Due to the low mechanical strength of the seven miniature vertebrae and the weakness of the muscular corset of the neck, the lack of treatment for osteochondrosis of this department leads to serious consequences.Nerve roots, compressed by the resulting protrusion or hernia, become inflamed and swollen, filling the spinal canal.Pain appears in the neck;temples or back of the head, crown;arm and shoulder.
The body undertakes a kind of provocation - it triggers the formation of rigid “bridges” of bone tissue that support the vertebrae.
Their sharp edges irritate thin nerve fibers - pain occurs again, the neck “crunches” when you move your head.It is also possible to compress the vertebral artery passing through the openings of the cervical vertebrae, which complicates the blood supply to the brain.Hospitalization is inevitable.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis, the first symptoms of which appear at the age of 20, and is it possible to carry out the treatment itself at home?
How to treat cervical chondrosis at home and at work?
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is possible only when the exacerbation subsides.
When using folk methods and “home” procedures - massage, gymnastics, blood flow in the diseased segment accelerates, and by resorting to them in the acute phase, you can aggravate the course of the disease, increasing swelling and inflammation.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine portends fatigue and slight tension in the neck, so they begin to treat it at home with correction of the “life schedule”:
- Take a 5-minute break from work every hour.After working on papers or at the computer for more than 3 hours in a row, rest for an hour - do the neck exercises below, “stretch” your spine by stretching and “bowing” in different directions, walk around the office;
- The distance from the floor to the desktop cover is at least 70 cm, the chair is lift-and-swivel, with a back and armrests;
- If, while sitting in a chair, your feet cannot reach the floor, use a stand for them.
And one more thing: many have noticed that the next “domestic” scandal ends in a headache.
Nervous overstrain “pinches” the muscles, and the disc is left to be content with the small crumbs of nutrients supplied by the spasmodic muscles.
How to cure cervical osteochondrosis at home?
The diagnosis of “cervical osteochondrosis” is known;What are the features of further treatment at home?
Further efforts to prevent intervertebral disc degeneration are aimed at increasing physical activity and improving blood supply to the spine and cervical region.For this purpose, massage and gymnastics are used.
Massage
Massage for cervical osteochondrosis, carried out at home, stimulates the alternate inflow and outflow of blood to the cervical vertebrae, helps strengthen muscles, eliminates excess lactic acid in them and relieves muscle spasticity.The duration of the massage is from 15 minutes in the first sessions and about half an hour in subsequent sessions.
The massage session begins by moving from the shoulder blades to the back of the head and stroking the back of the neck.Working with one or both palms, the massage therapist gradually increases pressure on the skin.Next, along similar lines, he “squeezes” the muscles with the edge of his palm, and then, with his fingertips, vigorously rubs the cervical vertebrae, kneads the neck muscles, moving them with the pads of his thumbs to the rest of his fingers.At the end of the session, the neck is stroked with palms.
The duration of each type of movement is 2-5 minutes.
It is important to master the techniques of self-massage; its sequence for cervical osteochondrosis is as follows:
- Pressing your palms on the sides of your neck, alternately perform circular and longitudinal strokes, moving down from the back of the head to the place of the shoulder-scapula joint;
- Moving similarly to the previous one, rub the skin of your neck;
- After rubbing the skin well, proceed to kneading the muscles.Moving up and down, bending four fingers, use their pads to knead the neck muscles near the spine with deep, circular movements.To avoid squeezing the arteries, do not apply much force to the anterior and lateral muscles of the neck;
- After stretching the muscles, continue self-massage with clapping movements;
- Complete it with light stroking movements.
Often, cervical osteochondrosis occurs due to insufficiency of peripheral circulation and lymph stagnation, so it is advisable to perform self-massage using vacuum cups.
Vacuum therapy stimulates blood flow and lymphatic drainage by expanding local blood “networks”, increases muscle contractile function and normalizes blood pressure, and therefore will quickly alleviate cervical osteochondrosis, increasing the effectiveness of treatment at home.
Gymnastics
Special gymnastics for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home is prescribed after the pain subsides.Exercises for cervical osteochondrosis are selected individually;By performing them at home, if the pain returns, you should contact a doctor or exercise therapy instructor.
The exercises below are safe for treating cervical osteochondrosis at home:
- Sitting on a chair, back and neck are straight:
- reaching the extreme position, smoothly rotate your head left and right;
- gently lower your head, trying to touch your chin to your chest;
- Without straightening your neck and tucking your chin, move your head back;
- Take a closer look at the funny movements of the little puppy’s head: holding it on a straight neck, he “writes” small circles with his nose.Practice with him.
These exercises, intended for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home, “mobilize” the cervical vertebrae, stretching the muscles of the posterior cervical group and returning flexibility to the neck.
Each exercise is performed up to 12 times.
- Sitting at the table, back straight:
- Place your left elbow on the table and your palm on your temple.Tilt your head to the left and resist with your hand.Relax.Perform 8-10 times.Perform similar movements to the right side;
- Place your palm on your forehead and press your head against it for about 10 seconds;the hand “resists” the pressure.Perform up to 10 times.Do the same exercise with the other palm;
- With your arms down along your body, pull your shoulders up and hold the position for 10-12 seconds.Relax and take 10-12 breaths.
Such gymnastics is necessary for cervical osteochondrosis to strengthen the lateral and anterior neck muscles at home and relax them.
- For headaches while sitting or lying on the floor:
- Intensively, with your fingertips, knead the neck muscles in the back of the head, 3-4 minutes;
- Rub the area of the shoulder blades and the area between them with the palms of your hands – 5-6 minutes;
- Massage the temple area with light circular movements.
Exercise for cervical osteochondrosis tones the paravertebral muscles, increases their plasticity, and at home maintains the health of the entire “column of life.”
Folk remedies for cervical osteochondrosis
Grandma's secret
Do you remember how your grandmother treats cervical osteochondrosis with folk remedies?Using a rolling pin!Don’t be alarmed, the method is not traumatic at all: just place “sports equipment” under your back and roll on it from top to bottom (in the absence of hernias and protrusions!), and then lightly beat your shoulders, shoulder blades and the area along the spine with a rolling pin.
Cervical osteochondrosis quickly receded, because such treatment at home, and in fact - a kind of gymnastics - instantly relaxes tense muscles, promoting intensive blood supply to the cervical and other parts of the spine.
Herbal medicine
Affecting the cervical spine, the disease “fetters” its mobility.Treatment with the following folk remedies will help relieve aggravated osteochondrosis:
- Cervical osteochondrosis responds well to treatment with celery.According to reviews, folk treatment of cervical osteochondrosis is effective due to the analgesic and anti-edematous effect of its root.Pour 3 grams of crushed root into a liter of boiled water and leave for 8 hours.Before each of the 3 meals, take a dessert spoon of the prepared, filtered product;
- Cut the stems and flowers of the coltsfoot and leave it in ammonia for 30 days in a dark room.Apply the strained product to the painful area of the neck.
Home physiotherapy
It is difficult to imagine traditional treatment for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine without all sorts of heating of the diseased segment.How to cure cervical osteochondrosis at home?
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine with such commonly available folk remedies as mud and paraffin is very effective.
Mud applications “saturate” the cervical vertebrae with all the necessary minerals, and paraffin applications help prolong the warming effect:
- If cervical osteochondrosis manifests itself as minor neuralgia, treatment at home can be carried out using mud applications.The most accessible peat mud for home procedures.Its applications are applied to the back of the neck and hands.
When applying applications to the neck and collar area, the mud is heated to 27-28 degrees, on the hands - to 48-50 degrees.
This temperature regime provides the greatest analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect.Sessions with mud are performed every other day, 10 procedures in total, each lasting no more than a quarter of an hour;
- Paraffin applications are made by covering the cervical vertebrae and shoulder area from the back.The treatment course is similar to the previous one - 10 sessions every other day, each lasting 15 minutes.
Home physiotherapy is completed with massage and therapeutic exercises for the neck.Don’t ignore painful sensations and take care of your health!