The disease that will be discussed in this article is little known, but it is necessary to talk about it, explain the mechanism, causes and symptoms of this disease, preventive measures and rules of life, if you are suddenly diagnosed with Bechterew's disease. Maybe one of you will reconsider your lifestyle and avoid this terrible disease.
The disease is chronic, characterized by an inflammatory process occurring in the ligaments, tendons and joints, most often the spine, limbs and sacroiliac joints. And if a person who is ill with Bechterew's disease does not immediately begin to be treated, his spine will eventually lose mobility completely, i.e. ossified.
Causes, symptoms
Human immunity is to blame for everything, it suddenly takes individual tissues of our body as hostile and directs all efforts to destroy them. As a result, the ligaments that allow the joints to bend freely become thinner and then disappear altogether, the vertebrae seem to grow together and the spine, having lost its flexibility, turns into a single bone. The same thing happens with other joints affected by the disease.
At the very beginning, the disease almost does not manifest itself. The only thing the patient may complain about is stiffness and pain in the back in the morning, immediately after getting up. But soon everything passes, the person, as they say, “dispersed”. Morning exercises, water procedures and you forgot about the pain. But, oddly enough, it is in a state of rest that the pain again begins to remind of itself. Sitting at the desk, the patient will again feel discomfort.
At first, you will feel pain in the sacrum, sometimes they are given to the buttocks. But the disease has a peculiarity - it begins in the sacrum, and eventually spreads up the spine. And so the pain begins to spread upward, capturing the upper sections.
The spine loses mobility, the figure acquires a stoop, while the lower back loses its physiological curve. The muscles of the back are in constant tension, which is why pain spreads to them. In the advanced stage, the stoop is so pronounced that doctors have dubbed this symptom the "beggar's posture." So similar is a person to a beggar, bending at the back and standing on legs half-bent at the knees.
Among other symptoms, one can note an increased body temperature, causeless weight loss of the patient and almost fifty percent inflammation of the eyes.
In addition to ossification of the joints, the disease is dangerous for its complications. In almost a quarter of patients, the heart muscle is affected. In about thirty percent of the total number of cases, the disease gives a complication to the functioning of the kidneys and the genitourinary system. Due to the fact that the thoracic region is deprived of its normal physiological mobility, this will inevitably lead to problems in the lungs - up to tuberculosis.
Video - therapeutic exercises
Alternative treatment
External means
- A very good therapeutic effect can be obtained from baths. It should be noted that their intake should be regular for two months with an interval of three days. Six months later, the course should be repeated. For baths, take an equal amount of herbs: goutweed, strawberry (leaf), rue, kirkazon, currant (leaf), alder, wild rosemary, sweet clover, elm and birch leaves, dandelion (flowers), cinquefoil and pine needles. All components must be dried, crushed and thoroughly mixed. For one bath, take three hundred grams of the mixture, tie it in a gauze bag and boil for twenty minutes in five liters of water. After two hours, remove the herbs from the decoction, squeeze and pour into the water prepared for taking a medicinal bath, the temperature of which should be about forty degrees. Immerse yourself in water for fifteen to twenty minutes. Treatment is troublesome, but, believe me, it's worth it.
- If you rub sore joints with freshly squeezed celandine juice every day, you will achieve a reduction in pain. Do not be lazy, and while the summer is being treated in this way.
- To combat swelling and pain, prepare a rub based on baby soap. Take a standard bar of baby soap without fragrances and additives and grind it with a fine grater. Add sixty ml of ammonia, half a liter of quality vodka and fifteen grams of camphor to the grated soap. Close the jar with a lid and shake until the solids are completely dissolved. Rub the affected joints once a day - at night.
- Also, before going to bed, rub the joints with the following remedy. Dissolve fifty grams of mustard powder and the same amount of camphor in one hundred ml of medical alcohol. The tool has a pronounced analgesic effect.
- An oil extract from the thymus root is an excellent folk remedy for Bechterew's disease. Grind two hundred grams of the root of the plant as finely as possible, rub with two tablespoons of unrefined vegetable oil. After two weeks of infusion in a dark, warm place, use the resulting product to rub problem joints.
- If you are determined to defeat the disease, then you simply must decide on the next method. Every day, after putting on rubber gloves, pick two or three nettle bushes and whip them over sore joints for as long as you feel a burning sensation. The procedure is recommended to be carried out every other day, for a month. Take a break from nettle pats for a month and repeat the course of nettle therapy.
- An ointment prepared from fresh aconite root has an excellent healing effect. It should be washed with a brush, dried from water and rubbed to a mushy state. Add two hundred ml of melted pork interior fat to the pounded root. Mix thoroughly and leave for a week in a dark place. The action of the ointment is aimed at pain relief and removal of the inflammatory process.
- Rubbing, the recipe of which we give, anesthetizes and restores tissues. Take one hundred ml of camphor, unrefined sunflower oil and wine alcohol. Mix in a glass bowl, close the lid and place in a dark cabinet for five days. Every night, before going to bed, apply the remedy to the joints and rub until completely absorbed. Put a warming bandage on top and go to bed. If you are treating the spine, put on dry, warm underwear made from natural materials.
For internal reception
- A good therapeutic effect will give the use of a decoction of the collection taken on a spoonful of dry celandine, calendula, hop cones and two spoonfuls of string, motherboard and rosehip berries. In the evening, pour two tablespoons of vegetable collection into a liter of hot water, bring to a boil, remove and leave to infuse overnight. In the morning, start treatment by taking one hundred ml of decoction three times a day shortly before meals.
- Pick five medium-sized sunflowers in the summer when they are about to bloom. Finely tear them out with your hands and pour one liter of good vodka into them. After a month and a half of insisting on the windowsill on the sunny side, strain. Drink "solar" medicine should be before each meal, one spoonful. The tool will help restore joint mobility.
- Course treatment against the disease is recommended to be carried out with a tincture of dry: lilac leaves three spoons, lingonberry leaves and birch leaves - two spoons each, two spoons of knotweed and one chopped chestnuts. Grind and pour into three hundred ml of hot water. Place in a steam bath and hold for one hour. Strain. Pre-prepare the tincture, for which take a hundred-gram glass of lilac buds and five hundred ml of medical alcohol. Insist fourteen days. Pour two tablespoons of tincture of lilac buds into the vegetable decoction and take half a glass of the remedy three times a day for two months, three times a day before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Healers recommend a treatment course with this remedy twice a year.
- A two-month treatment course with a decoction of two tablespoons of crushed elderberry and parsley roots, Linden blossom and flowers of the meadowsweet taken; three each: birch and poplar buds and birch leaf. Prepare a mixture of herbal ingredients and pour two tablespoons of raw materials into half a liter of water. Bring to a boil and boil for ten minutes. Remove, strain after an hour. In a decoction, stir one spoonful of any honey and take one hundred ml before breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
- Do you grow grapes in your garden or in your neighbour's? Do not miss the chance to be treated with an infusion of its flowers. For one day, you only need one spoonful of fresh grape flowers. Lay out in terms and pour in three hundred ml of boiled water. Leave until the morning. Strain in the morning and, dividing into three equal portions, drink in a day.
- Folk healers advise for the disease referred to in the article to be treated with a collection of five spoons of wild rosemary, three spoons each: hop cones, St. John's wort, chamomile and birch buds; two each: horse sorrel seed, sweet clover roots and elecampane, nettle leaf; one each: dill seed, mint and linden flowers. Grind and mix the herbal ingredients and bring two tablespoons of the mixture to a boil in five hundred ml of water. Then pour everything into a thermos of a suitable volume and leave until the morning. Take a third of a standard glass, strained before each meal, daily, for a whole year. Treatment is long, troublesome, but very effective.
- Return the flexibility of the spine and mobility of the joints, reduce pain treatment with infusion of calendula, celandine and hops taken on a spoon; two each: rose hips, succession and motherboard. In the evening, pour three tablespoons of the crushed and thoroughly mixed mixture into one liter of freshly boiled water, close the dishes and leave to infuse overnight. Take one hundred ml of infusion for a month and a half daily before breakfast, lunch and dinner. A month later, the healing course is recommended to be repeated.
Healthy:
- Take up swimming - in winter, buy a subscription and regularly visit the pool, in summer - swimming in natural reservoirs.
- Do daily exercises aimed at stretching the spine and joints. The movements should be gentle, smooth. The main thing is not to overdo it.
- During the period of remission, regular sessions of therapeutic massage. You can do it at home with the help of your family.
- Hardening will also have a positive effect. But without fanaticism. You should start in the summer with dousing or wiping with warm water and gradually lowering the degree.
Harmful:
- Give up running, jumping and heavy, active sports associated with weight lifting and wrestling.
- Dress for the weather, do not allow hypothermia of the body. Homes should always be warm. Beware of drafts.
- During the period of exacerbation of the disease, refuse therapeutic massage and physiotherapy. They are safe to carry out during the period of remission no more than four times a year in courses.
- Avoid stressful situations.
- Heavy physical labor is also contraindicated. If your job is related to such conditions, change it. At home and in the country, also take care of your joints from stress.
- Medicines aimed at stimulating the immune system, if taken without a doctor's prescription, can cause an exacerbation of the disease.
- Proper nutrition should also be given special attention.
- The first, and, perhaps, the main point in this section is the restriction or complete exclusion from the diet of salt.
- Spicy, fried and too fatty foods are categorically contraindicated for you. Canned food, pickles, smoked meats and other goodies are strictly prohibited!
- Protein, obtained by the body from food, should be in sufficient quantities. But to replenish it, eat mainly fish and dairy products - milk, if your body accepts it, kefir, yogurt, unsalted cheeses, etc.
- Watch your body weight, if you feel that it is in excess, we recommend that you spend fasting days once or twice a week. As an option: pour one hundred grams of ordinary rice with water and leave overnight. In the morning, bring it to a boil three times, each time draining the water and pouring fresh. Finely chop six pieces of pre-soaked dried apricots, mix with rice - your meal for the whole day. Eat small meals throughout the day. Complement your rice day with decoctions of herbs or rose hips - without the addition of honey and sugar.
Video - Bechterew's disease treatment
Herbal treatments are not very effective, but they are popular. This article lists the most famous recipes.
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Contraindications
You can use any folk remedies only after agreement with your doctor. There are also general contraindications:
- Individual intolerance to the components of the drug;
- Allergy to the components of the drug;
- Alcohol-containing oral preparations are contraindicated for people with alcohol dependence, pregnant and lactating women;
- Topical products should not be applied to damaged skin.
Especially careful need to be pregnant and lactating women, people with disruption of the endocrine system.
Is it possible to cure folk remedies?
It is impossible to completely cure Bechterew's disease. This is an incurable condition that gradually progresses and leads to disability. But while medications can slow down the progression of the pathology and give a stable positive effect, folk remedies are not capable of this. Therefore, one cannot rely on their effectiveness. They can, with the permission of the doctor, be used as an additional method to drug therapy, but not to replace it.
How to treat ankylosing spondylitis at home?
The most widespread are the following folk methods of treating Bechterew's disease:
- Baths that reduce inflammation and reduce the severity of pain. You need to take them once every three days for 20 minutes, it is very important not to miss a dose, since the treatment has a cumulative effect. To prepare such a bath, mix equal volumes of gout, rue, strawberries, kirkazon, currants, wild rosemary, alder, sweet clover, birch and elm leaves, cinquefoil and pine needles. Measure out 300 g of the mixture, put them in a cloth bag. Place the bag in the bathroom and fill it with water at a temperature of about 40 degrees;
- Celandine has a good analgesic effect. It is necessary to collect a sufficient amount of a fresh plant and squeeze the juice out of it. Apply this remedy to the affected areas daily. The juice should always be fresh, but can be stored for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. The decoction does not have such an effect;
- A camphor-based remedy will help remove swelling and pain. Apply it daily before bed to the affected area. To prepare it, you need to grate a piece of baby soap without chemical additives, pour 60 g of ammonia and half a liter of vodka into the solution. Then add 15 g of camphor. Pour everything into a jar with a tight lid and shake until the solid component is completely dissolved;
- A good pain reliever can be prepared from camphor, mustard powder and alcohol. You need to mix 50 grams of powder and camphor and pour 100 ml of medical alcohol. Mix everything until smooth and apply to the affected joints once a day, in the evening;
- If the patient was assigned a massage, then you can prepare a special composition for its implementation, which relieves inflammation well and can relieve pain. To do this, you need to finely chop or grate the fresh tamus root. Pour the root with sunflower oil, cover the mixture with a lid and let it brew for two weeks in a dark place. After that, strain and perform massages with the resulting solution daily for at least two weeks;
- Systemic herbal medicine, including the use of decoctions inside, can slow down the development of the pathological process. You can prepare a decoction that relieves inflammation and pain with regular use as follows: mix wild rosemary, string, elecampane, violet, oregano, eucalyptus, thyme and almost pine in equal proportions, measure out 2 tablespoons of the mixture and pour in two glasses of cold water. Boil the composition over low heat for 10 minutes, then leave it to brew for another 10. Strain it from foreign inclusions and take 100 ml before meals. For effectiveness, such treatment must be continued for at least 3 months;
- Therapeutic ointment from aconite can slow down the progression of the pathological process. To prepare it, you need to rinse in warm water and clean the fresh aconite roots, grate them on a fine grater, and then squeeze the juice out of them, at least about a glass. Combine a glass of juice with a glass of melted lard, mix the compositions thoroughly and cover the container with them with a lid. In this form, the mixture should be infused in a dark place at normal temperature for a week. After that, the ointment is applied to the affected areas once a day to achieve an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect;
- The following decoction effectively relieves pain, and can also restore mobility to the spine. To prepare it, mix marigolds, celandine, hops in equal proportions and add rose hips, a string and a mother board in twice the proportion. Measure 3 teaspoons of the mixture and pour a liter of boiling water over it. The mixture must be infused for at least 24 hours. You need to use it in half a glass before meals three times a day, for 35-45 days, and if necessary, the course can be repeated after a week break. In addition to its main action, the remedy also has an excellent effect on metabolism;
- To restore mobility and relieve pain, you can prepare an infusion. It is necessary to prepare two mixtures, the components in which are combined in equal proportions: from lingonberries, birches and lilacs and from knotweed and chestnut fruits. Now you need to combine these mixtures in proportions of 2 to 1, respectively. Measure 3 tablespoons of the resulting composition and pour half a liter of boiling water over them. The mixture should be boiled in a water bath for one and a half hours and filtered, poured into the tincture of lilac buds (a mixture of 1 part of the buds and 5 parts of alcohol, infused for several weeks). Take the remedy for a month 3-4 times a day before meals, 3 large sips (it is better to take two courses to prevent an exacerbation of the disease);
- Sunflower tincture has a good effect in the early stages, which can restore the flexibility and motor function of the spine. To prepare it, you need to finely chop 5-6 unopened flower baskets, grate or chop in a blender, and pour two bottles of vodka. Pour everything into a transparent container, close the lid and let it brew in a bright, warm place. Then strain the composition and take 30-40 drops daily before meals with unsweetened tea.
When using traditional methods of therapy, consistency is very important. Such funds always have a cumulative effect, that is, they show their effectiveness only after a few days, and sometimes weeks, of admission. Therefore, it is very important to carefully follow the regimen, do not skip the use of the drug and do not interrupt the course until it ends according to the scheme. Only with this approach it will be possible to achieve at least some efficiency from this approach.
Ankylosing spondylitis and treatment with folk remedies are two interrelated concepts that have attracted increasing interest in recent times. This is not surprising, since alternative medicine helps with many ailments.
Ankylosing spondylitis consists in pathological changes in the intervertebral joints of an inflammatory nature, which contributes to their fusion. In this case, the range of motion suffers, and the spine acquires immobility. Scientists are still figuring out the causes of the pathology. According to research, everything lies in the aggressive attitude of immune cells to their own tissues.
People with the HLA-B27 antigen due to heredity are more susceptible to the disease. It provokes pathological changes in the immune system.
Predisposing factors play an important role:
- acute infectious processes and chronic;
- injury to the pelvis and spine;
- frequent hypothermia;
- diseases of the genitourinary system;
- inflammatory bowel processes.
More often, the disease develops in people who have disorders in the hormonal system, allergies and chronic infections.
The disease develops gradually, the first symptoms are not recognized by patients. Sometimes people note that before the onset they experienced a feeling of irritability, muscle pain, weakness, a feeling of drowsiness. In some cases, recurrent inflammation processes in the eye area are diagnosed.
Clinical manifestations of ankylosing spondylitis can be divided into three groups.
Symptoms that characterize the defeat: | ||
spine; | joints; | other organs and systems. |
They consist in the occurrence of pain and stiffness that occurs at night in the lower back. Sometimes they show up during the day. After movements or loads of a physical nature, they disappear. Over time, spread to the entire spine. Gradually, a smoothing of physiological curves occurs, leading to stoop in the form of kyphosis (often the thoracic region). Inflammatory processes in the ligaments (intervertebral) and articular tissues provoke constant tension in the muscles. In the later stages, the vertebral joints grow together, and the discs between them ossify. |
One of the first manifestations is sacroiliitis (inflammation of the sacrum). Manifested by pain in the buttocks. It extends to the thighs (upper part) and groin. Often captures large joints (hips, knees), occurs in the morning or afternoon. | Manifested in the form of inflammation of the tissue of the heart (myocarditis, valvular defects), renal or pulmonary. Sometimes there is inflammation of the eyes, urinary tract, or aorta. |
Each case of the disease is individual, and the leading manifestations are different. But the result is always ankylosis of the affected area, which consists in the complete immobility of the constituent elements.
Treatment at home
Treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with folk remedies includes methods of rubbing, decoctions, infusions, physical exercises. They are aimed at reducing inflammation and pain.
Exercise therapy helps to strengthen the articular and bone tissue surrounding the muscular frame. Doctors recommend performing a set of exercises between 11 and 14 or 17 and 20 hours. The purpose of the training is to develop strength, flexibility and endurance.
Start with these gymnastic exercises:
- starting position - standing with arms down; it is necessary to rotate as much as possible forward and backward with the shoulders; the multiplicity of execution is at least 4 times in each direction;
- "Cat": you need to get on all fours and arch your back; you need to bring your head as close to the pelvis as possible and pull your chest up; multiplicity - 6-8 times.
To eliminate the possibility of ankylosing, you need to forget about activities that are associated with jumping, treadmill, squats and tilts with weights. Yoga, swimming, Pilates will be useful. For the lungs, breathing exercises are suitable, the technology of which consists in inhaling the upper part of the chest and pulling the diaphragm due to the abdomen.
There are two types of drugs for the treatment of the disease.
- Means for external use.
A special mixture of aconite (tincture), calamus (oil) with the addition of herbs: calendula, St. John's wort, burdock with wormwood has proven itself well. No less effective is hemlock, capsicum, fly agaric. The finished product can be rubbed on sore spots during massage. It helps relieve pain, strengthen muscles, increase blood and nutrient flow to the affected area. It should be done only outside of exacerbations, without hard movements and tapping.
- Means for internal reception.
At home, you can successfully combine folk remedies with medication. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ("Nimesulide", "Indomethacin") are commonly used as pharmaceutical preparations for oral administration in Bechterew's disease. They are used in the form of tablets that help relieve pain, stop inflammation. In modern therapy of the disease, inhibitors are used (Infliximab, Remicade). Treatment with glucocorticoids ("Methylprednisolone") is best done under the supervision of a doctor. Sulfasalazine is also effective, which helps when other drugs no longer work.
With ankylosing spondylitis, it is necessary to follow a diet with a minimum salt content, a large amount of vegetables and fruits, seeds and nuts. Whole-grain cereals, soups, low-fat dairy products, greens are useful. Include jellied meat in your diet and exclude the consumption of fatty meats. A balanced diet will help get rid of extra pounds, which are harmful due to the load on the spine.
The listed funds will give the desired result, alleviate the condition and reduce the manifestations of the disease in the initial stages and without taking medication.
Folk remedies
As alternative methods of treatment, additional means are used:
Used as rubbing on sore spots or applied during massage. An effective recipe: mix camphor (20g), crushed laundry soap (45g), ammonia (55g), vodka (half a liter). With the resulting remedy, no more than 5 times a day, it is necessary to lubricate diseased joints.
You can use the second recipe: dissolve mustard powder (50g) and camphor (50g) in alcohol (100g). Add egg white to the mixture in an amount sufficient to obtain a homogeneous gruel. Lubricate her sore spots (necessarily lumbar).
In therapy, various dietary supplements or preparations based on herbal preparations are used. Doctors recommend combining the listed funds with medical treatments.
- Collections of herbs.
With ankylosing spondylitis, phytotherapy has proven itself well. For the preparation of medicinal decoctions, you can use a herbal composition containing wild rosemary with a string, elecampane, agrimony, tricolor violet, pine buds, oregano, eucalyptus leaf, savory. It is necessary to mix 2 tbsp. l. plants and fill with clean water. Boil exactly 10 minutes and let it brew. Take 100 ml three times a day before meals. Full course - at least 3 months.
- Oils.
One of the most effective remedies for spondyloarthritis and Bechterew's disease. For cooking, you need tamus and simple sunflower oil. You need to take the root of the plant and grind it. Then mix with oil. Leave the resulting product for at least 2 weeks. Useful for massage treatments.
- Taking baths.
Healing baths for ankylosing spondylitis help reduce stress, relax muscles and joints. To do this, you can add the above collection of herbs for decoction. Or take alder with elm, pine, birch, currant, dandelion, strawberry, kirkazon, rue, goutweed in the form of an extract, mix in equal proportions. Place sweet clover, veronica and wild rosemary to them.
One bath will require 250 gr. any collection that needs to be boiled in 5 liters of water (15 minutes is enough). After that, insist a quarter of an hour and pour. Take 20 minutes twice in 7 days. Duration - 9 weeks. After a break of 4 months, you can again take such baths.
Often patients ask how to treat Bechterew's disease when irreversible processes are already underway. The question often arises of prevention. Since this pathology is genetically determined, doctors do not talk about preventive measures.
- avoid any infections: observe personal hygiene, exclude hypothermia;
- wash vegetables and fruits before eating raw;
- eat only fresh products;
- exclude casual sexual contacts;
- avoid severe physical exertion and injury;
- adhere to healthy lifestyle.
You should consult a doctor in a timely manner in case of any unpleasant symptoms. Before using home remedies, you need to listen to the recommendations and advice of your doctor.
Numerous reviews indicate that traditional medicine is effective against some pathological manifestations of the disease. And it does not require material costs or special skills. It allows you to use natural remedies at home, which are sometimes many times more effective than official medicine.
Ankylosing spondylitis in medicine is considered an incurable disease. However, only a third of the total number of patients comes to disability. The remaining 70%, with favorable confluences, still manage to maintain mobility and avoid the worst consequences until the end of their lives, because, as you know, Bekhterev hits not only the joints, but also other organs: the respiratory, visual, and circulatory systems. In the fight against the disease, you have to rely not on luck, but on persistent, ongoing treatment and your own will. How to treat Bechterew's disease in order to stay in the ranks longer and live a normal quality life?
Means of non-drug treatment
Features of treatment
difficult to cure, due to the same nature that underlies rheumatoid arthritis:
- Infectious and genetic factors, coupled with dysregulation of immunity.
- In addition, the pathology is successfully disguised as or, which is why the correct treatment begins too late: mainly at the stage of ossification of the spine.
Treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with medication is aimed at suppressing inflammation and immune adverse reactions. It has been carried out for years and helps to significantly reduce pain and partially remove the "fetters" from the spine. However, it is impossible to completely cure the disease if ankylosis has already begun - the process of soldering the vertebrae together. (Not for nothing that BB is otherwise called ankylosing spondylitis).
Significantly improves the prognosis of the course of ankylosing spondylitis:
- simultaneous use of funds not only official, but also traditional medicine;
- special diet for Bechterew's disease;
- daily and mandatory therapeutic exercises for at least 40 minutes. in a day.
A massive blow from these four sides (medicines, herbal medicine, physical education and diet) is called the complex treatment of the disease.
Treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with folk remedies
Folk remedies in the form of plants, animal fats, apitherapy, hirudotherapy are traditionally used to treat diseases of the back and joints.
The meaning of this treatment is basically the same:
- Relieve the condition by reducing pain.
- Remove the inflammatory process.
- Accelerate blood circulation in soft tissues.
- Regenerate and restore bone tissue.
The effectiveness of alternative treatment
You can use alternative treatment to achieve the first three goals quite successfully.
Much more difficult with the last point - regeneration.
Of course, there are no specific herbs and miraculous recipes, from which “heavy fetters will fall” from the poor spine, and the patient, bent in three deaths, will suddenly straighten up.
The effect of inhibiting the development of the process itself, if it is captured at the very beginning, can be excellent. But in the stage of pronounced ankylosis, when the soft cartilages of the vertebrae are already destroyed, no regeneration and restoration of tissues and the previous range of motion of the spine with herbs is already possible.
Examples of folk recipes
It helps well with Bechterew's disease complex treatment with decoctions of these herbal preparations, which are brewed overnight with one liter of boiling water:
- One tablespoon of plantain and string and one teaspoon of wild rosemary.
- One tablespoon each of calendula and sage, plus a teaspoon of oregano.
- One tablespoon of calendula, one teaspoon each of licorice and calamus root.
- Pour four tablespoons of meadowsweet with one liter of boiling water and boil in a water bath for an hour
- The prepared broth is drunk during the day. The total admission time is four weeks. The decoctions are alternated in the indicated sequence, changing the recipe every week.
The following complex collection of herbs is effective for pain and inflammation, and also cleanses the blood of pathogenic bacteria well:
- three tablespoons of lilac leaves;
- two st. l. - cranberries, birch leaves and knotweed;
- one horse chestnut fruit.
- Pour 2 tbsp. spoons of a mixture of 300 g of boiling water, an hour to insist and strain.
- Drink throughout the day, the next day again prepare a decoction.
- The course of treatment is 1.5 months, twice a year.
Another tricky one:
- 2 tbsp. l. linden flowers, meadowsweet, elderberry and parsley roots;
- 3 tbsp. l. birch buds and leaves, black poplar buds.
- Two tablespoons of the collection pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, insist for an hour.
- Take three times a day for two months.
The following complex preparations, prepared in equal parts, also help in the treatment of Bechterew's disease.
In each recipe, two tablespoons are poured into 300 g of boiling water and infused for an hour (you can heat it in a water bath for 10 minutes). The decoction is drunk throughout the day. Duration of treatment - two to three months, a break between courses of two weeks.
- Celandine, succession, oregano, hop cones, rose hips, calendula flowers.
- St. John's wort, hawthorn fruit, tricolor violet, eucalyptus leaf, mint, pine buds, oregano, thyme.
- Elecampane root, string, wild rosemary, horsetail, sweet clover, agrimony, yarrow, juniper berries.
Local treatment with folk remedies, removing and joints:
- Rubbing with St. John's wort or calamus oils
- Rubbing with tinctures of hemlock, aconite, fly agaric, capsicum
- Healing baths:
- Turpentine baths (Zalmanov's recipes)
- Herbal baths and using herbal collection:
- cinquefoil, kirkazon, rue, wild rosemary, pine, sweet clover, alder, birch, currant, dandelion, speedwell, loboda, elm, gout.
- Place 300 g of the mixture in a linen bag and boil in 5 liters of water, insist and pour into a bath cooled to 40 ° C.
- Take baths twice a week for two months.
Treatment by other means:
- Stinging nettle therapy helps with back pain: you need to whip your back well with a nettle broom.
- Bee venom has long been used by healers to treat rheumatism and persistent back pain. This method also helps with Bechterew's disease. Apitherapy (treatment with bee stings) is not tolerated by everyone, in addition, there may be an allergy to bee stings, so this method cannot be recommended to everyone.
- Snake venom is also famous for its analgesic and healing properties, but since it can hardly be found in its pure form, you can rub sore spots with ointments containing bee venom:
- viprosal, alvipsal, vipratox.
Diet for Bechterew's disease
Nutrition should be balanced, varied, rich in vitamins and minerals. At the same time, it is necessary to observe the calorie content of products corresponding to energy consumption so that weight gain does not occur.
At the same time, nutrition must necessarily include proteins, since they are needed for the functioning of the joints.
Thus, the diet for Bechterew's disease should include:
- lean meats and fish;
- low-fat dairy products;
- as much greens, fresh vegetables and fruits as possible (beets, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, apples, plums, pears, wild berries);
- cereals from whole grains;
- dried fruits, rose hips, nuts;
- fruit and berry kissels and jelly;
- unrefined vegetable oils.
Occasionally, patients can treat themselves to meat jellies, which are very favorable for the joints, but we must remember that this is a very high-calorie dish.
Food should be boiled or stewed. Fried foods, spicy spices, fresh bread and pastries are prohibited.
Important Diet Conditions:
- Periodic weight control is required.
- If weight gain occurs, fasting days are arranged.
- Once a week, a pure protein diet is observed.
Gymnastics for Bechterew's disease
Gymnastics with Bechterew's disease is the only way to prevent yourself from being taken into the iron shell of the disease. Performing gymnastics, you will seriously resist the process of ankylosing and prevent total immobility of the spine and stiffness of the peripheral joints.
- With Bechterew's disease, it is extremely important to start your day with exercises, since the greatest stiffness occurs precisely in the morning.
- Morning warm-up warms up the muscles well and contributes to the rapid restoration of mobility.
- Morning exercises should not be too difficult and active: they can cause pain.
- Breathing exercises must be included in the exercise.
- During the day, it is necessary to arrange five-minute warm-ups several times: in this way, the spine simply will not have time to ossify.
- Once a day for at least 20 minutes, you need to perform the main set of exercises. It includes more active and dynamic exercises.
- The complex should be selected taking into account the degree of disease activity and the intensity of the pain syndrome.
Below is a video with gymnastic complexes for Bechterew's disease with different phases of activity.
Bechterew's disease is a severe systemic disease that cannot be completely cured. This pathology requires complex therapy. When diagnosed with Bechterew's disease, treatment with folk remedies can help improve well-being, but during an exacerbation, drug therapy should be preferred.
The disease leads to curvature of the spine - kyphosis
Bechterew's disease is a non-infectious inflammatory disease that affects the spine and peripheral joints. The cause of the pathology has not yet been established, it is believed that the disease occurs due to an autoimmune disorder.
Pathology is incurable, with the help of drugs and other means, it is possible to relieve acute symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease, but not completely restore the processes occurring in the spine and joints.
The symptoms of the disease are as follows:
- pain in the back, joints;
- crunching in the affected joints;
- change in posture (kyphosis, stoop);
- deterioration of spinal mobility;
- increase in the range of motion of the peripheral joints.
Pain most often appears in the morning, immediately after sleep. They can pass without taking drugs after a little exercise and development of the joints.
Ankylosing spondylitis slowly changes a person's posture, causing kyphosis and a pronounced stoop. This is due to ossification of the intervertebral discs. The pathological process can lead to a decrease in human growth.
Pathology is more common in men than in women. The first symptoms make themselves felt at the age of 15-20, and most often do not affect the joints and back. The onset of the disease is manifested by malfunctions in the work of the cardiovascular system, apathy, drowsiness and asthenia. After some time, there is stiffness of movements in the morning, then pain appears.
How to treat ankylosing spondylitis with folk remedies
With Bechterew's disease, an integrated approach to therapy is needed. To maintain the health of the spinal column and joints and stop the progression of the pathology, it is necessary to combine medicines, physiotherapy exercises, physiotherapy and a special diet.
In Bechterew's disease, treatment with folk remedies should be considered as an auxiliary, and not the main method of therapy.
Folk remedies for this pathology are recommended to be used during remission, after undergoing a course of drug therapy. With an exacerbation of the disease, which is manifested by a new attack of pain and stiffness of movements, you should contact your doctor for a course of drug therapy.
Healing infusion
One of the most famous ways to treat Bechterew's disease is decoctions and infusions from medicinal plants and herbs. Medicinal herbs help:
- removal of the inflammatory process;
- elimination of pain;
- reduce swelling of the joints.
They also strengthen the immune system and have a diuretic effect, thereby accelerating the excretion of proteins formed during the inflammatory process. True, many doctors are against this approach, since stimulation of the immune system can lead to an exacerbation of an autoimmune disease.
Course treatment is carried out using the following medication:
- Mix a tablespoon of fresh plantain (leaves), dried string and wild rosemary.
- Add to the mixture a spoonful of calendula flowers and sage leaves, half a teaspoon of oregano. All herbs are used in dried form.
- Add half a large spoonful of chopped licorice root and calamus, 2 tablespoons of dried meadowsweet shoots.
Place the whole mixture in a thermos, pour a liter of boiling water, cover with a lid and additionally wrap with a towel. Leave the decoction for 6-8 hours, and then take it as a tea, after straining it. One thermos is designed for a day of taking, you can not store the medicine longer, otherwise its beneficial properties weaken.
The medicine must be taken daily for 30 days.
Anti-inflammatory collection
Herbs for Bechterew's disease can reduce the inflammatory process in the joints and spine. For this purpose, the following recipe is used:
- a quarter cup of lilac flowers;
- 2 large spoons of lingonberry leaf;
- 2 large spoons of dried birch leaves, the same amount of knotweed;
- 1 large chestnut (horse).
The chestnut must first be crushed; only fresh lilac flowers are used in the recipe. Place the mixture in a thermos or teapot, pour 500 ml of boiling water, cover and leave for two hours. This amount of decoction should be drunk in one day.
The course of treatment with such a collection is 45 days. Then you need to take a break for six months, and the course can be repeated.
Recipe 2
A healing drink should be taken regularly for a month and a half
The following collection will help remove the inflammatory process. To prepare the medicine, mix the following herbs in equal proportions:
- linden blossom;
- meadowsweet;
- elderberries;
- parsley root;
- Birch buds.
Take 4 tablespoons of the resulting mixture, place in a teapot, pour a glass of boiling water and leave for 2 hours. Drink a drink in two doses, morning and evening. You need to take this collection for 6 weeks.
Recipe 3
The following herbal collection helps to reduce the inflammatory process and remove excess fluid from the body. In addition, it strengthens the immune system and relieves swelling.
To prepare the broth, place in a thermos a tablespoon of the following ingredients:
- rosehip berries;
- calendula flowers;
- hawthorn berries;
- hop cones;
- succession;
- juniper fruits;
- mint;
- horsetail
Pour everything with a liter of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 4 hours. Take half a glass three times a day, the course is 4 weeks.
home pain relievers
Lilac tincture promotes better blood circulation
Having figured out how to treat Bechterew's disease at home, you should find out by what means you can quickly relieve back and joint pain.
- Calamus natural oil relieves the inflammatory process and pain, it must be applied to the diseased areas and gently rubbed. Before using the oil, it is recommended to warm it up a little.
- Another effective remedy is natural St. John's wort oil. You can buy it at any pharmacy. Apply a thin layer, rubbing in gently.
- Pepper tincture helps to improve the nutrition of the joint, thereby reducing pain. It dilates blood vessels and stimulates blood flow to the affected area. It must be applied to a towel or gauze and carefully rub the diseased joint. For the same purpose, you can use tincture of lilac flowers.
For self-preparation of tincture, you need to take 2 tbsp. the main ingredient, pour 100 ml of vodka. Cook in a glass container with a lid. Put for two weeks in a dark, dry place, shake daily. After 2 weeks, strain, pour into a convenient dish and use for rubbing.
Warming agents
Various warming preparations are used to dilate blood vessels and stimulate blood circulation. This improves movement in the joint, relieves pain, stimulates metabolic processes.
- The use of fresh nettle brooms in the bath is one of the most effective warming agents.
- Bee venom is used to prepare an ointment. To do this, you need to take a tablespoon of poison (you can buy it from beekeepers) and mix it with 100 g of melted butter or any animal fat. Place the ointment in the refrigerator to freeze. Apply to the affected joint and gently rub, leave until completely absorbed.
- Mustard ointment is prepared as follows: add a tablespoon of mustard powder and a teaspoon of honey to 50 ml of sea buckthorn oil. Apply a little, otherwise there will be a strong burning sensation.
Warming agents are used with caution, during the acute phase of the disease they are prohibited.
Phytotherapy
Folk remedies with which you can successfully treat Bechterew's disease are various herbs with anti-inflammatory effects. They can be taken orally or used as compresses.
- Sage has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. A decoction is prepared from it (2 tablespoons per glass of water), and then compresses are made on sore joints.
- Arnica is used for back pain. This plant relieves inflammation and improves the nutrition of the intervertebral discs. To prepare the ointment, you need to take 50 g of arnica, mix with 100 g of melted fat and add 10 g of turpentine. Mix thoroughly, apply to the lumbosacral region, be sure to warm the back. Can be kept all night.
- White willow bark will help to cope with inflammation. A decoction is prepared from it, taking 10 g of bark in a glass of water. You need to cook the remedy for 10 minutes. Take a decoction in the morning and evening for half a glass.
Phytotherapy can be used as an auxiliary method in the treatment of drugs, but you need to make sure that herbal decoctions do not violate the effect of medicines prescribed by a doctor.
Turpentine baths
Another popular method of treating Bechterew's disease with folk remedies is Zalmanov's turpentine baths. Turpentine is an oily liquid that is obtained by distilling the resin of coniferous trees. In folk medicine, it is used as an anti-inflammatory and wound healing agent for dermatological pathologies and joint diseases.
To prepare the bath, a white emulsion is needed. It is necessary to measure 15 ml of the product and pour it into 3 liters of hot water. Mix thoroughly (for this it is better to pour turpentine into a three-liter jar, and then close it with a lid) and leave for an hour. Then prepare a bath at a comfortable temperature and pour the turpentine solution into it.
Lie in the bath for 15-20 minutes, then be sure to rinse the body with water. The course of treatment consists of 10 procedures, they need to be carried out every other day.
Diet
Fruit must be included in the diet
A sparing diet will help reduce the rate of progression of the disease and reduce the frequency of exacerbations. It is based on the rejection of foods that stimulate the deposition of calcium salts in the joints.
The basic principles of nutrition are as follows.
- Limit salt intake, as sodium retains fluid, causing edema, and affects calcification.
- Sources of calcium also need to be minimized, so it is better to refuse dairy products, cottage cheese, kefir and cheese.
- Products with trans fats should be completely removed from the diet, especially fast food, confectionery and other products with margarine.
- The emphasis is on whole grain cereals, fruits and vegetables.
- Meat, fish and poultry are allowed, but without abuse
To maintain the elasticity of the joints, it is useful to eat aspic, products with gelatin, rich broths. For degenerative-dystrophic processes, the following recipe is recommended: pour 3 kg of chicken paws with 3 liters of water, cook for 6 hours, adding water as it boils away. Cool and take 300 ml daily.
Gymnastics and exercise therapy
One of the most important methods of treatment is gymnastics and exercise therapy. Regular performance of a set of exercises will help to forget about the feeling of stiffness in the back and curvature of the spine.
Basic principles of gymnastics:
- daily charge;
- regular execution;
- stretching exercises;
- exercises to strengthen the muscular corset.
There are a lot of gymnastic complexes to reduce the manifestations of Bechterew's disease, but it is not recommended to do exercise therapy on your own. The right decision would be to contact a specialist who will draw up an individual training plan.
You can do light morning exercises on your own. You need to start by moving your shoulders, raising and lowering them. Then push your shoulders forward, forming a sunken chest, then move back, sticking out your chest. Tilt your body forward, sideways and back. Then perform swings with arms and legs. Such a simple morning exercise will not take more than 5 minutes, but will improve well-being after sleep. Each exercise must be performed 5 times.
Avoid fatty and spicy foods
So that Bechterew's disease does not interfere with living a full life, you must follow a few rules:
- Do not smoke;
- observe the daily routine;
- do gymnastics;
- swimming and yoga;
- follow a sparing diet;
- do not overwork;
- avoid hypothermia;
- choose an orthopedic mattress for sleeping;
- regularly undergo examinations.
During the period of exacerbation of the disease, you should consult a doctor for the appointment of a therapy regimen.