powder, add half a cup of water and heat the mixture on the stove. Dip a small waffle towel in the liquid and apply it to the painful area of the spine. While the compress is working, the person should be covered with a warm blanket. The duration of the treatment is 1 month, but the compresses should be done 3 times a week for 30 minutes.
- Mix 3 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of sea salt, add water and knead the dough to form a flat loaf. Apply on your neck and wrap it with a scarf for 3 hours. Do the compress every day before going to bed for a week.
Three times a week you can add sea salt to the bath or use special preparations based on salt with chondroitin and glucosamine. In this case, the active substances will penetrate through the skin.
What else can help?
In addition to herbs, tinctures, ointments and compresses, it is imperative to increase the mobility of the cervical vertebrae to increase muscle tone. Through them, all substances will penetrate the cartilage tissue and regenerate it.
If a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, osteochondrosis will progress and traditional medicine will be powerless.
Massage for cervical chondrosis can be done, but it is advisable to entrust this to specialists so as not to worsen the situation, especially if there are protrusions or hernias of the cervical vertebrae. Before going to a massage therapist, you will need to take an X-ray or get a referral from a vertebrologist, neurologist or orthopedist.
Osteochondrosis is a long-term developing disease, so if it is detected in an advanced stage, one cannot hope for a quick recovery with the help of traditional medicine. Thus, the patient loses time and the disease progresses at this point. In the initial stage, the symptoms of chondrosis can be eliminated within 1-2 years, using all available methods, including traditional ones. Treatment of an advanced process will take much longer.