Almost everyone over the age of 45 is familiar with joint pain, which is accompanied by a feeling of discomfort, a violation of the normal functioning of the limb. The main reasons for the development of such a disease are excessive physical exertion, injuries, unbalanced diet, etc. A common disease that people often encounter is arthrosis of the shoulder joint (coxarthrosis is less common). Treatment of the disease in the early stages can be carried out at home, read about it below.
Causes of osteoarthritis
Degenerative changes in the cartilage and surrounding tissues that cause discomfort during movement, pain is osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint. The disease can develop as a result of various factors, which can be subjective or objective. The main reasons for the development of the disease include:
- Joint injuries that have caused inflammatory processes that negatively affect the condition of cartilage and bones. Often there is a development of the disease after a dislocation (especially if the joint was not set in time and an incorrect tissue fusion began), a fracture of the arm, a severe bruise.
- Hypothermia of the joint, which negatively affects the condition of the cartilage and the work of the joint.
- Excessive stress on the shoulder joint. Athletes, people engaged in physical labor are at risk of contracting the disease.
- The presence of diseases that provoke the development of arthrosis, for example, polyarthritis, obesity.
- Congenital pathologies can become a prerequisite for the development of the disease.
- Unbalanced diet, the use of harmful foods (salinity, fat, fast food), which negatively affects the state of the cartilage and provokes the disease.
Degrees and symptoms
Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is considered a chronic disease, but it can progress very quickly. It is worth starting treatment at the initial stages, when it is possible to carry out home therapy yourself, there is a high probability of getting rid of the negative consequences and effects of the disease. To determine the presence of the disease, to confirm the diagnosis, a visit to the doctor will help, which you should go to if you have such symptoms:
- Weakness of the upper limbs, which is observed not only after intense exercise or exertion, but also in the morning, after rest.
- Shoulder pain that increases after physical exertion and subsides with rest.
- Painful sensations reduce the motor activity of the joint, which leads to stiffness, the inability to lift the limb high or turn it.
- Sometimes there is swelling in the joint area.
- Pain can be transmitted to the neck or upper limb, which reduces vital activity, causes general malaise.
In medicine, there are three degrees of development of arthrosis of the shoulder joint, each of which has certain symptoms and characteristic features:
- 1 degree. At this stage, there is a slight pain, which increases when raising the arm or increasing the load on it. Treatment at the first stage is the simplest and can be done at home by patients alone.
- 2 degree. Joint mobility is impaired, any manipulation causes sharp pain that does not subside even at rest. Often there are cases when it is impossible to independently raise a hand with a joint affected by arthrosis.
- 3 degrees. The stage is called deforming osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint. This is a difficult stage, during which deformation of the cartilage is observed, inert growths appear, frequent exacerbations occur. Changes in the joint interfere with the normal functioning of the hand and surgery is used as treatment in 98% of cases.
Recommendations for home treatment
This disease brings a lot of inconvenience, interferes with normal life, disrupts the usual rhythm. It negatively affects the general well-being, the emotional state of the patient, therefore it is necessary to undergo treatment. At the first and second stages of the disease, it is possible to carry out therapy at home, observing all the recommendations and prescriptions of the doctor.
For healing, a complex of methods is used, which allows to achieve the most effective result. Many can be used at home. Complex therapy includes:
- Medications.
- Compliance with a diet, the transition to a correct and balanced diet.
- Perform simple physical exercises.
- Surgical intervention.
- Use folk methods.
- Physiotherapy procedures.
- Other methods: treatment with leeches, acupuncture.
Diet control and compliance
In the treatment of arthrosis of the shoulder joint, diet and proper nutrition play an important role. First of all, foods that negatively affect the condition of the cartilage, the elasticity of the joints should be removed from the diet. Diet Basics:
- Harmful foods that negatively affect joint health include: dairy products, pork or veal, potatoes, corn, some vegetables - peppers, eggplants, tomatoes. It is worth reducing the amount of these ingredients consumed or completely eliminating them from the diet.
- To improve the state of the joint, their elasticity will promote the consumption of flax seeds and olive oil.
- It is recommended to take foods rich in antioxidants, for example fruits and vegetables (cabbages, cucumbers, bananas, olives).
- Alcohol consumption is contraindicated.
- Cooking food involves baking, baking, stewing. It is recommended to exclude fried and pickled dishes.
- Nutrition should be as balanced as possible so that the body receives the maximum amount of useful vitamins and minerals.
- Experts recommend the use of sweets, sparkling water.
Physical activity and massage
The treatment of the disease is favorably affected by the performance of certain physical exercises that can be done on your own at home. Gymnastics improves blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the joint, which contributes to additional cell nutrition. helps strengthen muscles, develop joint connection. A series of exercises:
1 exercise:
- Starting position: the patient becomes even and behind the back the hands are joined in the lock.
- Raise your arms, trying to keep them straight, without bending your elbows.
- Repeat the manipulations up to ten times.
2 exercise:
- Starting position: standing, arms freely lowered.
- Perform alternating circular movements with your shoulders, first forward, then back.
- Repeat 14 to 20 times.
3 exercise:
- Get straight, lower your hands.
- In the left hand you need to take a load of no more than half a kilogram (a weight, a bottle of sand or water).
- Make circular movements with your hand back and forth, repeating 15 times.
- Perform similar manipulations with the other hand.
In addition to doing exercises, massaging the affected shoulder will help. The procedure has its own nuances that must be followed to achieve the maximum result:
- The procedure should be entrusted to a professional who can do everything at the highest level.
- It is worth starting the massage with rubbing and stroking, which will help relieve pain and prepare the body for the procedure.
- Movements should be as precise as possible so that they do not cause pain, but relieve pain.
Medications
At the early stages of the development of the disease, drug therapy is used, which, depending on the group of drugs, has a different effect on the disease. It is important to remember that taking medication does not solve all problems, this technique should be used in combination with other methods of struggle, for example, physical activity. When taking medication, injecting or using ointments, you should follow the recommendations of the doctor and observe the dosage. The following groups of drugs are used:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Medicines help relieve swelling, eliminate tissue inflammation in diseased joints, reduce pain.
- Chondroprotectors - drugs that improve blood circulation, help restore cartilage.
- Analgesics, anesthetics can be taken in pill form or topical ointments can be used for pain relief
- Muscle relaxants are medications that help relieve muscle spasms and relieve pain.
- Vitamins, food supplements that enrich the body with useful substances to improve health.
Folk remedies
Often folk methods are used for treatment, which help to eliminate symptoms, manifestations of the disease, alleviate the disease and eliminate pain. Medical workers recommend using traditional and traditional medicine in combination, but it is important to coordinate everything with the attending physician. Ointments, homemade compresses, baths, compresses and rubs are especially popular.
Ointments
In folk medicine, ointments are often used, which contain natural ingredients that help to overcome the disease. To prepare a popular and effective drug, you need:
- Take 10 grams of hops, sweet clover, St. John's wort. Finely chop the herbs and rub them together.
- For a better connection of all the ingredients, add petroleum jelly and mix everything well.
- Rub the ointment on the shoulder, it will help reduce pain and eliminate inflammation.
Decoctions and tinctures
Broth: in an enamelled container, mix half a celeriac, parsley (3 roots), three glasses of water, a pinch of black pepper. Boil all the chopped ingredients under the lid for 10 minutes. Drink the resulting decoction throughout the day for 14 days before meals. A decoction of corn stigmas is also useful, for the preparation of which boil 2 tablespoons of the ingredient for 10 minutes and drink a tablespoon five times a day.
Effective infusion: boil buckthorn bark (3 tablespoons), dandelion root (2 teaspoons), parsley seeds (2 teaspoons) and mint (3 teaspoons) boil in 0, 5 liters of water. Leave in a dark place overnight. Drink 2 tablespoons of tincture on an empty stomach before breakfast. Another simple but effective tincture recipe: squeeze radish juice (about 30 ml), honey (20 grams) and a small pinch of salt. Take at bedtime, preferably after water procedures.
Compresses and rubs
A popular recipe of traditional medicine is an oatmeal compress. For the procedure, you need to prepare 30 grams of oatmeal in two glasses of water. Apply the prepared mass on the shoulder for 30 minutes. For rubbing, angelica is used (pour 15 grams of grass with boiling water, insist). Rub the resulting tincture on the sore shoulder. The second recipe for effective rubbing: brew rosemary flowers and hellebore root 10 grams each, mix with fat and rub three times a day.
thermal baths
Baths are actively used to improve blood circulation in damaged tissues and provide them with additional nutrients. To achieve optimal results, medicinal herbs and fees are added to the water. Such plants that have a beneficial effect on the patient are popular: chamomile (relieves inflammation), mint (has a calming effect), juniper, burdock (relieves pain, relieves the condition).
Rules for preparing baths for the procedure:
- Brew the grass, make a concentrate, which is poured into the bathroom.
- Lie down in the bathroom so that the sore spot is submerged in water.
- Rub the sore shoulder with a towel, then lubricate with cream or ointment.
Other folk methods
For the treatment of arthrosis of the shoulder joint, other methods of traditional medicine are also used, which also have a tangible effect:
- To relieve and relieve pain, you need to mix a few grams of propolis with 50 gr. fat. After physical exertion, rub into the shoulder.
- Wrapping the shoulder with a cloth soaked in hay dust solution will help relieve puffiness.
- Traditional medicine experts recommend drinking the juice of half a lemon before dinner to improve metabolic processes in tissues.
- It is useful to roll out a hard-boiled egg, which needs to be rolled over a sore shoulder.
Prevention
The main methods of preventing the disease include:
- Balanced diet, with a complex of essential minerals, vitamins.
- Regularly a series of physical exercises.
- Do not overload the shoulders, arms, so as not to negatively affect the joints.
- Elimination of the causes that provoke the development of the disease.