Often, doctors allow patients to treat cervical osteochondrosis at home. Agreeing to such conditions, the patient must strictly follow all the instructions of the specialist. To achieve remission, he is forced to take medication in a timely manner, do physiotherapy procedures and stick to a diet. Only in this case, you can count on a favorable prognosis of treatment.
How to treat cervical osteochondrosis at home?
Cervical osteochondrosis, which is accompanied by symptoms characteristic of the disease, causes a lot of inconvenience to a person. Most patients prefer to carry out its treatment at home for personal reasons.
To achieve recovery, it is not enough just to take a number of medications that have been prescribed by a doctor. Drug treatment of cervical osteochondrosis must necessarily be supplemented with physiotherapy, diet and exercise.
Gymnastics and physical activity
There are a lot of training complexes that are designed for patients with neck osteochondrosis. A huge number of positive reviews received the technique of the famous doctor. He assures that the selected exercises can completely cure the disease of the affected spine, if performed regularly and correctly.
Author's gymnastics for intervertebral elements, the entire spine and each cervical vertebra is based on several important principles:
- It is possible to improve the joints only with regular gymnastics.
- Such exercises should be done not only for sick people, but also for healthy people in order to prevent diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
- Exercises must be performed correctly, while avoiding haste and sudden movements.
- You should not quit training if you experience minor muscle pain in the area of \u200b\u200bthe problem area.
- It is advisable to do gymnastics under the supervision of a specialist.
Treatment of a patient for cervical osteochondrosis at home has its own indications and contraindications. They are required to be familiarized with before the start of training.
The patient must be sure that gymnastics will bring him only benefit, and not aggravate the painful condition. Therefore, first of all, you need to make sure that the patient has no contraindications to home training.
The main indications and contraindications for the use of gymnastics for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis are given in the table:
| Indications | Contraindications |
|---|---|
|
|
You can start gymnastics and other types of physical activity only after consulting with your doctor. It is strictly forbidden to engage in them without the permission of a specialist.
Massage
With cervical osteochondrosis, massages are useful. Thanks to such procedures, the symptoms of the pathological process are suppressed, as a result of which the signs of the disease become less pronounced or completely disappear.
There are several types of massage that are recommended for this disease:
- Classical. During the procedure, the specialist performs pinching and planar movements like stroking. All basic manipulations are done from top to bottom. Next comes the full kneading of the cervical region and longitudinal rolling. At the very end, the masseur creates vibration with his hands and rubs in a circle. The whole procedure takes an average of half an hour.
- Spot. At the time of the massage, pressure is applied to certain points. At the very beginning, it is required to influence only 3-4 places. Gradually, their number increases to 10. Pressure on the points of the cervical region can only be carried out with the fingertips.
- Segmental. This type of massage involves the impact on the reflex arc, which belongs to the nervous system. Such manipulations improve the process of blood circulation in a vulnerable place and normalize brain function.
- Canned. With the help of medical cans, a vacuum is created in the problem area. It solves the problems of stagnant processes and poor circulation, which aggravate the course of the disease.
These types of massage effectively stimulate blood circulation and improve the nutrition of cartilage and other structures affected by osteochondrosis.
Therapeutic massages of the cervical region are recommended for patients who have complaints of headaches, muscle spasms and general malaise caused by disruption of the central nervous system.
Treatment with this method is contraindicated in the following conditions:
- Acute illnesses caused by infections.
- Exacerbation of osteochondrosis.
- Oncological diseases.
- Severe pain syndrome.
- Arterial hypertension.
- Dermatological pathologies accompanied by inflammation.
The treatment procedure should be performed by a competent specialist who is able to gently act on individual points of the cervical region, without causing any harm to a person.
Cushion and desk chair selection
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis at home will quickly begin to bring results if a person can ensure a healthy sleep. To do this, you need to equip the bed with a good pillow. The product must meet the following requirements:
- Rectangular pillows should be preferred.
- The height of the product should be within 5-10 cm.
- The width of the pillow should be slightly larger than the width of the person's shoulders.
- It is advisable to choose a bedding of medium hardness.
A properly selected pillow will support the head and body of a person in the position in which he will be able to fully relax.
Since most people who have been given a treatment plan to combat osteochondrosis from a doctor lead a sedentary lifestyle, they should take care of buying a suitable chair in advance. When choosing it, it is very important to pay attention to the possibility of adjusting the height of the seat and armrests. Also important is the height of the back of the product. It should not be located below the back of the head.
Orthopedic collars
Treatment of osteochondrosis may include the use of orthopedic collars for patients. These are special devices that help reduce the load on the neck and spine. They are made of durable material that securely fixes the problem area.
Experts recommend using an orthopedic collar for such indications:
- Rehabilitation after surgery.
- Muscle spasms.
- Osteochondrosis in different periods of development.
- Posture disorder.
- Spinal cord compression.
- Syndrome of the vertebral artery.
Whether the patient needs an orthopedic collar or not, his attending physician should decide.
The collar does not help all patients get rid of osteochondrosis, since this method of therapy is contraindicated for a separate group of people. It will be necessary to refuse to wear it in the presence of dermatological pathologies and instability of the cervical region.
Patients who are interested in how to treat cervical osteochondrosis at home prefer wearing a collar. But you need to understand that it is not intended for long-term use. It can be worn no more than 2 hours a day.
Diet
When looking for answers to the question of how to cure cervical osteochondrosis, patients learn about the need to follow a diet. A person needs to learn how to eat fractionally - about 5-6 times a day. Portions must be small. Compliance with these recommendations helps to avoid overeating and gaining excess weight.
When following a diet, you must limit yourself to the use of carbohydrates and salt.
Dietary nutrition for osteochondrosis of the cervical region requires the exclusion of fried, spicy, smoked and pickled foods from the daily diet. Meat and fish dishes are best served boiled or steamed. In the same way, it is allowed to cook vegetables.
It is extremely important to adhere to the drinking regimen. The patient is required to consume such an amount of fluid that corresponds to his age category and general state of health. On average, the norm of water is 2 liters per day.
The diet of a patient with osteochondrosis of the cervical region may consist of various first courses, which are cooked on the second broth. Bread is best to choose grain or rye.
As for meat and fish products, they must contain a minimum percentage of fat.
The diet must include cereals, pasta made from durum flour, seafood, eggs and dairy products.
Do not forget to include vegetables in your menu daily, raw or cooked. They can be combined with other products that are characterized by a low calorie content. Fruits and berries are also useful for the human body.
For problems with the musculoskeletal system, it is recommended to eat fruit jelly, jelly, jellied fish and other products that use gelatin in the preparation.
Preparations
Deterioration of the patient's well-being is observed in the case of the acute phase of the disease. Exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis is usually eliminated with medication. Drug treatment (tablets and local preparations) can relieve inflammation and pain.
Drug therapy can only be prescribed by a specialist. Self-selection of drugs will lead to undesirable consequences.
With osteochondrosis, the following drugs are prescribed:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They help to cope with pain and relieve the severity of the inflammatory process.
- Vitamins of group B. Thanks to them, metabolic processes in nervous tissues are normalized.
- Chondroprotectors. They are required to restore the affected cartilage tissue.
- Muscle relaxants. Drugs help fight muscle spasms.
If a person has acute symptoms and other manifestations of osteochondrosis, he will definitely need medical treatment. It will not be possible to cope with the exacerbation in other ways.
When choosing drugs for the treatment of osteochondrosis, it is required to pay attention to the patient's contraindications to taking certain types of medications.
Recommendations and prognosis for recovery
To prevent the development of osteochondrosis and avoid its exacerbation, it is necessary to regularly carry out the prevention of the disease. To do this, it is enough to lead an active lifestyle, devote time to walking in the fresh air, and choose the right work chair and bed. You should also follow a sparing diet and give up bad habits.
In order to prevent, it is recommended to visit a therapist regularly. Planned diagnostics allows you to identify the disease at an early stage of development. In this case, the prognosis for the treatment of osteochondrosis is favorable. The neglected forms of the disease will periodically worsen. The patient will have to go through long therapy again and again to alleviate his condition.