Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies can be used as an adjunct to the main therapy or after its completion, at the stage of stable remission.
Homemade tinctures and rubbing work well for discomfort and not-so-severe pain, as well as relieve morning stiffness. They have a mild analgesic, decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect.
General rules
In order for the effect of using traditional medicine to be as effective as possible, it is better to agree on prescriptions with your doctor in advance. This will serve as a guarantee of the safety and appropriateness of home methods. In addition, even seemingly harmless herbal infusions and compresses can distort the effect of pharmaceutical preparations and increase the risk of adverse reactions.
Components with a fairly high toxicity should be used with particular care - for example, kerosene, as well as unknown plants and herbs whose names are not found in medical reference books.
Homemade ointments and lotions are effective only for mild to moderate pain. They will help relieve soreness caused by changes in weather, high physical exertion or hypothermia. However, traditional methods of treatment are not able to restore damaged vertebrae and intervertebral discs.
Typical Symptoms: How to Recognize Chondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is accompanied by symptoms that are hard to miss. Even in the early stages, it can manifest itself:
- discomfort and pain in the neck, back of the head, arm and shoulder girdle. The exact location and intensity of pain depends on the location of the lesion;
- decreased sensitivity and numbness, which is more often noted in the hands, and especially in the hands;
- decrease in muscle strength and tone.
In addition to the above, symptoms of autonomic disorders may appear - increased sweating, redness or blanching of the skin, muscle swelling and chest pain. The latter are often mistaken for heart problems, so many patients seek help first from a cardiologist.
If there is a compression of the vertebral artery, then headaches and dizziness, noise or ringing in the ears, a feeling of a lump in the throat and difficulty swallowing occur. In rare cases, nausea and vomiting are possible.
How to treat
To cure osteochondrosis at home, various ointments, rubbing, compresses, lotions, as well as infusions and decoctions for oral administration are used. Massage sessions and exercise will help increase the effectiveness of therapy.
Before starting treatment, it is recommended to carry out a tolerance test, especially if you are prone to allergic reactions. A pea-sized amount is applied to the elbow or wrist. If after an hour there are no redness, itching or other signs of allergy, then the procedure can be safely carried out.
Means for oral administration - decoctions or infusions - first take half a teaspoon. Therapy is continued in the absence of symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, flatulence, headache, or increased blood pressure.
Rapid Pain Relief Techniques
Several remedies can be used to quickly get rid of sudden pain that suddenly appears:
- rub sore spots with vodka or alcohol diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio;
- stick the pepper plaster for half an hour. If the pain persists, you can hold it for another twenty minutes and then remove it;
- make a compress on the neck with turpentine diluted in half with warm water;
- take a bath with sea salt or medicinal herbs - chamomile, sage, mint. The bath water should not be hot;
- attach a cabbage leaf lightly rubbed with laundry soap to the sore spot;
- put mustard plasters for ten to fifteen minutes;
- do self-massage by pressing on the pain points for three minutes.
ATTENTION:in folk treatment only pharmaceutical, not industrial turpentine is used. It can also be called "turpentine oil", which is prescribed for neuralgia, myalgia (muscle pain), lumbar lumbago and rheumatism.
Rubbing
For cervical chondrosis, various rubbing based on herbs and pharmaceutical drugs are widely used. One of the best and most popular is a remedy with crushed pain reliever tablets in the composition. There are several similar recipes, and here is one of them:
- Crush 5 tablets of anesthetic;
- pour about 2/3 cup of alcohol into them;
- add 5 milliliters of camphor.
After thorough mixing, apply to the skin over the affected areas for 7-10 days.
WARNING:avoid the area of the cervical lymph nodes during rubbing.
Mother and Stepmother
A 1/3 plant is placed in a dark glass jar, vodka is added to the top and removed to infuse for a month. The container is shaken every day so that the nutrients are released faster. You do not need to filter the product; it is used for rubbing when discomfort appears.
Horseradish and elderberry
In a half liter glass jar, put a leaf and one chopped horseradish root, 3 tablespoons of elderberries and pour it all with alcohol, filling the jar up to the shoulders. Insist for a month, then use for rubbing. In case of severe burning sensation, you can dilute the mixture with water. This tincture relieves painful sensations well, especially after hypothermia.
Compresses and applications
Medical applications and compresses for cervical osteochondrosis improve the blood supply to the damaged segment, relieve stiffness and heaviness in the neck. They are prepared from herbs, flowers and rhizomes of various plants, as well as honey and vegetables.
Kerosene
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of kerosene in half a glass of heated water, moisten a bandage or gauze rolled several times in the solution. Slightly squeezing, put it on your neck and hold for at most an hour. Then wash the skin with warm water and soap and rub with a towel.
Radish
Grate or mince the larger than medium size black radish. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and honey (preferably thick), stir well. Spread the resulting mass on the back of the neck, cover with polyethylene and cotton cloth. Keep for a maximum of an hour, then wash off the compress with warm water.
Horseradish Leaves
This is one of the simplest folk recipes that requires only one or a few horseradish leaves. They are scalded with boiling water and applied to the back of the neck. The procedure is recommended to be done at night, so you need to carefully wrap the leaves with a scarf.
Honey with potatoes
2 raw potatoes, peel, grate, or otherwise chop. Squeeze out the juice a little and add 1 tablespoon of honey. Wrap the resulting mass in a bandage or gauze, attach to the neck and fix it with a bandage, laying cling film under it. The duration of the procedure is 2 hours. The course of treatment consists of 10-15 applications.
Ozokerite wraps
Ozokerite or mountain wax wraps relieve pain, have an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and light compression effect. This substance has a low thermal conductivity with a high heat capacity, due to which it deeply heats the tissues and enriches them with oxygen and minerals.
Ozokerite is successfully used not only for cervical, but also for chest osteochondrosis. First, a small amount of wax - about 30 g - must be melted, then poured into a container, on the bottom of which a film should be put in advance. Then wait until it cools down to a comfortable temperature and wrap the neck with a film with melted warm wax. The duration of the procedure is 1 hour, the number of sessions is up to 20.
WARNING:the agent should not be used in case of exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure.
Sour cream and comfrey
One large comfrey root is peeled and grated, then 1 tablespoon of low fat sour cream is added to it. The mixture is evenly distributed around the neck and fixed as in the previous recipe. You need to remove the compress after about an hour. Usually 10 procedures are enough to remove uncomfortable sensations.
Honey and Salt
Honey is mixed with salt in equal proportions and smeared with it on the neck, covering the top with cloth and cellophane. To enhance the effect, you can warm the compress with a warm scarf or a downy shawl.
Phytotherapy
Folk remedies for cervical osteochondrosis also include rubbing infusions of coltsfoot, celery, elderberry and pine needles. It is very useful to rub the juice of plantain, nettle, burdock and aloe into the area of the neck-collar zone.
Infusions and decoctions
Pine buds
Most infusions are best consumed 15-30 minutes before meals. The standard duration of a course of treatment is usually 3 weeks.
Pine buds are combined with sugar in a 2: 1 ratio and stored in a dark, cool place for 2 weeks. Take ½ tsp. by absorption in the mouth three times a day. This is a very good tool that allows you to achieve a stable remission, even with advanced forms of the disease.
To prepare the medicine, it is better to take kidneys of medium length, no more than 2 centimeters, since large kidneys contain less biologically active substances. They are collected in early spring, washed, dried, well crushed before use. The finished product turns brown and is stored for a long time due to phytoncides and other natural preservatives in the composition.
Pine cones and needles
1 st. l. pour cones and needles with half a liter of boiling water and keep in a water bath for about half an hour. Then cool the ready-made broth, filter and divide into three parts, each of which should be drunk within one day. To improve taste and increase efficiency, you can add 1-2 tbsp. l. honey.
Cervicothoracic osteochondrosis, folk healers advise treating various decoctions. They are prepared from yarrow, plantain, sweet clover, rosehip, calendula and licorice. Almost all recipes are the same: 1 tbsp is taken for a glass of boiling water. l. vegetable raw materials. Decoctions are most often consumed in 1/3 cup up to 3-4 times a day.
Sunflower Roots
In a small container - a saucepan or a saucepan - place 50 g of roots and pour a liter of water. After bringing the mixture to a boil, simmer it for about 40 minutes. After cooling, take 1 tbsp. l. 3-4 times a day after meals. The course of treatment is a week.
Sunflower roots are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, but they are especially rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium.
WARNING:decoction of sunflower roots can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Coniferous
Pour a liter of boiling water over a glass of spruce or pine needles and cook for half an hour. Drink a decoction of 1. 5 tbsp. l. 30-40 minutes after eating, within a month.
Dandelion
1 st. l. Brew dandelion flowers in a glass of hot water. After cooling, use the broth as a compress, placing the flowers on gauze or moistening it in a solution. Keep 15-20 minutes, the full course consists of 10-12 daily procedures.
For ingestion, the same number of flowers must be boiled for 15 minutes, then drunk before meals three times a day.
Another means for internal use is prepared from young flowers (about a glass), which are brewed in boiling water, dried and crushed. Add the juice of half a lemon and half a glass of honey. Take 1 tbsp. l. twice a day before meals. Store the sweet medicine in the refrigerator.
Monastic tea
Brew this tea in a thermos with 1 teaspoon of herbs:
- burdock;
- wheatgrass;
- violets;
- veronica;
- burdock;
- streaks.
Pour the ingredients with a liter of boiling water and leave for 3 hours. Drink like tea, half a glass twice a day, after meals. To improve the taste, you can add honey or lemon wedges to the drink.
Ointments
In case of osteochondrosis, the attending physician, as a rule, prescribes an ointment with anti-inflammatory, warming or analgesic effect. However, you can prepare it yourself at home using herbs and available foods. Any oil, butter or vegetable, is suitable as a base. You can add a choice of calendula, chamomile, eucalyptus, burdock, nettle or thyme to it.
Mustard-egg ointment
Beat 3 egg whites with a mixer or a whisk, add 50 grams of mustard powder and pour in half a glass of butter. Mix everything and remove the ointment in a dark place for 12 hours, then lubricate the neck for pain and stiffness.
Egg-vinegar
To prepare the ointment, combine 1 egg, 1 tbsp. l. vinegar, half a glass of oil and 1 tbsp. l. flour. After thoroughly mixing, remove the mass in a dark place, and after 2 days remove the film formed on the surface. It is preferable to use the product at night, rubbing it into the neck before going to bed.
Ginger Ointment
Fresh ginger root is chopped in any convenient way - on a grater, in a blender or in a meat grinder - transferred to a mortar with 2 chopped garlic cloves and ground. Then butter is added. If desired, a drop of citrus essential oil can be added to enhance the aroma.
Baths
Taking a warm bath in the evening helps to fall asleep quickly, strengthens the immune system, improves blood circulation and nutrition of the vertebral structures. The effect of the procedure will increase many times over if you add salt, herbal infusion or turpentine to the water.
A hay dust bath is an old method of treatment that has practically no contraindications and is useful for both sick and healthy people.
1 st. l. Dissolve turpentine in half a glass of warm water and pour into a filled bath. Both white and yellow turpentine will do. Take a bath for 20-25 minutes, then be sure to rinse in the shower and rub with a terry towel.
Products with turpentine, including taking baths, help to reduce inflammation, activate blood circulation and stimulate recovery processes in damaged and worn intervertebral discs.
ATTENTION:turpentine treatment should be regular, course. Single procedures - baths or compresses - will give only a temporary and insignificant effect.
½ cup of sea salt, can be mixed with additives, dissolved in a liter of hot water and added to the general bath. The duration of the procedure is half an hour.
Herbal tea is brewed in a thermos, which includes thyme, elecampane, birch buds, eucalyptus leaves and pine needles. If you take 1 tbsp. l. herbs, then a liter of water is required. The mixture is infused for 3 hours, after which it is filtered and added to the bath. Take it for 30-40 minutes.
You can take baths with ordinary table salt, based on 1 kg of salt per 20 liters of water. Such concentrated salt baths are taken 2 days in a row, then take a break for 1-3 days.