Effective ways to treat osteochondrosis at home

Osteochondrosis is known to be a chronic pathology caused by degenerative changes in spinal structure. Unfortunately, eight out of ten people in the adult population suffer from osteochondrosis.The pathology can begin in young adulthood (20-25 years of age) and gradually become complicated by new manifestations. Generally speaking, osteochondrosis is divided into lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine.

disease symptoms

The characteristics of cervical osteochondral lesions are:

• Dull pain in the neck and back of the head (neck pain);
• If the vertebral arteries are damaged, then the activity of the nerve centers responsible for the normalization of pressure indicators is disturbed, so hypertension is often a concomitant pathology of osteochondrosis.
• During the development of cervical osteochondrosis, the spinal arteries are compressed, causing symptoms such as abnormal sounds in the ears, dizziness, and paroxysmal headaches;
• Heart pain radiates to the shoulder blades and neck, similar to the pain of angina.

Lumbar osteochondrosis has the following symptoms:

• Compression of spinal nerve roots and arteriovenous channels that deliver nutrients to the spinal cord, causing severe pain;
• When the lower lumbar root is affected, it will be accompanied by tingling on the outside of the leg, resulting in decreased sensitivity in that area;
• Lumbar osteochondrosis often presents with tingling pain running from the lower back to the legs, which is later replaced by decreased sensitivity in the lower extremities;
• As complications such as intervertebral hernia progress, symptoms such as leg weakness, low back pain, decreased leg muscle tone and sensitivity, and leg muscle weakness (paresis) may occur.

Manifestations of thoracic osteochondrosis:

• Upper lesions present with pain in the abdomen, chest, shoulders, and scapula;
• Lower lesions are associated with decreased sensitivity of the lower thoracic spine and associated pelvic organ dysfunction. Pain that worsens when moving or sneezing;
• In rare cases, thoracic osteochondrosis causes compression of the spine and is characterized by localized annular pain radiating to the intercostals, abdomen, groin, or lower limbs, weakness and numbness in the legs, and impaired mobility of the pelvic organs.

Treatment programs

In the treatment of osteochondrosis, a series of therapeutic techniques are used:

1. medical treatement;
2. Physical therapy (massage, physical therapy, etc. );
3. Diet therapy;
4. corrective treatment;
5. ethnoscience;
6. Surgery.

How to Treat Cervicothoracic and Lumbar Osteochondrosis at Home

The aim of every anti-osteochondrosis treatment is to relieve and subsequently eliminate pain, normalize vertebral structural processes and restore nerve root spinal mobility.

medical treatement

Medical treatment of osteochondrosis is based on the following aspects:

1. Symptomatic treatment aims to eliminate pain, including taking anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition to anti-inflammatory drugs, patients may also take muscle relaxants.
2. Treatment aimed at normalizing blood circulation involves the use of vasodilators;
3. Restoration treatment of cartilage tissue is based on the use of chondroprotective drugs;
4. Vitamin therapy is based on taking vitamin complexes;
5. Antidepressant treatment is used to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression that commonly occur in patients with limited mobility and pain caused by osteochondrosis.
6. Treatment with herbal preparations often helps achieve significant relief in patients, as these medications restore immune defenses, sleep and body strength, and prevent depression.

Physiotherapy activities

Physiotherapy measures are very effective in combating osteochondrosis:

• Helps eliminate pain syndromes;
• Increase range of motion;
• Improve and promote the progression of immune processes;
• normalizes blood circulation;
• normalizes metabolic processes;
• Reduce therapeutic doses of NSAIDs and analgesics.

There are many types of physical therapy. In anti-osteochondrosis treatment, the following methods are most often used:

1. Electrotherapy involves performing procedures related to the influence of electrical current, such as electrophoresis, electroplating, electrosleep, darsonvalization and other procedures using special equipment;
2. Shockwave therapy is performed through a device that converts electrical pulses into ultrasound waves, which act on the spine affected by osteochondrosis to accelerate the healing of damaged bone and cartilage tissue and eliminate pain and swelling;
3. Balneotherapy involves the use of mineral water and mud, with which contact improves blood supply, relieves pain and normalizes substance metabolism;
4. Magnetic therapy - this device is based on the production of a constant magnetic field using special sensors placed in the area of the affected vertebrae;
5. Laser therapy is based on the use of special lasers, which by acting on the affected tissue, contribute to its recovery.

All physical therapy methods treat osteochondrosis symptomatically, reduce inflammation and pain, and reduce the course of treatment and dosage of medication.

diet

Since anti-osteochondrosis treatment is complex, a reasonable and balanced diet is required.It is extremely important for patients with this disease to limit the intake of fluids, salt, and simple carbohydrates. They need to be eliminated from the diet:

• Alcohol;
• Beverages such as cocoa, coffee and strong tea;
• pickles and spicy dishes;
• Products with excessive extractive content (mushrooms, fatty fish, poultry, meat, etc. ).

Since osteochondrosis causes the destruction of intervertebral cartilage, its repair requires animal proteins, which are rich in dairy products, lean fish, or lean meats.Jelly or broth made from boiled beef or pork leg bones is particularly useful for such patients. This broth is rich in collagen, which provides extra strength to bone and cartilage tissue.

Exercises to Improve Health

Therapeutic exercise plays an equally important role in the treatment of osteochondrosis; in addition, it is considered the most effective method to combat the destruction of bone and cartilage cells, helps strengthen muscle and joint tissue, ensures mobility of the spine, andHelps restore function. Damaged tissue.When performing physical therapy exercises, a few simple conditions should be observed:

1. Exercise should not cause severe pain or any discomfort; if this occurs, it is necessary to discuss the situation with your doctor;
2. Do not exercise during an exacerbation of the condition, otherwise the pain symptoms may worsen or complications may occur;
3. You need to perform the exercise smoothly and avoid sudden movements.

The doctor selects the necessary exercises based on the patient's condition and the degree of development of osteochondrosis.

massage

Massage procedures help improve blood circulation and have a relaxing effect on the patient's muscles. The massage begins with light strokes, followed by friction and kneading. Massage can be done with your hands or using a special object such as a jar.

Cupping massage for osteochondrosis helps relieve muscle tension and activates metabolic processes in the affected tissues by improving blood and lymph flow. Acupressure, which involves points on the spine that affect movement, is no less therapeutic.

ethnoscience

Traditional medicine has many formulas for various types of friction and compression that can also help treat osteochondrosis. Pain can be reduced and muscles can be relaxed through folk remedies that increase blood flow.These tools are based on:

• Essential oils (fir, etc. );
• lard melted;
• Camphor alcohol;
• badger fat;
• Honey;
• poison from bees and snakes;
• Medicinal roots and herbs such as aloe vera, birch or horseradish leaves, garlic, ginger, paprika.

They are mixed with alcohol, iodine and turpentine to produce local irritation. Mustard baths (200 grams of mustard powder per water bath) are very effective in relieving sudden, acute pain.

Orthopedic accessories

A great addition to home treatment for osteochondrosis is the use of orthopedic accessories to ensure that the spine is fully relaxed during night's rest.Therefore, you need to adopt a correct and comfortable position when sleeping.A high-quality mattress and orthopedic pillow can help solve this problem. Thanks to the use of such devices, the spine will completely relax during the night, thus eliminating symptoms and improving the patient's condition.

Osteochondrosis can be treated independently, the main thing is to observe the regularity, consistency, complexity of the procedure and coordinate all actions with a specialist.