Self-medication is a safe way to harm your own body. But that doesn’t mean treating osteochondrosis at home is impossible. Treatment of the disease should begin after consulting a doctor.
If all the doctor's recommendations are followed, patients can restore the cartilage tissue and the natural anatomical structure of the spine and prevent the development of complications.
Principles of home treatment
It should be understood that eliminating the symptoms of pathology does not mean eliminating osteochondrosis. The disappearance of the signs gives only a brief respite before the start of the next attack. Painkillers do not cure osteochondrosis. They only remove discomfort, cramps and pain.
Dystrophic changes in the spine occur due to:
- impaired blood flow;
- lack of nutrients in cartilage;
- stagnation in tissue structures;
- starvation of cartilage tissue by oxygen.
To understand how to treat osteochondrosis at home, you need to know the mechanism of pathology development. After 25 years, cartilage loses its ability to feed from the bloodstream.
Blood vessels passing through cartilaginous structures are closed. Cartilage nutrients are extracted from the surrounding tissues by reverse osmosis. With reduced motor activity, cartilage tissues do not receive enough substances necessary for normal functioning.
There are degenerative processes in them. Cartilage loses elasticity, microcracks appear in them. This leads to the destruction of the integrity of tissue structures, inflammation, edema and pain.
Here's how to cure osteochondrosis at home, doctors advise:
- stick to the diet;
- engage in medical gymnastics;
- take medicine;
- adjust the way you work, rest and sleep;
- create the right place to sleep with a hard surface (orthopedic mattress and pillow are ideal).
Defeating osteochondrosis helps the patient persevere, a systematic approach to treatment. Success is guaranteed by full compliance with all medical recommendations, proper application of medical methods.
Drug therapy
Medications help to suppress the symptoms of osteochondrosis. Home treatment of the disease without medication is impossible. Until the pain disappears, it is forbidden to engage in physiotherapy exercises, physiotherapy procedures and massage. This is the basic rule for treating osteochondrosis in the acute phase.
To alleviate the deterioration, the prescribing physician prescribes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs relieve pain and inflammation. The tablets have serious side effects. Their use is possible only after a meal with a lot of water. For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, drugs are given parenterally (injections are given).
- Muscle relaxants alleviate the syndrome of swelling and pain, reduce the hypertonicity of the back muscles. They are taken at the same time as diuretics.
- Sedative drugs. Decoctions, herbal teas and pharmaceutical preparations based on soothing herbs (chamomile, motherwort, mint) are drunk. They remove the neuroticism caused by unbearable pain. If osteochondrosis of the spine is severe, treatment is carried out with the use of sedatives, antidepressants. They normalize a person's psychological state.
- Complex preparations with B vitamins. The use of multivitamins accelerates the regeneration of nerve fibers. The course of vitamin treatment is 21 days.
- Topical preparations with anti-inflammatory action. Ointments and gels are rubbed into the affected areas. They fight pain and inflammation. They are used until the pain syndrome completely disappears.
- Heating of rubber and ointments based on bioactive substances that have a moderate irritant effect. The healing effects are given by the venoms of bees and snakes, menthol, which are part of the drugs. Remedies eliminate swelling and pain, improve blood flow, restore tissue nutrition.
- Applications with medicinal solution. The drugs, penetrating deep into the tissues, suppress inflammation.
Traditional methods of treatment
It is impossible to get rid of osteochondrosis with medication alone. Treatment must be supplemented with folk remedies that the doctor will recommend.
Common methods of treatment at home with folk remedies:
- Applications with potatoes and honey. Potatoes are turned into porridge, combined with honey in equal amounts. The agent is spread on a napkin and fixed on the lesion. The application is placed for 1 hour. The procedure is suitable for short-term pain relief.
- Horseradish leaf appliances are a good way to show you how to get rid of soreness. The sheet is steamed in boiling water. Apply the inside to the sore spot, wrap it in a warm cloth, go to sleep. By morning the pain syndrome recedes.
- Treatment of osteochondrosis at home is carried out by taking the drug from pine buds. I harvest the raw materials in the spring, tearing off those buds less than 2 centimeters long (only they are enriched with the necessary bioactive substances). The kidneys are washed, dried and turned into porridge. Mixed with sugar. For 2 parts porridge from the kidneys take 1 part sugar. The mixture is stored in the refrigerator for 14 days. The criterion for product readiness is brown. They are treated for 21 days, taking 1 teaspoon of the drug.
- Bathroom. The steam room helps to get rid of osteochondrosis. Warm up in the steam room with breaks. They enter it 3 times for 5 minutes. The procedure is done every other day. The course of treatment is 10 sessions. Bath relieves pain.
- Nettle seed oil helps treat osteochondrosis at home. Mix 100 ml of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of vegetable seeds. The mixture may be infused for 14 days. The oil is filtered, poured into a dark glass bottle. Rubbing is done with oil. The procedure relieves pain.
- Tincture of vodka, honey and aloe is another popular way to relieve pain in osteochondrosis. For cooking, take vodka, honey and aloe in a ratio of 3: 2: 1. With the combination of components, let it cook for a few hours. This tool is used to make compresses at night.
- Medicinal baths suppress pain, remove toxins, increase blood flow and alleviate inflammation. Salt, turpentine and mustard baths are used to treat osteochondrosis. Baths with pine needles, oak bark, sage, spruce help fight disease.
Hardware methods for treating osteochondrosis at home
Despite such a variety of home methods for treating osteochondrosis, consult a doctor before fighting the disease on your own!
The pharmaceutical industry produces devices for the treatment of osteochondrosis at home. The devices act on the diseased areas by pulse or vibration generated by electric currents or a magnetic field. The devices allow you to perform medical procedures at home.
In addition to drug therapy, folk methods and hardware techniques, osteochondrosis is also treated at home, by performing therapeutic exercises, massage (classical, cupping, acupressure). Symptoms will pass quickly, and treatment will be effective if therapeutic and traditional methods are combined with diet.
The diet must be enriched with healthy foods: fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fish, dairy products. In addition to osteochondrosis, spicy and fatty foods, meat soups, alcoholic beverages, coffee, pork are seasoned.
Complex treatment helps to get rid of osteochondrosis, forget about pain. Use your doctor's advice to restore spine function and health.