Almost everyone over 45 years old is familiar with pain in the joints, 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, etc. A common disease that people often encounter is osteoarthritis 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 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 caused 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 put into place in time and improper fusion of the tissue began), a fracture of the arm, a severe hematoma.
- 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 who perform 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 condition of 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 conduct therapy at home on your own, there is a high probability of getting rid of the consequences and negative 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.
- Shoulder pain that increases after exertion on the shoulder and subsides during rest.
- Painful sensations reduce the motor activity of the joint, which leads to stiffness, the inability to lift the limb or turn it.
- Sometimes there is swelling in the joint area.
- The pain can occur in the neck or upper limb, which reduces vital activity, causing general discomfort.
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 lifting the arm or increasing the load on it. Treatment at the first stage is the simplest, and patients can do it at home on their own.
- 2nd grade. Joint mobility is impaired, any manipulation causes acute pain that does not go away even during rest. Often there are cases when it is impossible to independently raise a hand with a joint affected by arthrosis.
- 3rd grade. The stage is called deforming osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint. This is a difficult stage in which cartilage deformation is observed, inert growths appear, and frequent exacerbations occur. Changes in the joint interfere with normal function of the hand, and surgery is used as 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, for which it is necessary to undergo treatment. In the first and second stages of the disease, it is possible to carry out therapy at home, following all the recommendations and prescriptions of the doctor.
For healing, a complex of methods is used, which allows 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 and balanced diet.
- Performing simple physical exercises.
- Surgical intervention.
- Using popular methods.
- Physiotherapy procedures.
- Other methods: treatment with leeches, acupuncture.
Control and adherence to the diet.
In the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint, diet and proper nutrition play an important role. First of all, it is worth removing from the diet foods that negatively affect the condition of cartilage, the elasticity of the joints. Basic principles of nutrition:
- Harmful foods that negatively affect joint health include: dairy products, pork or beef, potatoes, corn, some vegetables - peppers, eggplants, tomatoes. It is worth reducing the amount of such ingredients consumed or completely eliminating them from the diet.
- To improve the condition of the joints, the consumption of flaxseed and olive oil will help their elasticity.
- 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 cooking, baking, stewing. It is recommended to exclude fried and 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 sweet, sparkling water.
Physical activity and massage.
The treatment of the disease is favored by performing certain physical exercises that can be done at home on your own. Gymnastics improves blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the joint, which contributes to the additional nutrition of cells; Helps strengthen muscles, develop joint connection. A set of exercises:
1 exercise:
- Starting position: the patient is leveled, and behind the back the hands are intertwined 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 straight, arms lowered freely.
- Make alternate circular movements with the shoulders, first forward and then back.
- Repeat 14-20 times.
3 exercise:
- Go straight, lower your hands down.
- In the left hand, you must carry a load of a maximum of half a kilogram (a dumbbell, a bottle of sand or water).
- Make circular movements with your hand from side to side, repeating 15 times.
- Do 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.
- The movements should be as precise as possible so that they do not cause pain, but relieve it.
medicines
In 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 must be used in combination with other methods of struggle, for example, physical activity. While taking medications, injecting or using ointments, you must follow the doctor's recommendations and follow the dosage. The following groups of drugs are used:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Medications help relieve swelling, remove inflammation from the tissues in diseased joints, and reduce pain.
- Chondroprotectors - drugs that improve blood circulation, help restore cartilage.
- Pain relievers, anesthetics can be taken as tablets or topical ointments can be used to relieve pain.
- Muscle relaxants are medications that help relieve muscle spasms and relieve pain.
- Vitamins, dietary supplements that enrich the body with useful substances to improve health.
Home remedies
Often folk methods are used for treatment, which help to eliminate symptoms, manifestations of the disease, relieve the condition and eliminate pain. Medical workers recommend using traditional and traditional medicine in combination, but it is important to coordinate everything with the attending physician. Especially popular are ointments, homemade compresses, baths, compresses and rubbing.
ointments
In folk medicine, ointments are often used, which include natural ingredients that help to 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 rub.
- For a better connection of all ingredients, add petroleum jelly and mix everything well.
- Rub the ointment on the shoulder, this will help reduce pain and eliminate inflammation.
decoctions and tinctures
Broth: In an enamel bowl, 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 2 tablespoons of the ingredient are boiled for 10 minutes and one tablespoon is drunk 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 for one night. Drink 2 tablespoons of the tincture on an empty stomach before breakfast. Another recipe for a simple but effective tincture: squeeze radish juice (about 30 ml), honey (20 grams) and a pinch of salt. Take before bedtime, preferably after water procedures.
Compresses and rubs
A popular recipe of traditional medicine is a compress with oatmeal. 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 effective recipe for rubbing: prepare rosemary flowers and hellebore root 10 grams each, mix with fat and rub three times a day.
Spa
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), peppermint (has a calming effect), juniper, burdock (relieves pain, relieves the condition).
Rules for preparing baths for the procedure:
- Prepare the grass, make a concentrate, which is poured into the bath.
- Lie 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 popular 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. grease. After physical exertion, rub on the shoulder.
- Wrapping the shoulder in a cloth soaked in a hay powder solution will help relieve swelling.
- Traditional medicine experts recommend drinking the juice of half a lemon before dinner to improve metabolic processes in the tissues.
- It helps to roll a hard-boiled egg, which must be rolled on a sore shoulder.
Prevention
The main preventive methods of 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.