Cervical osteochondrosis is a more dangerous type of disease than osteochondrosis of the thoracic and lumbar regions. This fact is explained by the fact that the neck is in close proximity to the head. Therefore, when the structures of the neck are damaged, various disorders begin in the work of the brain, organs of vision, hearing and speech.
Therefore, doctors advise starting treatment as soon as the disease is diagnosed. Especially if it is at an early stage.
Home treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is perhaps even recommended. Just before starting treatment, you need to get detailed instructions and recommendations from your doctor.
The reasons for the development of the disease
Knowing the reasons for the development of cervical osteochondrosis is necessary so that the treatment is not in vain. After all, if the factors that contributed to the development of pathology are not eliminated, osteochondrosis can occur again.
The main causes of cervical osteochondrosis:
- Age - pathology often develops in elderly people due to the physiological aging processes of the body. But in recent decades, the disease has become "younger" and is being diagnosed in 30-year-old patients. This is due to the modern lifestyle, occupational factors, changes in food preferences.
- Profession or hobby - in most cases, degenerative-dystrophic changes in the tissues of ODA begin in people who overload the cervical spine or, conversely, do not provide a normal load. For example, professional heavyweight athletes overload their bodies by doing strength training. And people who work at a computer or generally in a sedentary-sitting position, on the contrary, "underload". In the latter case, there are no dynamic loads, but static loads during a long period of immobility are very serious.
- Injuries, hypothermia of the neck or surgical interventions performed in this area.
- Heredity.
- Metastases in tumor diseases of the spine or other organs.
- Wrong mattress (too or not firm enough), inappropriate pillows, prolonged lying or sitting position (on a bed, sofa).
The reason for the development of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can even be an improper diet. Or there may be several reasons. The factors that contributed to the development of pathology will be established by the doctor in the process of diagnosis. And during and after treatment, it will be necessary to eliminate these factors, or try to reduce their pathological influence.
Symptoms and Possible Complications
Cervical osteochondrosis may initially develop asymptomatically. Or discomfort in the neck and other signs are attributed to other diseases, fatigue, stress, atmospheric conditions.
However, if several symptoms are present at once, this should be the reason for immediate medical attention:
- Neck pain that eventually spreads to the head, face, shoulders, shoulder blades, arms. The pain can pass or intensify when turning the head, in a certain position.
- Cracking in the neck, limited mobility.
- Dizziness, fainting.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Impaired motor skills, coordination of movements, trembling hands.
- Violation of sensitivity in the face, limbs, or vice versa, the emergence of unusual sensations - goose bumps, tingling.
- Problems with the function of the organs of vision, hearing, speech.
- The emergence of hypertension or increased intracranial pressure without objective causes from the cardiovascular system.
The occurrence of these symptoms is directly related to the dystrophic processes themselves in the cervical spine. And also with stenosis of the vertebral artery and compression of the nerve tissue - these structures pass in the spinal canal and are damaged by the vertebrae.
If the disease is not treated, then sooner or later dangerous complications will arise. First, the patient loses the ability to move freely - this is disability, permanent disability. Secondly, the progression of pathology is reflected in the function of the brain, which can result in trauma in a fall, stroke, coma, or death.
Home Treatment
All methods of treatment of cervical osteochondrosis can be roughly divided into:
- Etiotropic and pathogenetic- those that affect the very cause of the development of the disease, as well as the mechanism of its development. These are some types of medicines, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, gymnastics, wearing a special collar.
- Symptomatic or palliative- those that eliminate the symptoms of the disease or help to reduce their severity, intensity. They are aimed at alleviating the patient's condition, improving the quality of his life for the period of treatment, and are used in addition to the first group of methods. These are novocaine blockades, taking other anesthetic drugs, ointments, massage.
However, most of the methods of osteochondrosis therapy are to one degree or another both etiotropic and symptomatic. In order to cure osteochondrosis quickly, you need to try to use all available methods. That is, therapy should be as complete, comprehensive and complex as possible.
Today, surgical methods of treating osteochondrosis are widely used. But in the case of a mild form of the disease, their use is not justified.
Therefore, for home treatment, you need to focus on these conservative methods:
- Change in lifestyle and diet.
- Reception or external application of medications.
- Treatment with procedures at home - gymnastics, exercise therapy, massage (in case of calling a masseur at home).
- Wearing a special collar or kinesio tapes.
- Treatment with folk remedies.
Items 1, 3, 4 can also be used during rehabilitation after illness and as preventive measures (to prevent future relapse).
It is desirable that the treatment program was drawn up by a doctor, or at least agreed with him. Otherwise, it is possible to cause even greater harm to the health of ODA, which will significantly affect the patient's condition and the cost of treatment.
Lifestyle and diet
Without normalizing lifestyle, physical activity and revising the daily menu, there will be little sense from treatment.
What needs to be changed:
- Quality of sleeping place- buy an orthopedic mattress, in addition, it is advisable to purchase an orthopedic pillow.
- Loads on the cervical spine- they should be moderate. It is advisable to give up heavy sports, change physically hard work to another type of activity. With passive loads, you can also change the work. If this is not possible, you need to periodically stretch your neck during the working day, move your head more during the work period.
You also need to start eating right. After all, it is with food that all the necessary elements are supplied to restore muscle, nervous, cartilaginous tissues, and bone tissue of the vertebrae. Accordingly, food should be rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals (calcium, iron, vitamins C, E, A, group B).
Medicines
The main groups of pharmacological drugs prescribed by doctors:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - relieve pain and stop the inflammatory process in tissues.
- Preparations designed to relieve pain syndrome (including anti-inflammatory, warming effects). These include injections, corticosteroid pills, ointments, and creams.
- Means intended for tissue regeneration ODA - chondroprotectors.
- Antispasmodics and muscle relaxants to relax the muscle tissue of the neck.
- Vitamins and minerals, vitamin and mineral complexes.
All drugs except vitamins and painkillers should be drunk in courses. Periodic admission from case to case will not give results, which will affect the effectiveness of treatment.
Procedures
At home, the ability to carry out physiotherapy is limited. For example, you can only massage or stretch the spine by calling a specialist to your home, and not everyone can afford it. But self-massage and elementary physical exercises are quite real and do not require financial costs.
Self-massage can be done with your hands, as the neck area is easy enough to reach. The self-massage technique is simple - you need to make soft stroking and creasing movements. It is helpful to use a lubricant, such as petroleum jelly. The main thing is that the procedure does not cause pain.
You can also massage with a towel, rubbing your neck, or with a stream of warm water in the shower. Another good option is to take a stick, like a shovel handle - a round one. Such a stick is placed on the back of the shoulders, grasping the ends and driving it up and down the surface of the neck like a rolling pin. If possible, you can purchase massage devices. The Lyapko roller massager is very useful, it is not expensive, its effectiveness has been proven.
Neck gymnastics is also pretty simple. You need to smoothly make a variety of turns, head tilts. However, with an exacerbation of osteochondrosis, exercises do not need to be done, since the pain can be simply unbearable. From this, spasms of the muscles of the neck can begin.
Wearing orthopedic structures is an effective method of treatment
There are many benefits to wearing a custom collar:
- Supporting the spine and relieving muscle tissue.
- More efficient tissue regeneration.
- Improving blood circulation, including in the vertebral artery. With cervical osteochondrosis - this is one of the main tasks.
- Neck fixation reduces mobility and pain.
- Protection of the neck area from possible additional injuries and injuries.
However, the collar has its drawbacks. Wearing it is not always appropriate in the company of other people. It may also be difficult to review and perform the necessary household duties or labor manipulations. But for the period of treatment, you should try to wear a collar according to the schedule determined by the doctor.
Neck taping as a treatment method also has many advantages:
- Aesthetically acceptable, with the tape you can freely appear "in public". Colored tapes, if they are not appropriate in a particular situation, can be hidden by clothes with a high collar.
- Do not restrict physical activity.
- Moisture-proof, do not need to be removed before showering.
- Improve blood flow and lymph drainage, relieve pain and inflammation, edema.
- Relieve stress on muscle tissue.
- Massage, stimulate metabolic processes in muscles, their regeneration.
There is only one drawback of kinesio tapes - their price, but many patients can afford to pay 100 rubles for a 5-meter roll.
Folk remedies for the treatment of osteochondrosis
For oral treatment you can use:
- Water infusion of laurel or lingonberry leaves.
- Parsley root decoction.
- Celery juice aqueous solution.
- Eating sesame seeds.
- Herbal teas - own fees or purchased (chamomile, nettle, oregano, hops).
- Alcoholic infusion of chopped pine nuts.
For treatment with compresses and rubbing, it is useful to use burdock, horseradish, red pepper (infusions, decoctions) and tar or clay, which are sold in pharmacies.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is quite effective in most cases. If degenerative-dystrophic changes have already progressed strongly, it is recommended to combine home therapy with other methods of treatment. For example, use the services of a physiotherapist, massage therapist, chiropractor.
And if the disease has just begun to develop, then medicines, home procedures and folk methods make it possible to get a quick result. That is, to cure the spine without resorting to the services of specialists.