With the modern development of medicine, joint diseases cannot be completely cured.Science does not stand still, but a drug has not yet been found to restore tissue damaged by pathology.Patients seeking treatment should try all kinds of drugs and methods.Often traditional medicine cannot offer an effective method.And then the patient begins to wonder how to treat arthrosis of the knee joint with folk remedies.
Pros and cons of traditional medicine
Traditional medicine for arthrosis of the knee joint is used quite often.The disease is difficult to treat, and the mobility of the limb is gradually limited.Even traditional therapeutic methods are only aimed at relieving pain and preventing complications.Patients and doctors have an ambivalent attitude towards traditional medicine, but nevertheless resort to it when traditional medicine does not bring the desired result.
Treatment of knee arthrosis with folk remedies has both disadvantages and advantages.Benefits include:
- availability and low cost of most materials;
- many medicinal plants help strengthen the immune system;
- few side effects;
- ease of use.
The raw materials that are used to treat the knee with folk remedies are often included in the preparations of pharmaceutical companies.Therefore, in most cases, alternative medicine is safe if you follow the dosage and rules of use.It is also worth noting that the recipes that people use to treat knee arthrosis are passed down by word of mouth and have stood the test of time.However, care must be taken.Before using any medicine, inform your doctor and listen to his recommendations.
Like all other methods, folk also have their drawbacks:
- risk of allergic reactions;
- many methods are denied by traditional medicine, their effectiveness has not been confirmed by research;
- Some recipes available on the Internet or published in newspapers and magazines are incorrect.For example, they may contain incompatible components;
- the same plant material produces different effects, for example herbs or fruits with different degrees of ripeness, etc.
Doctors, for the most part, are sympathetic to the use of recipes from traditional medicine for this disease.In addition, they themselves sometimes advise the patient about certain methods.But for the treatment to be effective, it must be comprehensive.Therefore, when using folk remedies, you should not reject traditional medicine.
Effective methods of treatment
In general, popular folk recipes for arthrosis of the knee joint show how to prepare drugs that have an anti-inflammatory effect.The effect is achieved by accelerating local metabolic processes.This allows you to relieve pain, thereby improving knee mobility and stopping pathological processes.
Traditional medicine in this case is not limited to potions and ointments.It, like the traditional one, includes many techniques and methods of influence.Most often, all kinds of ointments, rubs, compresses and applications are used, i.e.local funds.It is their effect that is more noticeable.Infusions and decoctions for oral administration are less often used.
It is important to remember that alternative medicine is most effective in the initial stages of the pathology.Thus, the treatment of knee arthrosis of the 2nd degree with folk remedies will no longer show as good a result as at the very beginning of the disease.
Local compresses
It is difficult to imagine the treatment of knee pain with folk remedies without compresses.Patients often prefer this form of treatment.The compress improves blood microcirculation, which reduces inflammation and swelling.This makes the joint looser and facilitates movement of the limb.The great advantage of compresses is that they can usually be made from products that you always have on hand.
Consider popular recipes:
- Oatmeal compress.Pour boiling water over 5 tablespoons of Hercules.There should not be a lot of water.Cook the cereal on low heat for 8-10 minutes.The mash should be viscous, not thick or runny.Cool the mass and wrap it in gauze or natural fabric.Apply to the sore knee for a few hours.You can fix it on your leg with plastic wrap and leave it overnight.
- Horseradish compress.Grate the root, add water and put on low heat.Don't let it boil, just let it steam while the water heats up.Then shake off the water, but do not wring it out.The horseradish is wrapped in a cotton cloth and applied to the knee for 2 hours.This recipe helps relieve pain.
- Cabbage compress.You need vegetable juice.Soak a woolen scarf in the liquid.Apply to the joint before going to bed.You can use cabbage leaves smeared with honey.Then secure it with film.It is convenient to leave such a compress overnight.
As you can see, all components are completely safe.They can only harm allergy sufferers.Compresses should be used until the main symptom - pain - is alleviated.You can carry out the procedure daily, but it is recommended to take breaks after the course of 21-30 days.It is most convenient to make compresses before going to bed and leave them overnight.
Tinctures and decoctions
The tincture is made with alcohol or water.Raw materials are plants or their components.Some infusions and decoctions can be taken internally, and others are used to make compresses or ointments.Infusions and decoctions are usually prepared from herbs that have an anti-inflammatory effect.You can use products from one component or from several.But do not forget to study their interaction with each other.
The following raw materials are widely used for tinctures and decoctions for arthritis:
- blueberry leaves;
- flowers of grass and chamomile;
- chestnut fruits;
- gentian;
- birch buds;
- marigold flowers;
- hop cones;
- wormwood grass.
Topical application of tinctures and decoctions usually has no side effects.You should be careful when taking them internally.In addition to allergic reactions, they can also cause disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract.
It is worth remembering that it is better to use only a freshly prepared product.
Therapeutic herbal baths
Many patients who are constantly looking for an answer to the question of how to relieve the pain of arthrosis of the knee joint discover healing baths.The localization of the pathology makes the procedure a little more complicated.It will be more convenient to take full-fledged herbal baths.With their help, the patient not only acts on the knee, but also relaxes, which is also important for treatment.
Baths with pine needles are useful (can be used together with branches).The raw materials are immersed in hot water, allowed to boil until the water cools to an acceptable temperature and removed.You can take this bath in 20 minutes.Jerusalem artichoke is also used to prepare baths.A few tubers are washed and cut, then dipped in hot water.Add a tablespoon of turpentine and take a bath when the water cools down a little.
For the effect to be noticeable, the procedure should be performed 10-12 days in a row.
Mud treatment
Peloid therapy is often prescribed by doctors to patients with arthrosis.The patient is sent to a sanatorium, where mud with suitable properties is used.Saki and Essentuki are popular in our country.This therapy promotes faster recovery, normalizes blood circulation and local metabolism.
In addition to the effect on the joint, healing mud removes toxins and waste from the body, which also has a positive effect on healing.Usually, after rehabilitation in a sanatorium or resort, the patient notices an improvement and is in a good mood, which facilitates further treatment.
Medicinal plant applications
Applications with various supplements are performed on patients during physiotherapy in hospital settings.But you can do such procedures at home using herbs and paraffin.Applications are also made of healing mud or clay, which are enriched with herbal decoctions.
The difference between this method and conventional compresses is that the lotion must have a chemical, temperature and mechanical effect on the affected area.This is achieved by smearing the knee with a paste of a plant that has an irritating effect.You can preheat it to add thermal impact.The mechanical impact can be obtained by placing a plaster on the knee with watermelon, sunflower, melon or buckwheat seeds stuck to it.
Rubbing with camphor and fat
In folk medicine, camphor oil is often used to treat joints.The substance is used both in pure form and in a mixture with other components.It is believed that this helps to partially restore the lubrication of the joints, but this is a very controversial statement that has not yet been confirmed by official medicine.One thing is certain - folk remedies with camphor effectively relieve pain.10% oil is needed to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, but alcohol will also work.
Patients note a positive effect after rubbing with fat.Most often, badger is used, less often pork or beef.The latter usually serve as the basis of herbal ointments.Badger fat is also used in its pure form.
Fats and camphor in the form of friction dilate blood vessels, which provides a rush of blood to the knee and improves trophism.
Effective wrapping with mummy and honey
There is another effective recipe that contains the answer to the question of how to heal the knee joint.Folk remedies often involve the use of mumio, a resin-like substance of natural origin.When mixed with bee products, it gives a strong pain-relieving effect.To prepare the medicine, you need to combine 100 g of liquid honey and 0.5 g of mumio.
Wraps are made in the evening and left overnight, and in the morning the residue is washed off.The procedure is repeated for 10 days, after which a break of 2-3 days is made and the course is continued if desired.
Hirudotherapy
This method does not quite meet the definition of "folk remedies", since it is possible only in clinical conditions, but it is still considered unconventional.As the observations of specialists show, hirudotherapy is effective for the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint.The use of medical leeches is possible only as part of complex therapy.
The effect is due to enzymes that are injected into the patient's blood during the bite.Thanks to these substances, blood circulation improves and pain is relieved.
When should you refuse traditional treatment?
Treatment of the knee with folk remedies is not always possible or useful.It should be understood that with 2 and 3 degrees of joint damage, you should first of all listen to the recommendations of doctors.In this situation, traditional medicine will not help, but rather worsen the problem.Alternative treatment should be stopped immediately if new symptoms appear, pain increases or an allergic reaction occurs.It is also necessary to visit a doctor, where you can consult about the appropriateness of using folk remedies.
Today, doctors are looking for a drug to help treat joint diseases without denying natural remedies.As with any other medicine, care should be taken and the methods of official medicine should not be neglected.