Charging with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine on your own at home: a set of exercises

Osteochondrosis is a disease of the spine, which is chronic in nature and is associated with damage to the intervertebral discs and cartilage.

Depending on the place of occurrence, osteochondrosis is cervical (in fact, which we will consider in more detail), thoracic, lumbar and common. What to do with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine? This will be discussed in the article.

Causes and symptoms

The causes of the disease, regardless of the location of the localization, are identical:

• genetic predisposition;
• smoking;
• lack of physical activity;
• stress;
• work associated with lifting weights and prolonged exposure to uncomfortable positions;
• metabolic problems;
• wearing uncomfortable shoes;
• violation of posture;
• overweight;
• spinal injury.

The main symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are pain in the spine, dizziness, migraines, "noise" in the head.

What to do if you have osteochondrosis of the cervical spine?

First you need to make sure that this is really the diagnosis. To do this, of course, you need to go to a medical institution for an examination.

The most effective type of examination is, of course, an MRI (high-precision computerized examination), but you can also use a more budgetary option - an x-ray.

After we are convinced that this is really osteochondrosis, the first thing to do is to immediately forget about such habits as smoking and drinking alcohol, build a healthy diet without fried and fatty foods, and become more active in life.

There are also many methods of treatment and prevention of osteochondrosis, which we will discuss in more detail.

Charging with cervical osteochondrosis

Exercise therapy for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is probably the easiest and absolutely free method of therapy. For charging, you can pick up several movements and perform them every morning, devoting only 10-15 minutes, thereby strengthening and prolonging the performance of the cervical spine.

Exercises for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine:

1. Alternate inclinations of the head to the left and right shoulder, while touching the shoulder with the ear.
2. Alternate tilts of the head to the chest and back to the back, touching the chest with the chin when moving forward.
3. Head movement in a circle.

You need to remember that charging with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine should be performed smoothly, you can not make any sudden movements, in order to avoid injury, as well as no hurry, if there is a feeling of dizziness or growing weakness, you need to stop and sit.

A set of exercises for cervical osteochondrosis

For people who work in an office, drive, or are otherwise associated with a sedentary lifestyle, simple things that should be done at least once a day will help:

1. In a sitting position, press your palm on your forehead, and at the same time, your forehead on your palm for 10 seconds, 10 repetitions.
2. Everything is the same, only the interaction of the hand and the temporal region.
3. Maximum head turns to the left and right shoulder, 10 reps.
4. In a standing position, arms along the axis of the body, at the same time raise the shoulders as much as possible, holding for 10 seconds, 15 repetitions.
5. Maximum flexion and extension of the head, 5 times each, in a standing position.

Complicated set of exercises

There is also for more physically prepared people:

1. Warm up. Until you feel a pleasant warmth, first we walk, as always, then on our toes and on our heels.
2. Relaxation of the neck muscles. In a standing position, hands freely lower along the body. We strain our arms, holding them in tension, for 30 seconds, straighten our back in parallel and lower our shoulders and shoulder blades. Then you need to relax so that your arms sway freely.
3. Twisting. To perform the next exercise, you again need to become stable, legs together, after which you begin to lower the back of your head and at the same time, as it were, twist the cervical vertebrae. Try to imagine how the vertebrae move forward in a circular path. During the exercise, it is strictly forbidden to lower your head sharply - you just need to try to lower the vertebrae one by one down. It would be nice if you can lower your chin to your chest in such a way that your shoulders do not rise. Next, we straighten up and move in the reverse order, as if we are “unwinding” the spine. It is worth repeating the exercise as many times as is enough for the appearance of warmth in the cervical region.
4. Mahi hands. Stand up straight, tilt your body forward. We spread our arms to the sides. Try to take your head forward and at the same time lower your shoulder blades down parallel to your spine. The movements of the shoulder blades should resemble the movements of the wings: by waving the arms, it is required to pull the shoulder blades to the center with force. Make sure your arms stay straight and move slightly back. No need to make movements by inertia - try to do so that only the muscles of the back work.

Remember! This is performed only at the initial stage of the disease and only after consulting a doctor.

Self-massage for cervical osteochondrosis

Charging with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine will be more effective if supplemented with massage. Many people do not believe, but it can relieve pain for a long time. Not everyone has the time and money for regular visits to massage parlors or private massage therapists. So, you need to learn how to do it.

There are many techniques and types of massage, but the simplest and most effective of them is the following:

1. Stroking. It is the basis of massage, warms up the body. With light movements of the hands (in a circle, back and forth), we rub the neck-collar zone, starting from the back of the head, ending with the shoulder blade. Stroking should be used after each subsequent massage.
2. Trituration. Can be performed with palms clenched into a fist; edge of the hands; with a few fingers. It is performed stronger than stroking, but, most importantly, do not overdo it.
3. Kneading. We give the hand the shape of a “duck”, visually divide the collar zone into several sections and with one hand, sequentially, starting from one side, moving to the other, as if pinching, we move from the back of the head to the shoulder blade.
4. Vibration. It is performed by gentle tapping, which can be done with the ribs of the hands or the tips of 4 fingers (except for the thumb), simulating dust sweeping.

Perform each technique 5-6 times. It is better to do self-massage in the evening, preferably before going to bed.

Yoga for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine

Yoga is a kind of non-traditional method of dealing with the above disease and, judging by the reviews of most people, this method is quite effective.

There are a number of yoga poses that will help a person with cervical osteochondrosis:

1. A pose that tones the muscles of the neck. Keep your arms outstretched shoulder-width apart. Then, in a standing position, you need to bend your right leg at the knee so that the heel rests as close as possible to the groin along the inner surface of the left thigh. Stretch the fixed arms up above the head. Repeat the same with the other leg.
2. A pose that allows you to relieve tension from the neck. You will need a chair for this pose. We become facing the seat of the chair, take the left leg back, then turn the foot perpendicular to the right. Turn the torso to the left and extend the arms to the sides. Exhaling, we lean towards the chair, resting on the right hand, and stretch the left hand up. Do not bend your legs while doing this. Do 30 seconds, then do the same on the other side.
3. A pose that relieves spasms in the neck. In a standing position, we place our legs shoulder-width apart, turn the torso and feet to the right and lunge with the right leg, bending it at a right angle at the knee, while stretching our arms above our heads and connecting them with our palms. Hold the position for 30 seconds, then do the same on the other side.

To begin with, it is worth trying these not the most difficult poses, and after you can perform them clearly and debugged, you can move on to more difficult ones.

Swimming with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine

A positive effect in the treatment of osteochondrosis is achieved with almost any type of swimming, but it is considered the most favorable on the back. Thanks to this style, the muscles of the neck relax as much as possible.

Do not forget about proper breathing. Experts recommend taking slow and smooth breaths, followed by sharp short exhalations.

Before water procedures, it is imperative to warm up the neck muscles by any of the above methods: exercises or massage.

Contraindications

Are there contraindications for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine? Yes. In the presence of such a disease, the following actions are strictly contraindicated:

1. Performing exercises with an exacerbation of the course of the disease, heart disease and impaired coordination.
2. Apply self-massage or massage in cases of increased excitability, shortness of breath.
3. You can not sleep on upholstered furniture.
4. You should not overeat, you need to exclude alcohol, salt, fatty, fried and smoked foods.
5. Sharp and strong movements when performing self-massage.
6. Using any medications without consulting a doctor.
7. Lift or move weights.

If you exercise and do not perform the actions described in contraindications, you can greatly alleviate the course of the disease.