With today's medical development, joint diseases cannot be completely cured.Science does not stand still, but no drug has yet been found that could restore tissue damaged by pathology.Patients in search of treatment must try all kinds of drugs and methods.Traditional medicine often cannot offer an effective method.And then the patient begins to wonder how to treat arthrosis of the knee joint with folk remedies.
Advantages and disadvantages 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 extremities is gradually limited.Even traditional therapeutic methods aim only to relieve pain and prevent complications.Patients and doctors have an ambivalent attitude towards traditional medicine, but still resort to it when traditional medicine does not bring the desired result.
Treatment of knee arthrosis with folk remedies has both advantages and disadvantages.Benefits include:
- availability and low price of most materials;
- many medicinal plants help to strengthen the immune system;
- few side effects;
- ease of use.
The raw materials used for the treatment of knees 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 osteoarthritis of the knee are passed down by word of mouth and have stood the test of time.However, it is necessary to be careful.Before using any medicine, tell your doctor and follow his recommendations.
Like all other methods, folk methods 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 online 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 of different degrees of ripeness, etc.
Doctors are generally sympathetic to the use of traditional medicine recipes for this disease.Moreover, 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
Basically, popular folk recipes for arthrosis of the knee joint suggest 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 decoctions and ointments.It, just like the traditional one, includes many techniques and methods of influence.Most often, all types of ointments, rubs, poultices and applications, i.e. local agents, are used.Their effect is more noticeable.Infusions and decoctions for oral administration are used less.
It is important to remember that alternative medicine is most effective in the initial stages of pathology.Therefore, the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint of the 2nd degree with folk remedies will no longer show as good a result as at the very beginning of the disease.
Topical dressings
It is difficult to imagine the treatment of knee pain with folk remedies without compresses.Patients often prefer this form of treatment.Compression improves blood microcirculation, which reduces inflammation and swelling.This makes the joint more free and facilitates the movement of the limbs.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 spoons of Hercules.There should not be too much water.Cook the cereal on low heat for 8-10 minutes.The porridge should be viscous, not thick or runny.Cool the mass and wrap it in cheesecloth or natural fabric.Apply to the painful knee for several hours.You can attach it to the leg with plastic wrap and leave it overnight.
- Horseradish compress.Grate the root, add water and put on a low heat.Do not boil, but simply let it steam while the water heats up.After that, shake off the water, but do not wring it out.Wrap horseradish in a cotton cloth and apply 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 wrist before going to bed.You can use cabbage leaves coated with honey.Then secure it with foil.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 perform the procedure daily, but it is recommended to take breaks after 21-30 days.It is most convenient to apply the compresses before going to bed and leave them on overnight.
Tinctures and decoctions
Tinctures are made with alcohol or water.Raw materials are plants or their components.Some infusions and decoctions can be consumed internally, while others are used to prepare poultices or ointments.Infusions and decoctions are usually prepared from plants that have an anti-inflammatory effect.You can use products from one component or from several.But don't forget to study their interaction with each other.
The following raw materials are widely used for tinctures and decoctions for arthritis:
- cranberry leaves;
- grass and chamomile flowers;
- chestnut fruit;
- cinquefoil;
- birch buds;
- marigold flowers;
- hop cones;
- wormwood herb.
Local use of tinctures and decoctions usually has no side effects.Care should be taken when taking them internally.In addition to allergic reactions, they can also cause disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.
It is worth remembering that it is better to use only freshly prepared product.
Therapeutic herbal baths
Many patients, who are constantly looking for an answer to the question of how to alleviate the pain of arthrosis of the knee joint, discover medicinal baths.The localization of the pathology makes the procedure a little more complicated.It will be more appropriate 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 (can be used together with branches) are useful.The raw materials are immersed in hot water, left to cook until the water cools down to an acceptable temperature and removed.You can take this bath for 20 minutes.Jerusalem artichoke is also used to prepare baths.A few tubers are washed and chopped, then soaked in hot water.Add a spoonful of turpentine and take a bath when the water cools down a bit.
In order for the effect to be noticeable, the procedure should be performed 10-12 days in a row.
Mud therapy
Doctors often prescribe peloid therapy to patients with arthrosis.The patient is sent to a sanatorium where mud with appropriate properties is used.Saki and Essentuki are popular in our country.This therapy helps speed up recovery, normalizes blood circulation and local metabolism.
In addition to the effect on the joint, therapeutic mud removes toxins and waste materials from the body, which also has a positive effect on treatment.Usually, after rehabilitation in a sanatorium or resort, the patient notices improvement and mood, which facilitates further therapy.
Application with medicinal herbs
Applications with various additives are administered to patients during physiotherapy in a hospital environment.But you can do such procedures at home using herbs and paraffin.Applications are also made from healing mud or clay, which are enriched with herbal decoctions.
The difference between this method and conventional dressings is that the lotion must have a chemical, temperature and mechanical effect on the affected area.This is achieved by applying a paste made from a plant that has an irritating effect on the knee.You can preheat it to add a heat effect.Mechanical impact can be achieved by applying adhesive tape to the knee with watermelon, sunflower, melon or buckwheat seeds stuck to it.
Rubbing with camphor and fats
In folk medicine, camphor oil is often used to treat joints.The substance is used in its pure form and in a mixture with other components.It is believed that it helps to partially restore the lubrication of the joints, but this is a very controversial statement that official medicine has not yet confirmed.One thing is certain - folk remedies with camphor effectively relieve pain.10% oil is needed to treat knee arthrosis, but alcohol will also work.
Patients notice a positive effect after rubbing with fats.Badger is most often used, pork or beef less often.The latter usually serve as a base for vegetable fats.Badger fat is also used in its pure form.
Fats and camphor in the form of rubbing expand blood vessels, which ensures 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 mummy, a resin-like substance of natural origin.When mixed with bee products, it gives a strong analgesic effect.To prepare the medicine, it is necessary to mix 100 g of liquid honey and 0.5 g of mummy.
Wraps are made in the evening and left overnight, and the remains are washed off in the morning.Repeat the procedure for 10 days, after which a break of 2-3 days is made and the course is continued as desired.
Hirudotherapy
This method does not quite fit the definition of "folk remedies" because it is only possible in a clinical setting, but it is still considered unconventional.As experts' observations have shown, hirudotherapy is effective in the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint.The use of medicinal leeches is possible only as part of complex therapy.
The effect is due to enzymes injected into the patient's blood during the bite.Thanks to these substances, blood circulation improves and relieves pain.
When should traditional treatment be refused?
Treating 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 doctor's recommendations.In this situation, traditional medicine will not help, but will 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 on the advisability of using folk remedies.
Today, doctors are looking for a drug that would help treat joint diseases, not denying natural remedies.As with any other medicine, one should be careful and not neglect the methods of official medicine.