Treatment of foot arthrosis at home: medications, exercise therapy, traditional medicine

If the presence of pathology is confirmed by radiation imaging methods and there are no indications for hospitalization, the patient needs to know how to treat arthrosis of the foot at home. Therapy takes from 1 to 9 months. The long period is explained by the continuous participation of this segment of the musculoskeletal system in human activity throughout the day. It is important to accurately determine at what stage arthrosis of the foot is - treatment at home is acceptable only in case of a chronic course of the disease or at an early stage of its development.

1st metatarsophalangeal joint with arthrosis.

Arthrosis of the foot - treatment features

The goal of therapeutic actions is to stop all complications that develop against the background and as a result of arthrosis of the foot:

• deterioration of tissue microcirculation;
• disruption of metabolic processes in cartilage and epithelial tissue;
• the actual inflammatory process;
• joint destruction.

When carrying out treatment, one must not forget that the pathology in question in 7 clinical cases out of 10 develops against the background of another disease: varicose veins, diabetes mellitus, uric acid diathesis.

The use of medications for the treatment of arthrosis of the foot

In order to continue physical activity and not feel psychological discomfort from the existing pathology, it is permissible to use the following groups of medications at home:

The listed medications, as well as the frequency of their administration and dosage, must be prescribed by a doctor.

Exercise therapy for foot arthrosis

The following exercises will help stretch your feet and prepare them for the upcoming day's exercise:

1. Initially, you should rub your feet well with your hands.
2. Starting position – sitting on a chair. Relax your shoulders, straighten your back. The height of the chair should allow the patient to stand confidently with his feet on the floor. Perform rolling movements: first from the outside of the feet to the inside, then in the reverse order. In this way, you can prepare your joints for more complex exercises. The same applies to the warm-up, in which the patient rolls from toe to heel and back. If you are of normal weight, this exercise can be performed standing.
3. Standing on the floor, grab a support. Use the toe of your right foot to reach the heel of your left, perform 3 lifts on your left foot, then change legs. Each time you rise on your toes, place the leg that is not involved in the exercise behind the second one, on the foot of which the lift is performed.
4. Walk in place for 5 minutes.

Strengthen the effectiveness of the complex with a foot massage to normalize blood circulation.

Treatment with traditional methods

Foot baths, which can be prepared according to the following recipes, will help minimize pain and relieve inflammation:

1. Add 0.75 ml of salicylic acid to pre-crushed 10 g of baby soap. Stir the mixture, add boiling water, then stir again. Add 20 ml of purified turpentine to the prepared mixture. Stir and immerse the feet in the solution for 15-20 minutes. Repeat the procedure 1 day/3 days.
2. Add 100 g of iodine-bromine salt to 3 liters of water heated to low temperature. Immerse your feet in the prepared solution for 15-20 minutes. Repeat once a day for at least 7 days.
3. Pour 20 g of dry chamomile raw material into 2 liters of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, then lower the feet and hold until the water cools. You can supplement the solution with calendula, thyme, and St. John's wort.
4. Pour boiling water over raw birch leaves and crush to a paste consistency. Drain the water, squeeze the leaves from its remains and stick them around your feet. Insulate the top of your legs with a handkerchief or scarf and wait half an hour. Perform the action for 10 days in a row.
5. To improve blood circulation inside the affected area of ​​the legs, before going to bed, prepare and apply a medicinal mixture according to the following recipe. Mix 20 g of table salt, baking soda and mustard powder, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of honey of any kind. Mix the ingredients again, apply to the inflamed area, cover it with polyethylene and leave until the morning. Perform the procedure for 7 days.

To slightly cool the inflamed areas and reduce pain, it is permissible to rub the skin over the joint with menthol oil.

Effective rubbing and compresses

Osteoarthritis of the toes is treated with rubbing and compresses. This is an effective therapy method. The main thing is to consult your doctor before use. Recipes for rubbing and compresses:

1. Mix alcohol and honey in equal quantities, add a little salt. Apply the product to your knuckles, wrap with plastic wrap and a towel so as not to stain the bed. The compress is left overnight.
2. Take 25 ml of good vodka, 50 g. elecampane powder. The components are mixed and placed in a dark place for 1.5 weeks. The resulting composition is rubbed on the affected joints.
3. In a container, mix 15 ml of liquid honey and 45 ml of apple cider vinegar. The medicine is used as a rub or compress. This solution can be taken orally. The duration of treatment for osteoarthritis of the foot is 1 month.
4. Take 1 leaf of burdock and cabbage, mash so that the plants release their juice. Now wrap the sore joints of your legs with leaves, then with a plastic bag and a warm cloth. The compress should be applied daily for 60–90 days.
5. Pick a few cabbage leaves and squeeze out the juice. Soak a woolen cloth in cabbage juice, wrap the entire foot or just the sore joints, and bandage the top with a simple bandage. This remedy warms the joints and reduces pain. After a few hours the pain completely disappears.
6. Take half a liter of high-quality vodka and one glass of dead bees. The ingredients are mixed and placed in a container with a tight-fitting lid. The medicine is infused for 20 days. Rub your joints daily for 1 month.

For folk remedies to work, they must be used regularly. It is not advisable to skip the use of rubs or compresses; in this case, the effectiveness is significantly reduced.

Lifestyle correction

If the patient is committed to recovery, he will be able to defeat the disease if:

1. Avoid wearing uncomfortable shoes - they contribute to the worsening of arthrosis, do not allow the joints to recover, and create unfavorable conditions for the normal position of the foot. The feet and toes should be comfortable in the shoes: if they meet the standards, the toes will bend fully during the step without squeezing each other. As for the sole, it should bend when the patient takes a step, without limiting motor activity.
2. Normalize body weight . Excess weight creates additional stress on all parts of the legs. But the ankle joint is the most vulnerable, which limits motor activity and is accompanied by an expansion of the spectrum of inflammation.
3. Normalize posture. If you can’t keep your back straight on your own, modern posture correctors produced by manufacturers in various models and variations will come to the rescue. Prevention of spinal curvature is a significant contribution to the treatment of foot arthrosis.
4. Avoid long walks and limit foot mobility. Depending on the degree of damage, you need to take breaks. At stage 1 of arthrosis - every 30 minutes, if the pathology has taken a protracted course, it is optimal to interrupt activity once every 15 minutes, so as not to provoke an increase in pain.

Even a carefully planned treatment program will not provide the expected effect if, simultaneously with its implementation, you continue to make mistakes in your lifestyle.

Infusions and decoctions for internal use

Oral medications are also used for osteoarthritis of the lower leg. The products help to improve nutrition of the joints and restore blood flow through the vessels. Best recipes:

1. Mix equal amounts of crushed St. John's wort, immortelle, chamomile, corn silk, horsetail, savory, and birch buds. Take 1 tbsp. l. herbal mixture, pour 200 ml of boiling water. The medicine is infused for about half an hour. Take 100 ml twice a day. Every day the medicine is prepared anew, it quickly turns sour, so keep it in the refrigerator.
2. Pour one tablespoon of crushed agave leaves into 150 ml of medical alcohol. The product is infused in a dark place for 12 days. Take before each meal, 20-30 drops are enough.
3. Take 100 g of horsetail, pour 800 ml of milk. Place the product on the fire and bring to a boil. After half an hour of infusion, the medicine can be taken. The entire volume should be drunk in 1 day.
4. Apple cider vinegar in the amount of 10 tsp. should be taken with meals. By the end of the month, the pain will decrease by 75%, perhaps completely disappear, and the joints will become more mobile.
5. Take equal amounts of honey, iodine, alcohol and glycerin. Mix and rub the mixture into sore joints.

When preparing medicine for internal use, you should be extremely careful. It is very important to observe the proportions so as not to provoke side effects due to an overdose of the medicinal plant.

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Nutrition for foot arthrosis

By ceasing to control your diet, you can quickly gain weight, which will adversely affect the course of arthrosis and slow down treatment. Therefore, after confirming the pathology, you need to reconsider your diet and balance it. If you cannot figure out the selection of products and dishes on your own, you can seek help from a nutritionist or involve an orthopedist in assistance.

Specialists will create a diet taking into account the stage of pathology, weight, age, gender of the patient, characteristics of his lifestyle and professional activity. When planning a healthy eating program, doctors take into account the patient’s current level of physical activity. The presence of aggravating pathologies and the degree of their severity are important.

People suffering from diabetes (and it is this pathology that often causes arthrosis) should not make drastic changes to their diet.

It will be possible to influence the inflammatory and degenerative process by consuming:

1. Products enriched with vitamin E. All types of nuts contain this useful substance: walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds. The concentration of tocopherol in sprouted wheat is high.
2. Carbohydrates in the form of porridges from all types of cereals and bread made from wholemeal flour.
3. Products high in Omega-3 acid. Lean meat and fatty fish are recommended. The biologically active compounds present in these products slow down the inflammatory process, increase the flexibility of cartilage, and prevent the destruction of joint tissue.
4. Eliminating arthrosis becomes more difficult if you do not consume calcium on a daily basis. To saturate the body with this element, you need to include fermented milk products and greens in your daily diet.

Eat small and often. Ban on fried, salty, spicy foods. It is important to replace baked goods and sweets with fruits and juices. The last meal should be completed 3 hours before bedtime.