Cervical chondrosis at the initial stage rarely manifests itself with any negative symptoms. According to statistics, only 10% of people experience degenerative processes with all the existing signs, so it is difficult to recognize and begin treatment for osteochondrosis in a timely manner. Traditional medicine can slow down the course of the disease at 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, since due to infringement of the vertebral 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 arms, as well as 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 may experience an ischemic stroke.
When turning and tilting the head, a crunching sound is heard. This occurs due to bone growths - osteophytes, located along the edges of the vertebrae.
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 using traditional methods
There are several reasons that can cause degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc. Depending on the provoking factor, folk remedies are selected.
Reasons that lead to disk deformation:
- Obesity. The load on the spine and all joints in the body increases. Taking herbal tinctures will help normalize metabolism and rid a person of extra pounds.
- Thick blood and lymph. There are herbal infusions that cleanse the blood of toxins and salts, as well as rubbings that stimulate the movement of lymph. As a result, salts cease to be deposited in the intervertebral discs and their elasticity is restored.
- Due to changes in hormonal levels, women may experience 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 a spinal injury, increase immunity, and regulate endocrine disorders.
Doctors do not recommend diagnosing yourself and using folk recipes at your own discretion. It is necessary to conduct an examination, determine the cause of the disease, and only then begin targeted treatment. At the initial stage, it is advisable to use all available methods - traditional medicine, medications, physiotherapy, massage, exercise therapy. You can maintain the achieved effect with the help of herbs, homemade ointments, water treatments and physical exercise.
Rubs and compresses
There are many options for preparing a rub for the treatment of neck osteochondrosis. These may be alcohol-based medications or oil rubs.
Alcohol based recipes:
- Chopped horseradish and alcohol diluted to 40 degrees (vodka will do). Mix both 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 calendula 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 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. Also used as a compress.
- 100 ml vodka or alcohol, 3 egg whites, 1 tablespoon mustard powder. Mix everything, rub into the skin, then rinse.
It is not recommended to use 96% alcohol as it may cause burns to the skin. Alcohol rubs should be used with caution if there are moles on the neck.
Rubbing without alcohol:
- Half a glass of rendered unsalted lard, 30 g of propolis. Combine the components, then apply to the skin before bed, wrap with a warm cloth.
- Prepare 1 tablespoon each of sage and plantain. Melt 40 g of Vaseline 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 red hot pepper, a glass of camphor, a glass of medical bile. Mix everything and rub your neck after lubricating the skin with vegetable oil.
The simplest but most effective recipe is to stir 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 film and a warm scarf. The procedure is performed at night for 2 weeks.
- 2 tablespoons of honey per 1 fresh grated potato. The mixture is applied to the neck under a warming cloth. The course is a week.
Whole leaves of horseradish and burdock should be doused with 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 undergo long-term extraction from several hours to several days:
- Anesthetic infusion of pine buds. The raw materials need to be collected in the month of April, then chopped finely and covered with granulated sugar in a ratio of 1/2 - a cup of kidneys to 2 cups of sugar. Within 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 neck pain, it is recommended to take the medicine for 21 days, but most often the pain in the vertebrae goes away after 2-3 days.
- Parsley root is boiled for an hour and a half, then taken three times a day on an empty stomach, a tablespoon. The product helps remove salts from the body. At first, a negative reaction from the kidneys is possible, since excess will be excreted through them.
- Garlic in lemon juice is a means of stimulating the immune system and enhancing the body’s protective properties. Grind 200 g of peeled garlic cloves, squeeze the juice from 4 lemons, mix everything and add a glass of water. Leave for 2 hours, after which you can drink half a glass after meals once a day.
- A remedy against inflammation and relieving swelling in the neck with osteochondrosis. Boil a tablespoon of mint and chamomile in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes. Drink half a glass on an empty stomach twice a day for 21 days.
- Pour boiling water over 1 tablespoon of cinquefoil - 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 to try another remedy.
Therapeutic baths
For osteochondrosis of the neck, hot baths with additives help well. Such procedures help relax muscles. They should be performed 2-3 times a week. Duration of at least 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. Completely immerse, including the neck area.
- A bottle of pine extract must be diluted in water. Sometimes fresh pine needles are collected and boiled in a large container for an hour, then filtered and poured into a bath.
- Chamomile concentrate helps relieve inflammation and relax muscles. To do this, boil a pack 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 a tendency to allergic skin reactions.
Warming up
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home can be carried out using warming procedures. However, you need to be sure that there is no inflammatory process. You can try using a heating pad. If the pain has decreased, then the warmth will be beneficial. Some people find cold compresses helpful during an exacerbation, while warm compresses only make the pain worse.
Contrasting procedures are not recommended, for example, immersion in ice water after a steam bath.
Warm procedures work especially well in autumn and winter, since people with osteochondrosis are sensitive to cold and weather changes.
Homemade ointments
Homemade ointments are just as effective as those purchased at the pharmacy. It is recommended to try making a mixture of hop cones and rendered lard. To do this, the collected cones must be crushed and the fat heated to a liquid state. Mix pine cones and fat in a 2/1 ratio.
If you can find juniper nearby, you need to collect needles from it and grind it using a coffee grinder. You will need 1 teaspoon.
Next, grind the dried bay leaf - you need 6 teaspoons. Mix both powders and add 100 g of homemade butter. The ointment acts 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 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 glass of water and heat the mixture on the stove. Dip a small waffle towel in the liquid and apply it to the sore spot on the spine. While the compress is working, the person needs to be covered with a warm blanket. The duration of treatment is 1 month, but compresses need to 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 cake. Apply it to your neck and wrap it with a scarf for 3 hours. Apply the compress every day before bed for a week.
Three times a week, sea salt can be added to the bath or you can use special preparations based on salt with chondroitin and glucosamine. In this case, the active substances will penetrate the skin.
What else can help?
In addition to herbs, tinctures, ointments and compresses, it is imperative to increase the mobility of the cervical spine in order 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 aggravate the situation, especially if there are protrusions or hernias of the cervical spine. Before going to a massage therapist, you will have 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 moment. At the initial stage, the symptoms of chondrosis can be eliminated within 1-2 years, using all available methods, including traditional ones. It will take much longer to treat an advanced process.