The story of how the king treated osteochondrosis lives on to this day. Add 150-200 grams of mustard to a vat full of hot water, and the king, a great hunter who enjoys a pleasant and useful pastime in a hot bath, slowly pours into his neck. The whole process ended with a tea party.
The next morning, the rulers prepared for the next military operation.
What is osteochondrosis and how is it treated today?
The danger of "inflexible" disease
Osteochondrosis makes people inflexible - a subtle adage that accurately describes the consequences of degenerative changes in the disc, whose progression leads to its destruction.
The disc, which gradually loses its ability to "bounce", becomes covered with fissures due to increased pressure, and over time, its contents are "squeezed out" - a hernia.
The leaking fluid can compress the nerve endings in the spinal cord, disrupting the "connections" between all of the body's internal organs. Thus, osteochondrosis in the thoracic region takes years to treat gastritis or to find the cause of heart pain; lumbar or lumbosacral osteochondrosis can lead to partial or complete paralysis of the lower extremities, cervical spine - complicating the blood supply to the brain.
Occasionally, the disease affects several sectors of the "pillars of life" - extensive spinal osteochondrosis develops with standards of treatment similar to those described below, but the recovery process requires more effort from the patient and physician.
The cartilage tissue and bones of the leg joints also suffer from the destructive process. Shooting pain with exercise, calf muscle spasms and pain, finger numbness, and reduced skin sensitivity in the legs are associated with lumbosacral osteochondrosis.
However, these symptoms are more indicative of osteochondrosis of the legs, the treatment of which begins with a visit to a neurologist and is successfully performed with the help of classic massage, manual therapy, osteopathy, and acupuncture.
And how to treat spinal osteochondrosis? In fact, over time, the body compensates for the "missing" height of the disc through the growth of vertebral bone tissue, and as it grows together, this growth anchors parts of the "axis of life".
How to treat the deterioration of osteochondrosis?
In addition to quickly eliminating pain, the main goal of treating worsening osteochondrosis is to eliminate muscle spasms and fight swelling of inflamed tissue that presses on nerve roots.
In the acute phase, modern standards for the treatment of osteochondrosis prescribe treatments aimed at reducing the load on the spine and eliminating pain:
- In the acute phase, especially in the presence of an intervertebral hernia, the patient undergoes postural therapy - strict bed rest for a duration of at least 6 days;
- Pain relievers help relieve inflammation and pain; often associated with osteochondrosis, pain relievers, and NSAIDs;
- For stable severe pain syndromes, an anesthetic with glucocorticoids or neocaine is required. For aggravated osteochondrosis, these drugs provide prolonged analgesia;
- Hypnotics and sedatives are recommended due to the unbearable, sleep-depriving pain of osteochondrosis;
- With hypertonicity of the muscles of the back and lower extremities, centrally acting muscle relaxants are prescribed;
- Use diuretics to reduce swelling during spinal decompression;
- Ointments and gels with anti-inflammatory ingredients can be used topically to treat the pain of osteochondrosis. They are applied to the location of pain;
- To optimize blood supply to the spine, vasoprotective drugs and IVs are prescribed to remove congestion from the blood, and niacin, which is a vasodilator;
- Surgery is often the only correct solution for paralysis.
Where do we treat osteochondrosis?
Typically, patients go through a cycle of - hospital - clinic treatment - spa or nursing home - home treatment under the supervision of a doctor.
Usually, even in the acute phase, treatment is carried out at home, however, the problem of hospitalization of the patient is decisive due to the low effectiveness of the listed treatment measures.
Recovery period for osteochondrosis
After the acute phase, efforts should be made to inhibit destructive processes and optimize local blood flow and metabolism. The expected outcome of treatment is maximal recovery of cartilage tissue.
The goal of the next stage of osteochondrosis treatment is to eliminate the consequences of neurological complications and prevent future deterioration, preventing further degeneration of the soft "component" of the spine.
How do we treat convalescent osteochondrosis?
Continue to receive pharmaceutical preparations during this phase. The most important of these are most of the "representatives" of the vitamin A, E, P, C and B groups, which strengthen the walls of blood vessels and restore the normal "route" of nerve impulses, as well as chondroprotective agents. The latter is a cartilage extract - a pill for osteochondrosis that stimulates the recovery of "sagging" cartilage tissue. Anti-inflammatory ingredients are often added to their compositions, which makes it possible to reduce the dose of NSAIDs. Taking chondroprotective agents does not exacerbate pain syndrome.
To enhance the effect of oral chondroprotective agents, creams for the treatment of osteochondrosis, as well as ointments based on chondroitin and glucosamine are recommended.
A relatively new and better treatment for osteochondrosis is the patch.
Small pieces of fabric with sticky surfaces help retain heat, anesthetize and slow down destructive processes at the attachment site:
- The Chinese Osteochondrosis Patch, which contains herbal ingredients and beeswax, accelerates the eventual resolution of inflammation and relaxes the muscles. With the disappearance of pain, metabolic processes normalize, and with them - nutrition of the affected part;
- Pepper cream for osteochondrosis, due to the presence of "burning" belladonna, rosin and pepper, stimulates the blood supply to the problem area, eliminates muscle spasms and accelerates the swelling of the tissue that compresses the nerve roots;
Physiotherapy and Alternative Therapies
As inflammation subsided, further rehabilitation was performed by non-drug exposure methods in the presence of osteochondrosis complications. The focus of therapy is shifting towards physical therapy and alternative methods.
The main goal of this period was to expand the movement system.
How to get rid of osteochondrosis without medication:
- Physiotherapy procedures - infrared lasers, magnetotherapy, cartilage oxygen therapy to help relieve symptoms of excessive muscle tension and nerve "tightness", and also deliver chondroitin, which prevents cartilage tissue destruction, directly to unhealthy areas;
- Effective treatment of osteochondrosis rarely requires traction or stretching of the spine under the influence of own weight, additional load, or the strength of the chiropractor. The easiest way to perform spinal traction, especially when osteochondrosis is combined with stooping, is to hang from a horizontal bar. But even this simple exercise can have complications if the technique is not correct, so any method of traction should be discussed with a doctor;
- It is also possible to improve blood supply to the spine and normalize metabolic processes by acting point-by-point with fine needles on nerve endings, blood vessels and plexuses of connective tissue. Furthermore, acupuncture for osteochondrosis triggers the release of endogenous opioids that act as analgesics and produce "anti-inflammatory" cortisol, obviating the need for its synthetic counterparts. Gradually relaxing the paraspinal muscles can also help reduce pain;
- Often, the treatment of osteochondrosis becomes "life's work", and patients who have tried many pain relief methods have left positive feedback on the therapeutic properties of bee toxin and bee products.
Therefore, therapeutic doses of bee venom are more effective than analgesics and NSAIDs in reducing inflammation and pain, promoting vasodilation and accelerating nutrient supply.
Nothing is impossible to restore?
Maybe everyday life wasn't your top priority until the onset of the disease. During the recovery period, the "renewal" of the natural depreciation mechanism is not possible without adhering to the schedule of rest, nutrition and physical activity.
So study the hygiene of posture and movement - the ability to observe it in your daily life will allow you to "unload" your spine.
place to sleep
First arrange a night's rest. In the acute phase, place a hard shield under a normal mattress. What mattress will be used for osteochondrosis in the future?
In the absence of postural deformities - orthopedics. In the presence of curvature, the bed should be more rigid.
Orthopedic pillows are recommended for the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis.
After getting out of bed, the patient is advised to use a corset - in the case of osteochondrosis, it unloads the affected part and prevents spasms that weaken the muscles. The wearing time is determined by the doctor.
Nutrition
Check your diet. Perhaps, if it wasn't ideal before, the springboard for recovery will be. . . hunger. The first fast is known to aggravate the disease, and subsequent fasts cure it. How does fasting treat osteochondrosis? In fact, the intervertebral disc is a small hydraulic shock absorber. Like a water pad, the disc cushions shocks. Alternate compression and release of pressure on the disc keeps it hydrated.
According to the authors' method, dry fasting helps eliminate "waste, " "stagnant water, " in the tissue surrounding the disc and stimulates the renewal of its own, purified intercellular fluid.
Fasting should be done under the supervision of a doctor.
physical education
The best treatment for osteochondrosis is physical education. Spinal self-stretching exercises and exercises to strengthen the body's muscles, as chosen by a kinesiology coach, should become a daily rule. Training should be performed continuously during acute episodes, several times a day.
Therefore, a modern and at the same time rational trend in osteochondrosis treatment is segmental gymnastics. Schematically, it can be divided into two phases: stretching the muscles through exercise, which slightly exceeds the existing mobility of the joint or segment, and electrical muscle stimulation, combined with local gymnastics and acupressure to replace the "hidden"disease.
As a result, the paravertebral muscles relax and subsequently stimulate the blood supply, causing the regeneration process.
Pain usually indicates severe "dysfunction" of the spine. So don't put off seeing a doctor, be healthy!