Folk remedies for stretching: pros and cons

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Any joint in our body is equipped with tendons, ligaments, which are endowed with sufficient elasticity and strength to connect the bones and muscles of the articular structure. But at the same time, there is a limit to the extensibility of the fibers of this connective tissue.

Ligaments can break with movements that are unusual for a particular joint. Most often, the ankle joint is subjected to ligament rupture, but such an injury can also occur in the shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, collarbone.

A sprain of ligaments and muscles may mean a slight tear of several fibers, when a sharp pain will soon subside, and a barely noticeable swelling will disappear after 3-4 days. In this case, you can do without medical help.

Stage II injury is characterized by complete rupture of the ligaments, and sometimes a violation of the integrity of the articular capsule. And the most severe case is a complete avulsion of the ligaments and is accompanied by a fracture.

Then you will need not only conservative drug treatment, but also the experience of a surgeon.

Dos and don'ts right after stretching

It is clear that doctors are very skeptical about such a topic as unconventional treatment of the area of the joint, which has undergone a sprain. Indeed, in most cases, folk remedies for stretching are reduced to applying burning compresses, massaging the painful area, lotions from urine, salt and other components, which will seem complete nonsense to any sane person.

And yet, there is a rational grain in some manipulations when it comes to an accidental tear of a ligament of the 1st degree of severity. But in any case, the site of injury must be immobilized and left in complete peace for a while. The only thing that can and should be done in the first hours after what happened is to apply cold.

This can be a piece of ice, frozen food from the refrigerator, frozen water in a heating pad, or just a towel dipped in cold water. True, the cooling time should be monitored - the ice in the stretching area should be one-time no more than 30 minutes, after which a break is taken and can be applied for another 20-30 minutes.

The total time of cold exposure should not exceed 1.5 hours. Of all the proposed folk recipes with the participation of vegetables, it is worth stopping at grated raw potatoes, because its action will be close to the action of ice. Absolutely useless, to say the least - treatment is harmful if such folk remedies as applications of gruel of garlic, onions, radish, horseradish and the like are used.

Perhaps the irritating effect will somewhat distract from the pain at the site of the torn ligament, but it will provide a rush of blood to the injured area, which means it will lead to even greater swelling. A component like vinegar is also undesirable, and it is very often mixed with clay to relieve inflammation. Salt compresses are categorically excluded.

Pounded fresh elderberry leaf also raises doubts among doctors, because bark, flowers, fruits are considered medicinal in this plant). You need to put a tight bandage on the damaged joint and calm down on this, because the bandage will remain there for at least 2-3 days. Only after this time, from the moment of stretching, warming and resorption procedures can be started.

The second stage of the treatment for sprains

The maximum when you can resort to a hot compress when stretching is in a day.

As such, the following folk remedies are used:

• Hot milk:
• infusion of eucalyptus;
• sage tea.

It is believed that a compress of hot milk came down to our times from Siberian healers. When stretching the ligaments of the foot, it is very convenient to use hot baths, when the leg can be immersed in a healing solution directly into the pelvis or bucket.

The bandaging of the foot should be continued further, but now supplementing it with warming compresses. But even at the same time, you do not need to greatly disturb the sore spot, rub it, knead it.

It is better to gently wrap it with mashed cabbage or plantain leaves, apply aloe leaf cut along the length.

Crushed wormwood sprigs relieve pain well too. You can make an applique from bran, which is steamed in hot wine. Treatment is effective with an aqueous infusion of tansy flowers, which is used as a compress.

When the pain subsides somewhat, you can bandage with an elastic bandage during the day without any additional means, and apply alcohol warming compresses for the whole night, where 0.5 liters of vodka is taken:

• 50 g of birch buds, hop cones and marshmallow root;
• 100 g of chamomile, 50 - sweet clover and 30 - marshmallow root;
• 100 g of mallow color, 100 g of flax seed, 50 - marshmallow root and 30 - sweet clover;
• 100 g marshmallow, 50 each - linden bark and pharmacy chamomile.

The alcoholic infusion should be delivered immediately on the day of the injury, because it will be ready in 2-3 days. It is easy to see that marshmallow root is present in almost every recipe. No wonder the name of this plant from the Malvaceae family is translated as "healing".

Althea is used for many ailments, including ligament injuries, where it acts as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent. Arnica mountain tincture, which has a similar property, will also help. Any compresses should be done if the ligaments are broken daily for two weeks.

In addition to compresses and applications, anti-inflammatory and analgesic decoctions and infusions from the collection of herbs for oral administration are of no small importance.

For this purpose, apply:

• a five-minute decoction of plantain seeds (1 tbsp. l. per glass);
• infusion of cornflower flowers (3 tsp for 0.5 liters of boiling water);
• decoction of the roots and bark of barberry in milk (2 tablespoons per 1 glass).

Such drugs are drunk on an empty stomach, half an hour before meals. The only difference is in quantity. So, a decoction of plantain should be taken in 2 tablespoons, and the infusion of cornflower can even be 1/2 cup. The plantain seed remedy is famous for strengthening the tendons, therefore it is the prevention of a predisposition to frequent dislocations and sprains.

The third stage of treatment is ointments and rubbing

When the pain subsides and the swelling is not as pronounced, you can start working on the damaged joint. Here you can slowly knead, rub with homemade ointments.

Self-massage begins with light stroking, and only then the intensity of the effect on the body increases gradually. This helps to activate the contractile functions of the muscles, reduce pain, restore blood flow in the affected area.

After the preparatory manipulations, you can start directly rubbing in the home remedies.

Sometimes it is recommended for severe pain, to begin by rubbing a nearby healthy area. The effect will still be, since the drug will still penetrate through the capillaries of the skin. After 3-4 such sessions, it will be possible to go directly to the area of sprain. The rule is this: 3-5 minutes of self-massage, and then rubbing in.

As a therapeutic rubbing, you can use the same compositions of decoctions and alcoholic infusions from which compresses were made. However, it will be useful to prepare oil and other means. So, on the basis of lard with the addition of eucalyptus leaf and grated garlic in equal proportions, they make a special ointment for sprains.

Another recipe involves the following ingredients:

• interior pork fat (50-70 g);
• 3-5 g of propolis.

The contents are well heated in a water bath and also slightly warmed up before each use. All oil bases are recommended to be used before bed. Treatment of even the most uncomplicated sprains takes a month and a half.

The whole process must be brought to its logical conclusion, because untreated injuries can turn into repeated typical cases. Treatment with folk remedies does not exclude the need to visit a traumatologist.