A person’s ability to walk straight has not only a clear advantage but also disadvantages. Increased stress on the spine leads to the development of various diseases. Osteochondrosis is considered a common disease, which affects more than 60% of the population. This diagnosis is seen in people over 35, but there are frequent cases of adolescent symptoms. One of the methods is surgery, but in the early stages, treatment with alternative methods is possible.
Causes of the disease
The defeat of the discs between the vertebrae, the tissues of the spine in medicine is called osteochondrosis. Doctors can not name the only exact cause of the appearance of the disease, and sometimes this is impossible, as the disease develops under the influence of a combination of factors. This includes:
- Hereditary predisposition to the disease.
- Presence of diseases of the endocrine system - metabolic disorders.
- Development of orthopedic diseases, for example, flat feet, curvature of the posture, diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
- Various injuries, bruising of the spine.
- Lifestyle: lack of activity, unhealthy diet with a predominance of fast food and unhealthy foods.
- Being overweight.
- Bad habits - smoking, alcoholism.
- Stress, overwork.
- Pregnancy.
Methods for treating osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is a disease associated with pain, discomfort, and with prolonged negligence can lead to complications. The disease undergoes treatment and for this a variety of methods can be used, the choice of which depends on the localization of the disease, the degree of negligence and the general state of health. There are several treatment options:
- Surgery.
- Physiotherapy.
- Rehabilitation methods.
- Welfare at home.
Before choosing a treatment method, you need to determine the type of disease, its location and the presence of complications. There are such types, with their characteristic symptoms:
- Osteochondrosis of the cervix. Symptoms of the disease: pain in the shoulders, arms, neck; dizziness: tinnitus, colored spots before the eyes; headache, numbness of the upper limbs.
- Thoracic spine cartilage disease. The symptom is dull or shooting pain in the chest area.
- A disease that develops in the lumbosacral region. Signs include: pain in the hip joints, lower back, sacral region; dysfunction of the lower extremities.
- Common - osteochondrosis develops simultaneously in several parts of the spine, accompanied by severe pain.
Rehabilitation treatment
It is also possible to restore health after osteochondrosis, the main thing is to follow all the recommendations of the doctor and undergo rehabilitative treatment. This option is used only in remission of the disease, when there is no severe back pain. Not recommended for deterioration. Osteochondrosis is treated with several methods:
- Physiotherapy.
- Sauna, underwater hydromassage, pool class.
- Working with a psychologist.
- Diet compliance, nutrition correction.
- Laser treatment.
- Manual therapy.
- Use of healing mud.
- Magnetotherapy, electrophoresis.
- Massage.
Surgical intervention
Sometimes patients delay treatment and solving the problem of osteochondrosis without surgery is not possible. This is an emergency method and is used when other treatment options fail or when exacerbations are noticed, such as a vertebral hernia or sciatica. The main purpose of treatment is to stabilize the structure of the spine, reduce the pressure on the spinal cord. This method of treatment is used in emergencies, as there is a significant risk of spinal nerve damage, which is fraught with irreversible consequences.
How and how to treat osteochondrosis at home
Treatment of osteochondrosis is possible not only in the hospital but also at home, but with clear and unquestionable observance of all recommendations and recommendations of the doctor. And if there is a desire to try other methods, this should be done only after consulting a specialist. At home, it is possible to use the following methods of treating osteochondrosis: exercise, yoga; homeopathy, medicine; adherence to a diet; traditional medicine.
Drug treatment
Comprehensive treatment of osteochondrosis includes rehabilitation procedures, diet and medication. The dose, the choice of a particular medicine, should be prescribed and changed exclusively by the attending physician, focusing on the test results and the general condition. All medicines used are divided into two types: to eliminate pain of varying degrees, to prevent disease.
The first type includes:
- For mild pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used.
- If the pain bothers the patient for two or more weeks, the above medications should be added to the analgesics.
- If the pain persists for more than three months, antidepressants should be added to analgesics and NSAIDs, which will help regulate the patient's psychological state.
Drugs aimed at preventing osteochondrosis disease by regenerating cartilage and restoring metabolic processes in the human body.
Importers It is important to know how to treat osteochondrosis of the cervix with medication, as this is the most common type of disease. As medicines it is worth using:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Heating ointment.
- Preparations for the restoration of cartilage tissue.
Therapeutic diet
Proper nutrition and adherence to a diet for osteochondrosis is the key to a quick and accurate eradication of the disease or prevention. Basic nutritional principles:
- The diet should be as varied as possible.
- The menu of a patient with osteochondrosis should be low in calories.
- Dishes containing mucopolysaccharides (for example, jelly fish, jelly, jelly meat) will be helpful.
- Compliance with the drinking regime - the body must receive the required amount of fluid.
- The menu of a person suffering from back pain should include foods: eggs, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish.
- Limit the use of smoked meat, pickled, sour, spicy foods.
- The rice diet is useful: put 30 grams of rice in 6 half-liter jars and pour water over it. In the morning, rinse the contents of the first dish, boil and eat it as breakfast (salt or show nothing). Pour the rice into the empty jar and add water, placing it at the end of the row and changing the water into other containers. It costs about a month and a half to eat like that. This method of treating osteochondrosis will help remove toxins and salts.
Physiotherapy exercises
Many are looking for options on how to get rid of osteochondrosis with minimal use of medication and without surgery. A simple but effective method of treatment are physiotherapy exercises in simulators or at home. Performing simple exercises, which are subject to regular exercise, works excellently for the prevention of disease and for the elimination of symptoms (pain, inflammation, concomitant diseases that have developed against the background of osteochondrosis).
Exercise therapy for cervical osteochondrosis:
- Lying on the abdomen, legs and back straight. Lift your chest and head, leaning on your abdomen, repeat the exercise for 3 minutes, 5-6 approaches.
- Lying on your back, legs bent at the knee joints. Turn right, then left. We do 8 approaches a day, devoting 5 minutes to the lesson.
Exercise therapy for lumbar osteochondrosis:
- Standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Within a few minutes, circular movements are made with the pelvis. For complication, it is possible to make a "figure eight". The lesson lasts 3-5 minutes, but it is worth repeating it several times a day.
- Standing on all fours, bend your lower back as much as possible. Repeat at least 5 times a day for 2 minutes.
Exercise for chest osteochondrosis:
- Lying on the floor, raise your upper body, leaning on your hands, arching your back, hold the position for 10 seconds.
Folk remedies
For the treatment of osteochondrosis, traditional medicine is used, which includes: compresses, tinctures, rubs, special exercises to get rid of pain. Alternative medicine can be used only in combination with classical medical methods of treatment, otherwise it will not bring the desired results, and in the worst case, will cause complications. Consider how to treat osteochondrosis with folk remedies:
- In a one-to-one ratio, combine the peeled, grated potatoes and honey. In the form of a compress, put in place, the focus of pain and around it, hold until a burning sensation.
- Apply the heated wax to the place where osteochondrosis develops, the pain is disturbed, cover with a warm scarf.
- Mix vodka, aloe and honey in a ratio of 3: 1: 2, leave for a few hours. From the resulting mixture, make medical compresses, preferably overnight, they well eliminate the pain.
- Nettle oil helps treat osteochondrosis, relieves pain. To prepare it, 2 tablespoons of nettle seeds are poured with vegetable oil (0. 5 cups) and infused for 2 weeks, filtered and poured into a dark glass container. When pain is felt, the oil rubs against the skin.
It is always easier to prevent the development of a disease than to cure it. Preventive measures include: proper, balanced nutrition; active lifestyle; regular exercises for osteochondrosis. The latter method does not require much time, but is as effective as drug treatment, procedures, and it is possible to conduct classes at home. The main thing is to choose the right complex, calculated for a specific type of disease.
Which doctor should you contact to diagnose the disease
When you identify the main symptoms of the disease, you should not postpone a visit to a medical institution and start treatment. It is worth finding out which doctor treats osteochondrosis, how to go to it and if additional tests and examinations are needed before the visit. You will need to visit the local therapist's office, who will write a recommendation for the necessary tests and send it to a neurologist for consultation. You can turn to a specialist - a vertebrologist who specializes in osteochondrosis.
Osteochondrosis, a disease that affects every second person due to inappropriate lifestyle, low activity and other diseases. It is necessary to monitor your health and engage in disease prevention. By eating properly, even doing primitive physical exercises every day, you will never feel the symptoms of osteochondrosis on yourself.