Almost every person 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 an ailment are excessive physical exertion, injuries, unbalanced nutrition, and so on. A common disease that people often encounter is arthrosis of the shoulder joint (coxarthrosis is less common). Treatment of the disease in the initial stages can be carried out at home, read about it below.
Causes of arthrosis
Degenerative changes in the cartilage and surrounding tissues that cause discomfort during movement, pain is arthrosis 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 provoked inflammatory processes that negatively affect the state of cartilage and bone. Often there is a development of the disease after a dislocation (especially if the joint was not set in place in time, and improper 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 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 condition 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 therapy at home on your own, 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 in the upper limbs, which is observed not only after intense exercise or exertion, but also in the morning, after rest.
- Pain in the shoulder that increases after exertion on it and subsides during rest.
- Painful sensations reduce the motor activity of the joint, which leads to stiffness, the inability to raise the limb high or turn it.
- At times, there is swelling in the joint area.
- The pain can be given 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 characteristic symptoms and features:
- 1 degree. At this stage, there is mild pain, which increases during raising the arm or increasing the load on it. Treatment at the first stage is the simplest and can be carried out at home by patients on their own.
- 2 degree. Joint mobility is impaired, any manipulation causes a sharp pain that does not recede even during rest. Often there are cases when it is impossible to independently raise a hand with a joint affected by arthrosis.
- 3 degree. The stage is called deforming arthrosis of the shoulder joint. This is a difficult stage at which cartilage deformation 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 a treatment in 98% of cases.
Recommendations for treatment at home
This disease brings a lot of inconvenience, interferes with normal life, disrupts the usual rhythm. This 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, adhering to all the recommendations and prescriptions of the doctor.
For healing, a complex of methods is used, which makes it possible to obtain the most effective result. Many can be used at home. Complex therapy includes:
- Medicines.
- Compliance with a diet, the transition to a proper, balanced diet.
- Performing simple physical exercises.
- Surgical intervention.
- Using folk methods.
- Physiotherapy procedures.
- Other methods: treatment with leeches, acupuncture.
Diet control and adherence
In the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint, diet and proper nutrition play a significant role. First of all, it is worth removing from the diet foods that negatively affect the condition of the cartilage, the elasticity of the joints. Basic principles of nutrition:
- Harmful foods that negatively affect the health of the joints include: dairy products, pork or veal, potatoes, corn, some vegetables - peppers, eggplant, tomatoes. It is worth reducing the amount of such consumed ingredients or completely eliminating them from the diet.
- To improve the condition of the joint, their elasticity will help the consumption of linseed and olive oil.
- It is recommended to take foods rich in antioxidants, for example, fruits and vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers, bananas, olives).
- Alcohol intake is contraindicated.
- Cooking food is by way of cooking, baking, stewing. It is recommended to exclude fried, marinated 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 performed at home on their own. Gymnastics improves blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the joint, which contributes to additional nutrition of cells; helps to strengthen muscles, develop articular connection. A set of exercises:
1 exercise:
- Starting position: the patient becomes even, and behind the back, hands are clasped in the lock.
- Raise your arms, trying to keep them straight, without bending at the elbows.
- Repeat manipulations up to ten times.
2 exercise:
- Starting position: standing straight, arms freely lowered down.
- Make circular movements alternately with your shoulders, first forward, then back.
- Repeat 14-20 times.
3 exercise:
- Become straight, lower your hands down.
- In the left hand, you need to take a load of a maximum of half a kilogram (a weight, a bottle of sand or water).
- Make circular movements with your hand back and forth, repeating 15 times.
- Carry out similar manipulations with the other hand.
In addition to doing exercises, massage of 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, prepare the body for the procedure.
- Movements should be as accurate as possible so that they do not cause pain, but relieve pain.
Medications
At the initial stages of the development of the disease, drug treatment is used, which, depending on the group of drugs, has a different effect on the disease. It is important to remember that taking drugs does not solve all problems, this technique should be used in combination with other methods of struggle, for example, physical activity. While taking medications, injecting or using ointments, you should follow the doctor's recommendations and follow the dosage. The following groups of drugs are used:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Medicines help relieve swelling, remove inflammation of tissues in diseased joints, reduce pain.
- Chondroprotectors - drugs that improve blood circulation, help restore cartilage.
- Analgesics, anesthetics can be taken as tablets or topical ointments can be used for pain relief
- Muscle relaxants are drugs that help relieve muscle spasm and relieve pain.
- Vitamins, dietary supplements that enrich the body with useful substances to improve health.
Folk remedies
Often, folk methods are used for treatment, which help to remove the symptoms, manifestations of the disease, alleviate the condition and get rid of pain. Medical workers recommend using traditional and traditional medicine in combination, but it is important to coordinate everything with the attending doctor. Especially popular are ointments, homemade compresses, baths, compresses and rubbing.
Ointments
In folk medicine, ointments are often used, which include natural ingredients that help overcome the disease. To prepare a popular and effective medicine, you need:
- Take 10 grams of hops, sweet clover, St. John's wort. Finely chop the herbs and grind together.
- For a better connection of all ingredients, add vaseline and mix everything thoroughly.
- Rub the ointment on the shoulder, this will help reduce pain and remove inflammation.
Decoctions and tinctures
Broth: in an enameled container, combine half a celery root, 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 tbsp), dandelion root (2 tsp), parsley seeds (2 tsp) and mint (3 tsp) boil in 0. 5 liters of water. Leave in a dark place for one night. Drink 2 tablespoons of the tincture on an empty stomach before breakfast. Another recipe for a simple but effective tincture: squeeze out radish juice (about 30 ml), honey (20 grams) and a small pinch of salt. Take at bedtime, preferably after water procedures.
Compresses and rubbing
A popular recipe for traditional medicine is a compress with oatmeal. For the procedure, you need to brew 30 grams of oatmeal in two glasses of water. Apply the prepared mass to 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 effective rubbing recipe: brew rosemary flowers and hellebore root 10 grams each, mix with fat and do rubbing three times a day.
Baths
Baths are actively used to improve blood circulation in damaged tissues and provide them with additional nutrients. To achieve maximum 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 (relieve pain, alleviate the condition).
Rules for preparing baths for the procedure:
- Brew the herb, make a concentrate, which is poured into the bathroom.
- Lie down in the bathroom so that the sore spot is immersed 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:
- For pain relief and relief, 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 canvas soaked in a solution of hay dust will help relieve puffiness.
- Traditional medicine experts recommend drinking the juice of half a lemon before dinner to improve metabolic processes in tissues.
- It helps to roll out a hard-boiled egg, which must be rolled over a sore shoulder.
Prevention
The main preventive methods of the disease include:
- Balanced diet, with a complex of essential minerals, vitamins.
- Regularly a set 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.