With today's medical development, joint diseases cannot be completely cured.Science does not stand still, but a drug that can restore tissues damaged by pathology has not yet been found.Patients seeking treatment must try all kinds of drugs and methods.Often traditional medicine cannot provide an effective method.And then the patient begins to wonder how to treat arthrosis of the knee joint with folk remedies.
The 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 limbs is gradually limited.Even traditional therapeutic methods aim only to relieve pain and prevent complications.Patients and doctors have ambivalent attitudes towards traditional medicine, but still turn to it when traditional medicine does not bring the desired result.
Treatment of knee arthrosis with folk remedies has both disadvantages and advantages.Advantages 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 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 osteoarthritis of the knee are passed down orally and have stood the test of time.However, caution should be exercised.Before using any medicine, tell your doctor and listen to his recommendations.
Like any other method, popular ones also have their disadvantages:
- 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, for the most part, are sympathetic to the use of traditional medicine recipes for this disease.Moreover, they themselves sometimes advise the patient on 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 treatment methods
Basically, popular folk recipes for arthrosis of the knee joint suggest how to prepare remedies that have an anti-inflammatory effect.The effect is achieved by accelerating local metabolic processes.This allows you to relieve pain, thereby improving the mobility of the knee and stopping pathological processes.
Traditional medicine in this case is not limited to decoctions 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 agents.It is their effect that is most visible.Less commonly used are infusions and decoctions for oral administration.
It is important to remember that alternative medicine is most effective in the initial stages of the pathology.Thus, the treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint of the 2nd degree with folk remedies will no longer show such a good result as at the beginning of the disease.
Local compress
It is difficult to imagine the treatment of knee pain with folk remedies without bandages.Patients often prefer this form of treatment.The compress improves blood microcirculation, which reduces inflammation and swelling.This makes the joint freer 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 tablespoons of Hercules.There should not be too much water.Cook the cereal on low heat for 8-10 minutes.Porridge should be viscous, not thick or runny.Cool the mixture and wrap it in gauze or natural fabric.Apply it to the injured knee for several hours.You can fix it on the leg with plastic wrap and leave it overnight.
- Horseradish compress.Grind the root, add water and put on low heat.Don't let it boil, just let it steam as the water heats up.Then shake off the water, but don't squeeze it.Wrap the horseradish in a cotton cloth and apply it on the knee for 2 hours.This recipe helps relieve pain.
- Cabbage compress.You need vegetable juice.Soak a wool scarf in the liquid.Apply it on the wrist before going to bed.You can use cabbage leaves coated 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 cause harm only to those who suffer from allergies.Compresses should be used until the main symptom - pain - is relieved.You can perform the procedure every day, but it is recommended to take a break after a course of 21-30 days.It is more convenient to apply compresses before going to bed and leave them overnight.
Tincture and decoction
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 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 don't forget to study their interaction with each other.
The following raw materials are widely used for tinctures and decoctions for arthritis:
- lingonberry leaves;
- grass flower and chamomile;
- chestnut fruit;
- black sheet;
- birch buds;
- calendula flowers;
- hop cones;
- Wormwood grass.
Local use of tinctures and decoctions usually has no side effects.You have to be careful when taking them inside.In addition to allergic reactions, they can also cause disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.
It is worth remembering that it is better to use only freshly prepared product.
Therapeutic herbal baths
Many patients, constantly looking for an answer to the question of how to relieve pain from 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 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 to an acceptable temperature and removed.You can do this bath in 20 minutes.Jerusalem artichoke is also used to prepare baths.Some tubers are washed and chopped, and then soaked in hot water.Add a spoonful of turpentine and take a bath when the water has cooled a little.
For the effect to be visible, the procedure should be carried out for 10-12 days in a row.
Mud therapy
Peloid therapy is often prescribed by doctors for 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, the therapeutic mud removes toxins and waste from the body, which has a positive effect on the treatment as well.Usually, after rehabilitation in a sanatorium or resort, the patient notices an improvement and is in a high mood, which makes further therapy easier.
Applications with medicinal plants
Applications with various additives are performed on patients during physiotherapy in a hospital setting.But you can do such procedures at home using herbs and paraffin.Applications are also made from medical mud or mud, 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 applying a paste from a plant that has an irritating effect on the knee.You can preheat it to increase the thermal impact.Mechanical impact can be achieved by applying adhesive tape to the knee with watermelon, sunflower, melon or buckwheat seeds attached to it.
Rubbing with camphor and fats
In folk medicine, camphor oil is often used to treat joints.The substance is used both in pure form and in mixture with other ingredients.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.To treat osteoarthritis of the knee, 10% oil is needed, but alcohol will also work.
Patients notice a positive effect after rubbing with fats.Badger is used more often, less often pork or beef.The latter usually serve as a base for herbal ointments.Badger fat is also used in its pure form.
Fats and camphor in the form of friction dilate blood vessels, which ensures a blood flow to the knee and improves trophism.
Effective wrap with mumiyo and honey
There is another effective recipe that contains the answer to the question of how to cure the knee joint.Folk remedies often involve the use of mumiyo, a resin-like substance of natural origin.When mixed with bee products, it gives a strong analgesic effect.To prepare the medicine, you need to combine 100 g of liquid honey and 0.5 g of mumiyo.
Wraps are made in the evening and left overnight, while the remains are washed off in the morning.Repeat the procedure for 10 days, after which they take a break for 2-3 days and continue the course if desired.
Hirudotherapy
This method does not quite fit the definition of "folk medicine" because it is only possible in a clinical setting, but it is still considered unconventional.As the observations of specialists have shown, hirudotherapy is effective for 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 the 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?
Treating the knee with folk remedies is not always possible or useful.It should be understood that with the 2nd and 3rd degree of joint damage, you should first of all listen to the recommendations of doctors.In this situation, traditional medicine will not help, but on the contrary, it 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 for advice on the use of folk remedies.
Today, doctors are looking for a drug that would help cure joint diseases, without denying natural remedies.As with any other medicine, caution should be exercised and the methods of official medicine should not be ignored.