How to cure osteoarthritis of the knee joints with folk remedies

Thousands of people, especially after fifty, suffer from various forms of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. This has a significant impact on quality of life, imposing many restrictions and causing considerable pain.

Knee osteoarthritis, aka gonarthrosis, is rightly considered one of the leaders in the list of the most common causes of disability in the adult population of Russia. However, you should not think that at a young age you are not threatened with this disease: you can leave the doctor's office by entering "knee joint gonarthrosis" on the card long before retirement.

Concept and causes of knee osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is nothing more than destructive changes in cartilage tissue, i. e. its destruction, depletion, accompanied by a decrease in the volume of synovial fluid.

This can be due to many reasons:

1. Delayed injuries and constant stress in the joints, exhausting physical work;
2. Hereditary factors;
3. Metabolic disorders;
4. Mbipesha;
5. Poor diet, lack of essential vitamins and minerals.

Stages of Knee Osteoarthritis

Doctors distinguish three stages of knee joint osteoarthritis:

• The first stage signs are short-term pain that occurs after exertion, and during rest they pass quite quickly. The pain is dull, it hurts. Externally, the joint looks healthy, the only thing that can be noticed at this stage is a slight swelling;
• In the second stage, pain syndrome is characterized by greater strength and duration. Patients notice a stiffness in the joint in the morning, a crisis when moving the knee. Somewhat possible any restriction of movement, the node increases in volume;
• In the third stage, there is a significant restriction of mobility, persistent severe pain, severe deformity of the wrist.

Unfortunately, at the first signs of illness, almost no one gives the alarm. As a result, people come to specialists with osteoarthritis already advanced, when much more complex treatment is required.

Osteoarthritis of the knee with late diagnosis and lack of proper therapy can have very serious consequences, up to complete immobility of the affected leg, when movement in space without a crutch becomes completely impossible.

In more advanced cases, the only way out is surgery, during which an artificial joint is placed.

These operations are complex, expensive and can be complicated.

Therefore, it is so important not to ignore knee pain and not to delay seeing a doctor.

Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee with alternative methods

To defeat gonarthrosis, complex therapy is important: a combination of remedies prescribed by a specialist with folk remedies for osteoarthritis of the knee joints.

Traditional methods of treating osteoarthritis of the knee joints give a very good effect, especially in the initial stages of disease development. Using them at least relieves the pain, and maximally allows you not to take the issue to expensive surgeries.

Also, one should not forget the fact that this disease is chronic and therefore requires constant attention. Modern experts attribute osteoarthritis of the knee to progressive incurable diseases.

Therefore, most treatment consists of taking several medications continuously in order to relieve pain and reduce the inflammatory process. However, taking medication for a long time without interruption is harmful. This is why for people suffering from gonarthrosis, it is so important to be able to deal with folk methods, at least during periods of remission.

So let's find out what is the alternative treatment for knee osteoarthritis. The experience in fighting this disease goes back hundreds of years, so the list of remedies that can be used at home is very extensive. For convenience, all folk remedies for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joints can be divided into four groups.

Medicinal plants

The first group includes medicinal plants: burdock, onion, celandine, cabbage leaves, etc. Herbal treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee joints involves the use of self-prepared medicines both internally and externally.

• Compresses made from fresh horseradish root, cabbage or burdock leaves, which should be applied to a sore knee, insulated with cotton wool or several layers of bandage and left overnight, bring reliefvulnerable. Previously, cabbage leaves were crushed or beaten for greater effect in order to release juice, you can smear the leaves a little with honey. The burdock leaves are immersed in boiling water for 30 seconds, then cooled. The horseradish root is chopped and slightly warmed;
• You can also use celandine: a few tablespoons of dried herbs should be boiled in boiling water and then cooled to 40-50 ° C. The resulting infusion is drunk before meals, and the remaining boiled celandine is applied ascompress;
• If the disease is in the early stages, ice curing can be used. The ice pack is firmly glued to the sore spot with a woolen cloth and remains there until the ice has melted. This compress is used when you need to quickly get rid of edema and stop the inflammatory process;
• Compresses take a lot of time, so for many people different rubbing will be more convenient. Rubbing is a liquid mixture of healing agents that should be rubbed vigorously on the skin of the affected area. For the treatment of osteoarthritis, rubbing from elecampane root, aged with vodka, chamomile tincture, tincture of yellow dandelion heads and sunflower oil are especially suitable. It is better to apply them on clean, steamy skin ideally. It is necessary to rub the injured knee every day for 5-10 minutes, then wrap it with a towel or some warm cloth for a while;
• Another proven recipe is saber tincture, for the preparation of which 1-1, 5 tablespoons of herbs are poured into 100 ml of vodka and left. The knee is treated with the resulting tincture twice a day for a month;
• There is a recipe based on potato cabbage. They are washed, placed in a glass container, poured with vodka and left out of the light for three weeks. After this period, the infusion is filtered, the used cabbages are discarded;
• You can also peel and chop the head of garlic, pour 200 ml of vegetable oil and leave it in a dark place for a week. The tincture has a strong odor, this should be taken into account if soon after applying the friction you need to go somewhere. In this case, you should thoroughly wash the places where the tincture was introduced;
• Many people notice the benefits of herbal baths: malt, sene herb and others. A pine bath gives a good effect. You can either buy a ready-made coniferous collection at a pharmacy, or prepare a decoction yourself. To do this, you need to take fresh coniferous branches with a total volume of approximately one liter, pour two or three liters of water and cook for about 10 minutes. The broth is then filtered, the branches discarded and the liquid poured into a water bath. You need to take baths with medicinal herbs for 15 minutes.

The simplest is the salt bath. Three tablespoons of ordinary salt or sea salt and the same amount of baking soda are poured into a tub of hot water, after which the injured knee is immersed in the tub for 15 minutes.

After washing, feet should be dried quickly and wiped under a warm cloth.

Self-prepared infusions are taken orally. They do not require boiling, dried herbs are simply poured boiling water and kept cool. Infusions are taken 2-3 times a day, half a glass at a time. For the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, infusions are prepared from horsetail, juniper, young nettles and birch leaves.

For pain, a healing infusion of onions is very effective: two medium-sized onions are poured with a liter of boiling water and insist, the resulting juice is consumed in three doses.

Another simple but effective recipe is cranberry tea. Pour a tablespoon of fresh or dried cranberry leaves with a glass of boiling water.

Like most infusions, this tea should be drunk half a cup twice a day for a month, preferably in the afternoon.

The use of these decoctions helps to restore metabolic processes in the affected cartilage tissues, reduce pain and promote the removal of harmful compounds from the joint fluid.

Self-massage

The second most popular remedy for knee osteoarthritis are self-massage techniques. Self-massage is very effective, while not requiring any costs other than temporary ones. Please note that the knee must be prepared before the session! It is best to warm it under a warm bath or gentle circular rubbing.

Then you can go straight to the massage.

His main techniques are as follows:

1. Circular stroke with your palm. We alternate the lungs, without pressing, caressing clockwise and counterclockwise, while touching not only the knee itself but also the neighboring areas. This technique reduces muscle tone and improves blood and lymphatic flow from the area affected by osteoarthritis;
2. Friction. We rub the knee in a circle while providing tactile pressure. Can be rubbed with the palm or with a folded fist. This relaxes the muscles and improves joint movement. Circular movements are most effective in a Turkish pose if the knee position allows for this position;
3. Knee tip with moderate pressure. This technique allows you to have a beneficial effect on deeper structures.

Self-massage can be performed by taking a bath at a comfortable temperature. Some sources mention honey massage at night, but usually a special cream or oil is used. You can make such an oil yourself.

This requires adding a small amount of an essential oil to the Vaseline container. Rosemary oil has a positive effect on blood circulation, peppermint oil has a cooling and analgesic effect, and lavender oil helps stop inflammation.

The duration of the self-massage procedure is about 15 minutes, it can be performed from 2 to 4 times a day. Only self-massage performed regularly will be effective. In addition, massage is useful as a preventive measure, in which case it will be enough to perform it at least once a week.

When you do self-massage, you should not experience any pain or discomfort, otherwise you can only make the situation worse.

Healing gymnastics

The third remedy is healing gymnastics. It also requires advance preparation, heating, which can be used as a self-massage. Such a complex use of these two tools has a positive effect on their effectiveness.

Here are three simple exercises:

• Sit at a high table or chair with your feet off the floor. Then simply shake the legs from side to side, the swings should not be sharp, and the range of motion is too large. The duration of the exercise is approximately seven minutes;
• Sit in a comfortable chair with your knees bent at right angles and your feet straight on the floor. The exercise can only be performed with one foot affected, but it is beneficial to use both feet not only when both knees are affected, but also for preventive purposes. Place your foot on your toes, lift your heel off the floor as high as you can, then sit on the floor, then continue this movement at a leisurely pace for five minutes. Can be performed with two legs alternately or simultaneously;
• Take the same stance as in the previous position, only now stand on your heels only. Use your toes to tap lightly on the floor. The duration of the exercise is five minutes.

Some exercises can be done early in the morning while you are still in bed. They are a kind of exercise for the joints. One such exercise is cycling.

Another exercise is performed as follows: one foot should be bent, and the other should be left extended, the toes of the outstretched foot should be pulled towards you as much as possible, then the feet should bechanged. Repeat several times. You can also pull the legs to the chest and straighten.

Power adjustment

The fourth way to treat osteoarthritis of the knee at home is considered to be food regulation. It is not enough to affect the body from the outside, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of substances that are needed to restore the structure of cartilage cells.

Therefore, you will need to make changes to the usual menu: add some products and exclude some or reduce their use to a minimum.

The issue of nutrition is especially important for overweight people, as with gonarthrosis, the extra pounds further aggravate the already poor condition of the articular structures.

Let's start with a list of recommended products:

• Dairy products: cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir with a fat content not higher than 3. 2%. They contain many proteins that are beneficial for the restoration of cartilage tissue;
• Millet porridge, rice and buckwheat, wholemeal bread. These foods are rich in complex carbohydrates, without which the synthesis of synovial fluid is impossible. You do not need to buy porridge immediately. They will not be useful because cereals are processed for them in a completely different way than when cooking porridge at home, as a result of which most of the useful elements are destroyed;
• Dishes containing gelatin: favorite fish, favorite meat, jelly, pudding. Gelatin ensures the restoration of cartilage cells due to the high content of collagen and chondroitin;
• Any fruits and vegetables, as they contain a lot of fiber. Vegetables, carrots, beans, celery, radishes and cauliflower are especially helpful;
• Steamed or steamed meat and fish, especially when combined with vegetables;
• Sprouted wheat;
• Nuts: hazelnuts, pine nuts and almonds.

In order for healthy foods to be better absorbed, it is recommended to consume two glasses of mineral water a day.

Let's move on to the list of harmful products:

1. Salt and spices. They can not be completely eliminated from the diet, however, to fight diseases of the joints, it is worth limiting their use. This rule does not apply to turmeric: its use, on the contrary, is considered beneficial. Beenshte proved that turmeric has a positive effect on cartilage tissue, which contributes to its growth and regeneration;
2. Any greasy, smoked and pickled dish;
3. Semi-finished products;
4. Fast food and carbonated drinks;
5. Alcoholic beverages: even a small amount of alcohol slows down metabolic processes, which negatively affects the regeneration process;
6. Sweets and flour products. They are loaded with simple carbohydrates that can cause weight gain. As mentioned above, excess pounds create an extra load on joints already weakened by osteoarthritis;
7. Coffee. This drink can be consumed, but only in small amounts, otherwise calcium will be washed out of the body;
8. Peppers, cabbage and tomatoes, which block collagen, preventing the regeneration and growth of cartilage tissue;
9. Citrus and Cherry. Due to the high content of acids, their use negatively affects bone structure.

To get the most out of this diet, remember to drink plenty of water: at least 1. 5 liters a day. Daily calorie intake should not exceed 3, 000, and food should be at room temperature, in no hot case.

Remember that treating knee osteoarthritis is a long process, and how successful it will be depends on your willingness to perform all the necessary procedures regularly and adhere to a diet.

Regular visits to your doctor, listening to his advice and at the same time using folk remedies for osteoarthritis of the knee joints, you can make significant progress in the fight against this disease.